How do you maintain energy and enthusiasm throughout your speech?

Maintaining energy and enthusiasm throughout your speech hinges on thorough preparation and engaging delivery techniques. Research your topic extensively and organize your content logically. Practice your delivery, focusing on projecting confidence and enthusiasm. Use dynamic gestures, vocal variety, and movement to keep the audience engaged. Anticipate questions and objections, preparing confident responses. For example, in a speech on environmental conservation, research recent studies or success stories to include and deliver them with passion. Thorough preparation and engaging delivery ensure energy and enthusiasm resonate with your audience.

The key to maintaining energy and enthusiasm throughout your speech is by being thoroughly prepared. Here are a few points I tell all my clients: - make your speech your own- phrase it in your words without losing the core message. Do not learn by rote and work on internalising the flow. It makes all the difference between a robotic delivery and a delivery with the right tonality and feeling. - Practice as much as you can... In front of a mirror or as you walk up and down the house. Record yourself over a few days and play it back to see improvement. - Gather a small group of peers/family/friends and deliver your speech to them like they are your live audience. Take feedback and incorporate it. - Lastly focus on enjoying the process.

Being deeply familiar with your content is key. Know your topic inside and out so that discussing it comes naturally. This confidence in your knowledge allows you to focus on the delivery and maintain enthusiasm, as you’re not struggling to remember or understand the material during the speech. Rehearse your speech multiple times. This includes practicing your timing, transitions, and the use of any visual aids. The more you practice, the more comfortable and confident you will feel. Confidence is directly linked to your energy levels; when you feel confident, your energy and enthusiasm are naturally higher.

The confidence you have when you know your topic inside out, but are still open to learning new perspectives, is the sweet spot.

One thing I’ve found helpful is beginning with a question and allowing the audience to rapid fire share. This helps in building a rapport, as well as better understanding my audience.

Prior to a talk, I like to informally visit with a few attendees. Often times bits of those conversations can be used in the presentation: "Right before our session, I was speaking with Bob about issue XYZ ..." With a smaller audience, I like to walk amongst the attendees, which allows me to directly asks questions. With a larger audience where you are on a raised stage, simply asking folks to raise their hand can help engage them.

Knowing it’s an honor being asked to speak on behalf of your company or a topic - remember it’s you that gets to tell the story in way that connects for your audience. Deliver for the audience and tap into your passion for what it is you are speaking about. The authenticity will ooze out and connect! Remember to read the audience/room. If the style or delivery you are using isn’t connecting pivot and result to other methods to connect - real life stories, history lessons, and relevant events that may be occurring in their lives or workplace. Keep it simple and have fun!

Begin your speech with a powerful opening that grabs attention immediately. This could be an intriguing question, a surprising statistic, an anecdote, or a compelling visual. A strong start sets the tone and generates initial interest. Make your speech relatable by connecting the content to the audience's needs, interests, or experiences. Use "you" statements to speak directly to them, and incorporate examples or scenarios that resonate with their context. Incorporate interactive elements into your presentation. Ask questions, encourage audience participation, or use live polls if technology permits. Interaction keeps the audience alert and involved, and their responses can provide you with energy boosts.

Know your audience! The same speech delivered to two different groups may need you to take a different approach. If the group is a serious one, perhaps an ice breaker question will help. If it’s a fun group that you know will be easygoing, a joke may work. Be comfortable, knowledgeable and well-rehearsed so you can be engaging with your audience vs preaching to them.

Energy is fueled by what you put in your body and put forth with your personality. Nourish your body & attitude 3 ways: 1. Hydrate! Water lubricates and improves your voice quality. It also helps you rid body waste so you feel lighter 😊 2. Look energetic! Add a bright color accessory, don a tailored jacket (avoid shapeless/out of style wardrobe unless making a point), and the best natural energy booster? A good night sleep or a power nap. 3. Enthusiasm is usually measured in comparison with other speakers, especially on a panel. Some panelists wow while speaking but dim when others speak! Looking down at your phone or gazing elsewhere make you look tired/bored in photos (or can't keep up); and panels are the most photographed event format!

Some people can be experts in their subject but awful public speakers. You need some really honest feedback on your delivery and style, some things you can change, but some you may not be able to. Thems the breaks.

Sameness is the death of a speaker. You vary your voice when speaking conversationally so do it with your prepared remarks too. You will connect better to your audience and their response to this connection will feed you energy.

When speaking about a topic that matters deeply to you, it's essential to reconnect with your own passion. This can make you more engaging and impactful. Here’s how to harness that passion: Reconnect with why the topic excites you—positive change, inspiration, or personal experiences. Share personal stories to illustrate relevance and genuine investment. Highlight why the topic matters and share the impact possible when they get it right. Then, pay attention to your audience’s reactions. Positive feedback, such as nods, smiles, and attentive expressions demonstrate your message is resonating. Finally, use expressive body language—laugh, sigh, infuse emotion. Your enthusiasm can inspire, making your message memorable and impactful.

I love getting questions I don't know the answer too, I even encourage people to try and do so. It brings me new things to learn or research and is a great way to build interaction for another talk to update, or emails for me to send the answer to when I have it.

When speaking, it’s 95% preparation and 5% presentation. Practice. Practice. Practice. Train your body - physically and mentally. (Speaking for even a short period of time often burns as many calories as someone who has a physical labor job!) Visualize the whole thing beforehand. Move while on stage. Voice inflection and vary volume to emphasize various points. Know your opening - make it powerful. Know your closing - leave them wanting more of you! And if there’s a Q&A period, make sure you don’t end there. Have a wrap up to reinforce YOUR points rather than questions that may have ventured off the path of where you were taking the audience.

Stick to what you know. I ONLY talk about the topics I know forwards and backwards and six ways from Sunday. The more confident you are in your subject matter, the more enthusiastic you will be to share it with others. After all, if it's not fun for you to present, it won't be fun for the audience to hear. Make sure you are passionate about what you are sharing, or find another topics you are.

Take pauses. Pace your speech. Tell a story to transition. Ask the audience a question. Walk across the stage to create movement and give my voice a break.

One thing I've found helpful was getting proper rest. Eating proper food that will fuel my body energy. I'm already enthusiastic about the opportunity to speak while pacing myself and provide the energy when it comes to the main points or passion of the topic.

I try to remain in tune with the energetic feedback I’m getting from the audience. Audience and speaker are in a dance. While as speaker you lead, paying attention to cues helps to understand when or even how to pivot. This works even with large audiences because energy needs no words. You feel energy, so make sure you remain in touch by looking at your crowd and not your notes (as much as possible). You have to trust yourself, your content, your delivery, & the process. Be flexible with talking points if needed. Humor is always helpful. Inserting stories is also a win. Everyone loves to lean into a good story so make it interesting. Virtual speeches can be easier or more challenging depending on your personal comfort level.