How do you become a credible speaker?

I find it’s two key aspects 1. Be sure of what message you want to convey and this let’s you relax and keep focused - and let’s you relax the audience / participants. 2. Make the audience real participants

I firmly believe that at its core, there are three essential elements to becoming a credible speaker: Information, Inspiration, and Transformation. 1) Information: To capture your audience, you must provide valuable information. It's your responsibility to deliver relavant insights, facts, and knowledge . 2) Inspiration: A great speaker ignites inspiration within their audience. Inspiration goes beyond motivation. A credible speaker shares personal stories, experiences that resonate with their listeners. 3) Transformation: The ultimate goal of any impactful speech is to drive transformation. Whether it's a shift in mindset, the adoption of new skills, a credible speaker inspires their audience to change in some way. #SpeakerCredibility

Deliver on what you say you will deliver. Credibility is being able to provide actionable content and create an experience or opportunity for the audience to take action in the way that a client/event planner sees a "Win." It doesn't matter how engaging you are as a presenter if you can't deliver on what the solution or message you were booked to deliver on. Do this - go above and beyond expectations - time and time again, and you'll build a strong reputation as a speaker and be someone others won't hesitate to refer or consider.

Timing - Arrive on time and finish on time. Entertaining - This is the entertainment industry, so shine Takeaways - For the audience. Memorable - In a good way

Be a pro. Sadly, most people who say they want to be speakers don’t actually want to be speakers. What they want is to get on a stage and have people clap for them. Building credibility is all about consistency and being able to deliver a great talk to 50 people or 500 people that gets results. That means putting in the hard work during the unseen hours when no one is watching. Pro tip: If you use PowerPoint slides, you’ll quickly find out if you’re a pro or not if the projector breaks and you can’t use it during your talk.

Preparation before talk is important step. For this, collect the important information on the topic we choose to present. Knowledge update is relevant to communications on recent developments in that particular area or topic. Read more about the topic from different sources. Cross check the facts before present to audience. Keep the information, data and figures from reliable sources. It need to be right and important. Prepare the content in precise way to help the audience to grasp easily.

Hay personas que hablan bien público. Y que son capaces de hacer mas liviano un evento mayor. Saben un poco de varios temas. Bien por ellos. Pero no son expertos, son enterteiners. Prefiero conferenciantes con menos labia pero más criterio. De Los que brillan en el turno de preguntas

Practice, practice, practice. Make sure you have relevant examples that will hit home for others and that the information is as practical and realistic as possible. Something too ethereal will fly over people’s heads.

Understanding your purpose as a speaker provides clarity, direction, and motivation, making your presentations impactful and credible. Reflect on your passions, strengths, and goals, aligning them with audience needs. Seek feedback and experiment to refine your purpose. Knowing your purpose ensures consistent messaging, enhances credibility, boosts confidence, and fosters a stronger connection with your audience. It sustains motivation, helps set measurable goals, and directs your efforts towards meaningful impact. This clarity and focus are essential for a successful and fulfilling speaking career.

Purpose comes from the old French Proposer: to propose. It's an ongoing, ever refining journey of what you are proposing to create and change in the world. And from that proposal, that intent, comes your work, your studies, your research, and the stories you tell - each point of which calls out to you and says, "Study me!"

The best way to do this as a professional speaker is to always have a pre-event briefing call to confirm what was discussed when they booked you. - Check what was discussed when they were setting out the event and go over what has changed including themes, attendee number and type, duration of the talk, time of day you are presenting etc. - Go over the outcomes the booker wants again, and clarify what they most want the audience to feel/do afterwards. - Then go back through your presentation and align it with what the client wants you to deliver. - Finally, record a pre-event video to motivate the audience again, and show the client that you are on the right track - this reduces their anxiety and helps you connect with the crowd on the day.

I like to ask myself these question before a talk: - Why do I feel so compelled to speak about this topic and why do I care? - What do I want people to know, feel and do afterwards? When I do this I can clarify and simplify the message and design the content to convey and reinforce it.

Always keep the core message you want to convey and the impact you want to make on your audience at the front of your mind. That way, even if you "screw up"—forget some of your speech, mess up a slide or anything else—you will always be providing value.

Elevating your credibility as a speaker is an art form rooted in authenticity. It starts with self-awareness, manifesting in your language, attire, and even the rhythm of your speech. Your style shouldn't just fit the room—it should elevate it. The audience reads your nonverbal cues as a text of its own—a testament to your confidence and sincerity. Each gaze, gesture, and movement you make writes a line in this unwritten chapter. And your voice? It's the melody that transforms your words into an experience. Use pitch, volume, and pauses as a conductor would use an orchestra, bringing emotional texture to your message. In mastering these elements, you don't just gain credibility; you become unforgettable.

One thing that I don’t, particularly like is people discussing case studies without any real authenticity or discussion of failures, so being vulnerable, and actually telling people about your lessons is key to creating connection and relevance for your audience. We all love to hear the real story behind the curtains.

Self knowledge breeds deep seated confidence which is necessary when you are making a presentation. The world takes you at your own estimate so the more self knowledge you have and are comfortable with who you are, the more impactful your interactions with the audience will be. This is especially required when someone asks you a question you don’t know the answer to- you can confidently state that you don’t know it.

