What can you learn from public speakers with different styles?

Was watching Ngozi's the 'danger of a single story' yesterday as part of revisiting the single narrative and the dangers of that. Having watched it many tines, I still felt like I was watching it for the first time and was part of the audience. There's one person in the audience whose laugh was loud and every time he laughed I was laughing out loud with him, only time I am in my living room and many years in the future. She is wearing an African headscarf when she gives this talk. First tip - be yourself, know who you are, dress comfortably Secondly, she knows about narratives and stories- show that and talk about when you made errors which she did. Makes you human, personable and relatable Use measured humour that contributes

Pay attention to how speakers share stories. How do they open? When do they come back to finish the story? How many stories do they tell during one speech? Start to write down different story topics you have to tell. You will be surprised how many are easy to tell for you.

The "Educator" is one of my favorite presentation styles, which is why my all-time favorite TED speaker was Ken Robinson. If you want an example of how an engaging speaker can educate & inspire... go watch his talk: Do Schools Kill Creativity. With over 75 MILLION views and counting.... this TED Talk is the role model of how to blend humor, storytelling, and how to touch the hearts of your audience. ?? ?? NOTE: This talk can be found on the TEDX website and/or YouTube.

Love the contributions shared by all the contributors and all the examples of speakers e.g. Motivational, Story tellers and Educationalists It also depends on your purpose and the best way to engage the audience and help them think about why they have come to listen to you. As educators, we are trained around clear and simple learning objectives and planning activities that help people engage with thr matter. I find that weaving in and out of the different styles is also impactful. For example, I do group mentoring and when I have been invited to speak at people's event, there's a clear objective and message however different ways of approaching depending on the tone and who is in the audience. What is the result they want is key.

Watch some of Les Brown's speeches on Youtube. He is one of the best motivational speakers of all time. Watch how he gets personal, laughs, cries, and moves the audience throughout his entire speech. Amazing. A masterclass.

Personal favourite is the late George Carlin. He used strong language (suitable for HIS audience, not necessarily yours') and would modulate pitch and volume with great effect. Humour is incredibly subjective but at its most fundamental level, it has to be relatable and topical. That is why Jerry Seinfield has built an entire career ruminating on even the most mundane, everyday things. It all comes down to the fundamental rule of knowing your audience and what matters to them. You also have to train yourself to find humour in everyday situations, especially frustrations (and work/life has a surplus supply of these). So the next time something makes you mad, ask yourself what's funny about it. It might provide you material.

It's important to realise that there is more than one way to present to your audience. Honing the best way for you, that feels natural and aligned, will make you appear more authentic. Read the room, be prepared to adapt accordingly so that you connect and engage. When you truly know your stuff this comes easily.

What I love about different styles is that they can all work. Public speaking is an art form. At it's core it's storytelling which aims to make people feel, think, and act differently as a result of the stories. One of the coolest things is how people can have different styles and all can work. To find your own voice / style, considering watching tape of different speakers and then start practicing by speaking. Find what works best for you and then apply what you think makes you most relatable!

Think about emotions. Humans are innately emotional and any speaking that invokes emotions will be powerful and grab attention. That could be sharing something humorous to articulate a point, where the audience all connects over shared laughter. It might be that you move your audience with a sad story that leads to glances being exchanged of people connecting over compassion. Or even telling stories where people cringe with you "here's what I wish I'd done..." or "you won't believe how this went...". Take people on an emotional journey. There's that age old quote "people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel".