¿Te cuesta cautivar a tu audiencia durante los discursos?

It happens to the best of us. The key is to connect emotionally and engage your audience with stories, questions, and a clear message. Start strong, keep your energy up, and make eye contact. Remember, it's not about delivering a perfect speech; it's about making a genuine connection. Practice, feedback, and continuous improvement will turn your struggle into a strength!

El grave error que cometen muchos profesionales al hablar en público es centrarse en el contenido y en demostrar lo mucho que saben. Gran error. 🙅🏾 El protagonista no eres tú, es el público. Tienes que saber para quien vas a hablar y adaptar el mensaje y la forma de contarlo. No es lo mismo hablar para ingenieros, médicos, vendedores, enfermeras, madres primerizas, adolescentes, fans de un club de fútbol, amantes del arte… Investiga quien va ser tu audiencia y adapta el mensaje a ellos con un storytelling que capte su atención desde el inicio. Personaliza la frase de entrada y el final de tu discurso

Después de tantas y tantas conferencias a nuestras espaldas, podemos decir alto y claro que no es lo que dices sino cómo lo dices. Emociona a tu audiencia, llega a ellos desde un plano emocional y la conexión estará asegurada. Es un dogma innegociable de la neurociencia: sin emoción no hay conexión.

If there are multiple speakers at a conference, and you aren't opening the show, attend at least a few of the ones prior to your "slot". This allows you to get an insight into the tone, mood, and learn more the audience. What topics are they engaging more or less with? Can you incorporate prior speaker's statements into yours to deliver a more cohesive presentation? Is there a point you want to underscore (or make a counterpoint)?

Captivate your audience from the start! Skip the salutations and formalities and dive right in by grabbing their attention with a question, story, compelling visual, or startling statistic. One of the biggest mistakes I see speakers make is waiting 20 minutes before asking the audience to engage. If you don't set the tone and expectations right away, it can leave people confused and less invested. When you create a truly engaging experience, you'll keep your audience in the palm of your hand.

Absolutely love this, Deepak! Your insights on storytelling as a timeless tool are spot on. Crafting stories with mystery, humor, and a strong takeaway truly captivates and inspires.

Storytelling is the most effective way to put your message across diverse audiences. Storytelling is an art that needs to be developed with care. The story apart from the narration is the essence here. It has to be compelling enough to keep the audience gasping for more as well as germane to the subject. Begin with, "Have you heard of....?" and then spin the yarn to weave a tale of misery and happiness, success and failure, trials and tribulations, morals and ethics, and so on. Use your intonation, mannerisms, nonverbals, awe, pauses and references to dress up the tale. The tale must conclude with an easy yet memorable takeaway and reconnect the audience with the presentation.

I find that I'm always more engaged as a listener when a great story is told. I recall watching Michelle Obama deliver a captivating speech at the DNC, and it was a powerful reminder that, no matter our political views, storytelling has a unique ability to engage audiences. I've harnessed this skill myself, noticing how listeners lean in, and most importantly, remember my story—and its message—years later. Storytelling also fosters connection, as our stories often resonate with, or become interwoven with, those of our audience.

One way to captivate your audience during speeches is through telling a story through your speech. This starts with the speech having a clear beginning, middle and end and ensuring each part of your speech connects to create a full picture for your presentation. This will allow you to make your message more captivating and engaging for your audience. You could also think about using descriptive language and imagery to potentially highlight and add emphasis and to certain points within your speech.

Engaging your audience emotionally is crucial for a powerful speech. Utilize pathos, or emotional appeal, to captivate your listeners. Share personal stories that evoke empathy, sprinkle in humor to lighten the mood, or ask rhetorical questions that stimulate reflection. By connecting with your audience on an emotional level, you boost their attention and interest. Ultimately, while they might forget the specifics of your speech, they will remember the feelings you inspired and the impact you had on them.

To engage the audience emotionally, I typically use one or several of those five triggers: relatable characters, conflict, surprise, transformation, and injustice. They spark emotions that keep the audience hooked. By tapping into these feelings, you can turn the story into an experience that resonates and stays with people long after it’s over.

One of the most compelling ways to start a speech is in perfect stillness. Thank the MC for the intro and then stop moving and talking. Pause. Take a few cleansing breaths. Make gentle eye contact around the room. Now is a good time to remember to look the 'other way' from the direction you tend to look. Smile. Take a deep breath and then breathe all the way out. Now start talking. When you start by getting comfortable with a long, dramatic pause, you will find it much easier to keep the pace of your speech easy and slow, with pauses for people to ponder what you've said. Keep your hands and elbows a little way away from your body, so your gestures stay soft and natural ( leave your hair, glasses, lips, skin, eyes, and nose alone.)

Para mantener la atención es muy importante cambiar el tono, ritmo y volumen de tu voz ahacer la presentación de acorde al tema dinámica, quizá que venga con actividades dependiendo del tema. Usar pausas estratégicas , así dar tiempo a que se asimile la información

There’s a concept in marketing called Pattern Disruption that I love to use when delivering a presentation. It’s simple, every so often (every 1-3 min virtual, 3-5 min in-person) do something DIFFERENT with your visual aid or slide deck. Ex. After 3-5 min of consistent slide formatting, fonts, colors, etc… try adding in an unexpected slide like a movie clip, GIF, funny photo, question, game, different color, bigger or smaller font, etc to capture your audiences attention because a pattern has been disrupted.

Conseguir el “rapport” (es conexión mágica con la audiencia) es muy complicado. Hay que tener en cuenta que la gente tiene una capacidad limitada de atención, pese a estar interesados en tu ponencia. Tienes que jugar con la entonación, marcar pausas dramáticas, subir el tono, hacer que interactúen, lanzar preguntas… Mantén alta su atención

When it comes to visual aids, I stick to a simple rule: 1 message = 1 photo, audio, or video. I keep text to a minimum, using it only when it adds real impact. As the storyteller, you are at center stage—visuals are there to support, not overshadow. The right visual can amplify a message, but the focus should always be on what you’re saying. It’s about making the message more powerful.