Knowing yourself is essential for delivering effective conference talks. Understanding your strengths, weaknesses, and personal style helps you present more authentically and confidently. It allows you to leverage your unique qualities to connect with the audience and handle any unexpected situations with ease. Self-awareness also aids in refining your message to align with your career goals and values.

Self knowledge is everything! It builds deep seated confidence that enables you to show your worth in every interaction- on and off the stage.

Sticking around after you speak is vital if you really want to build your brand as a credible speaker. I always ask - "What's the one big thing you got out of my presentation?" If they struggle to answer, I have included too much and overwhelmed them. It doesn't matter to me that they only have one action step or takeaway, as long as it's something they find valuable and can use. This is what the client wants - for your presentation to ensure some sort of change or action to be taken. A post-event brief is also vital. This enables you to gather everything you need from your client and to discuss what they liked/didn't like. And opens up opportunity to improve and to get rebooked.

Save time to open yourself for comments and observations after every presentation. A summary is good, but make sure you make yourself available post-event.

Talking with individuals after the event, for me is very important. This way I know who the presentation has impacted and if there is anything I need to change or add.

Be open to all feedback. For example, silence is wonderful feedback because either you've landed a poignant part or a joke has fallen flat. Feedback is everywhere, tune into it's unspoken vibration and become discerning rather than judgmental.

Continous Improvement and learning are process journey for every individual to move for better - take feedback and dont expect all good and open to listen, reflect on feedback, identify pattern, trends and do analysis. Work on improvement, priortize and change for better with right practice and perfection is a journey... enjoy it

I've spent spent over 15 years unraveling the concept of Learning with and for others. As a speaker, I connect with my audience through my own experience. The best way to do this is giving real examples that create a genuine connection between both sides. Using a inspiring storytelling, impactful data, and examples, my goal is to challenge people's beliefs, provide them with a shot of knowledge, and offer practical tips on each topic to ignite a hunger for learning more.

This is something that most professional speakers do not do enough of. Even Beyonce does what professional athletes do - watch every second of their performance back to critique and learn. Post performance video of every stage performance is your strongest learning tool. Watch for waht works, what doesn't, content, stlye. Keep a notebook solely for this purprose. Use that plane time to hone the product.

Todas las profesiones están en constante evolución y un comunicador está obligado a adaptarse al cambio de los tiempos, no sólo a su audiencia. Modos, expresiones y "tempos" deben evolucionar a lo largo de los años. ¿O acaso el mejor juglar de la Edad Media tendría cabida en la sociedad actual? Estamos obligados a mejorar, no solo por nosotros mismos sino en consonancia con los momentos en los que vivimos.

I request honest feedback from audience members and event organizers after every talk. I ask them for their thoughts about how I can improve - for example, where they might have been bored or uninterested, checking their phone, something wasn't clear or they weren't making the connection.

Mastery is a journey, not a destination. The path to credibility is paved with relentless self-improvement. Seek out mentors, devour books, attend workshops—never stop learning, never stop growing. With each speech, strive to outdo your previous self. Celebrate progress, however small, and let it fuel your relentless pursuit of excellence.

All the 7 points mentioned in the article are obviously important to become a credible speaker. In my view, content and delivery are equally important. None of them alone does the trick. For me it all starts with having a clear communication objective: what do you want to achieve, what do you want people to walk away with. I then always develop a storyboard (“relato” in Spanish) that meets the objective and share it with the group in advance. Then, and only then, I go onto the flow of the presentation, which is always designed to match the storyboard.

As a speaker it is important to be able to adapt to the wishes of the purpose of the event or client. It is not about you but what your topic or expertise can contribute to the results they seek for themselves or the audience. Be honest if you or your topic doesn't fit with that. Otherwise you lose important credits as a speaker.

Get training! These days, everyone believes that they must speak on platforms to improve their personal brands. It can make or break your brand if you don't know what you're doing, and believe me, it's more obvious than you think. There are plenty or speaker coaches and media trainers out there (I use to be one) who can show you how to deliver a message, and my best advice is to hire someone so that you can do it right. Also consider that speaking may not be for you. It's ok.

For me a great speaker shows who they are as a person - not just about authenticity but they are brave enough to show fault, opinion, compassion and their very own take on what they are speaking about. They apply the 'why them, why now' principle to what they are telling the audience. And they are 'human' including humour and honesty where appropriate and instead of trying to be the perfect human, just try to be the perfect speaker. And for goodness sake, if you are in an management or leadership role and can't speak in public, get help. It's not good enough to warble through something and hope we get your point-we wont!

Being a credible speaker it not about having one of the above 6 elements, but having them all combined. Then sprinkled with a huge dose of inspirational energy. You dont want to be the speaker that blends. You want to be the speaker that inspires individuals who do not have the same clarity as you on a topic. Encourage them to be great. Show them you can come from nothing to something. Bring your full you, not the show person but the person you are. Be authentic about where you have come from. Share as much as yourself, as you are comfortable with. Take them on a journey. But most importantly don't preachy to them... this leaves a bad taste.