The 3 Things to Spark Every Presentation

My public speaking journey started 46 years ago. My father told me I used to go into the backyard, turn over the trashcans and give a lecture to the grass, the garden, and the garage. The wind that blew was my applause. 

Those early lectures lead me to become a Brilliant Presenter.

I’m now one of America’s top 10 most-booked corporate and association speakers. I have worked with over 1,800 organizations in 50 countries worldwide, including companies like AT&T, IBM, MasterCard, Microsoft, and Toyota. I went from presenting in my backyard, to presenting in the traditional office environment, to presenting in front of thousands as a public speaker. 

And I’m here to tell you: anyone can be a Brilliant Presenter. 

Brilliant Presenting is an invitation to own your stage every time you are in front of an audience. Entrepreneurs, career-minded individuals, and professionals recognize that presenting is certainly the bridge to greatness, lucrative opportunities, and ultimate fulfillment. 

The door that allowed me to be a public speaker was gaining that confidence at such a young age, and it has created an amazing livelihood for me and my family. Your audience might be your department, the PTA, your church, your class, or a group of thousands. The keys to becoming a Brilliant Presenter apply to ANYONE saying ANYTHING in front of ANYONE. 

So what are the secrets to being a Brilliant Presenter?

There actually aren’t any secrets. It’s really 3 simple things:

1. Be confident in who you are. Confidence is the killer application for anyone looking to connect with any audience, any time, anywhere, any way. Your confidence starts with a deep belief in yourself, your word choice, and most importantly—the conviction you have about what you share. If it doesn’t move YOU, it’s not going to move the audience. Anything that comes out of your mouth has to be lived and owned by you or the audience will perceive it as you giving a book report without any energy, passion, or charisma.
2. It’s nothing more than a conversation. I receive calls from people all over the world on a weekly basis asking me: “How do you establish a presence in front of an audience no matter what size?” And I always tell them: it all comes down to a conversation. Think about your best friend: when you want to tell them a really juicy story about something that’s happened to you, you go into intricate details, you get animated, and you either laugh or express profound sadness. In that conversation, you’re transferring your emotional energy from a felt experience to your friend. In other words, you’re transporting your friend to the place you were, and they begin to relive the story as if they were there. When you put yourself into this type of conversation mode in front of an audience, it boosts your confidence because you know the story, and it relaxes you because you’re not trying to overdo it.
3. Stop communicating and start connecting. When you communicate, that’s a transaction. You have a script or you’re going to stick to your talking points. There’s nothing wrong with that. But the real magic of connecting with an audience comes when you go off script and begin to speak from your heart, not just your head. This slight shift is recognized by the audience because they can really hear what you think and feel. 

So you’re probably thinking: ok, but there ARE times when you need to be totally intellectual, and show real data that adds credibility to what you’re saying. I know that. But don’t bore people with all your numbers, graphs, and charts. You can still tell a story and connect the dots. 

Here’s what I mean.

Recently, I gave a PowerPoint presentation in front of 10 people about creating a Brilliant Business, and believe it or not, I was nervous. Even with so much experience under my belt, I really wanted to make sure I didn’t bomb it. To build my confidence and relax me, I started off by telling a story about how I came to join them on that particular day. After I shared my story, I needed to take them through a very specific presentation, so I created a simple formula that would help me remember my talking points while keeping it natural: A) ask them a question, B) be kind, and C) close with a specific ask.

Here’s what that looked like.

A) Question: “What does it take for one person to be brilliant?”

B) Kind response to their answers: “Here’s what I’ve learned over the years about people who became brilliant.”

C) Specific Ask: “Now that you know how to be brilliant, will we be able to do brilliant business together?”

If you’re just starting out, identify the A, B, and C formula that will help keep you on track while keeping the communication authentic rather than scripted. You can try the three ABC’s listed above or create your own formula based on the goals of your presentation. Just remember: be confident, have a conversation, and start connecting.

It has worked for me, and it’ll work for you.

Simon T. Bailey is a speaker, writer, educator and innovator. He teaches people around the world how to build a bridge from their current reality to their brilliant future. He is the author of the #LinkedInLearning trainings, Building Business Relationships and Finding A Sponsor. He is also the author of the best-selling book Shift Your Brilliance: Harness the Power of You, Inc. and Brilliant Living: 31 Insights to Creating an Awesome Live. When he’s not working, he enjoys rooting for the Buffalo Bills (hometown team), going to movies and eating hot apple pie.