Make an emotional connection with your audience. Oftentimes an audience will not remember exactly what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel. Do this by telling a great story or being vulnerable.

• Be vulnerable. Don’t act like you have it all together when you’re on stage. Talk with the audience like you would a friend.
• Application, application, application. Don’t just tell stories and teach points. Help your audience apply the content you’re delivering. Give them some practical tips.
• Help the audience go deeper with something they can take home. Whether it’s something you sell at the back of the room or something you give away or both, go the extra mile by creating a piece of content that audience members can take home with them.
• Repeat your main point. Keep coming back to the main point so that people see how all the different pieces fit under the main point. My main point for this talk is this: The path to our art is through, not around, our weakness.
• Drop the bridge statements. While I was delivering my presentation I kept saying things like “My second point is” or “In closing” They told me to drop all those statements because they’re distracting. Get right into it, they said. Just deliver your content.
• Tell a story, then make a point. Don’t get these reversed.
• Include some interaction after each point. After making a particular point, open things up with some interaction. Ask people to raise their hand if they [fill in the blank]. Invite them to ask a question or share something they’re doing that’s related to your content. The point is to get them out of “sit and listen” mode to engage with what you’re saying.
• Remember the impact you could have. The spouse of one of our mastermind members asked a question that reminded me of how important public presentations are. We all have heard presentations that helped us in vital ways. Some speeches have literally changed the world. When you stop and remember that your talk could help save a person’s physical or mental or creative life, that realization tends to keep you focused and helps you deliver your content with more energy and gusto.
• This isn’t about you as the public speaker. It’s about the people listening. It’s about serving them the best way you know how.