Here’s One Surefire Way To Become A Better Speaker, Faster

“Do you want to become a better speaker? Become a better evaluator.”

~ Lance Miller, World Champion Of Public Speaking

Early in my speaking career, I was struggling to improve my influence with audiences. I rehearsed, reviewed evaluations, rewrote my talks, and repeated the process.

I made progress, but it felt too slow for me.

But then, at a speaking conference, I met Lance Miller. I explained my challenge. He gave me one of the most impactful pieces of speaking advice I’ve received:

“Do you want to become a better speaker? Become a better evaluator.”

That response caught me off guard, but when I asked him how that could help me, his reply made sense:

“When you evaluate other speeches, you’ll see parts of speaking you do well, and those where you need to improve.”

I was skeptical, but, I respect Lance, so I committed to evaluating more speeches.

In a few months, I benefited from this exercise. I gained a new perspective on excellent writing and delivery of other presentations. I also saw areas where speakers could improve.

Within a year, my evaluations became more concise. The more selfish benefit was that I saw my speeches in a new light. The strengths and weaknesses were more obvious. It was easier to quickly improve them.

The Greater Benefit

The impact of my presentations improved because of these evaluation exercises.

What I didn’t expect was the improvement in my other communication skills.

To be an effective evaluator, I had to become a better listener. The logic and emotion of the ‘script.’  Also, the tone of voice, nuances, and nonverbal cues speakers were communicating.

These skills carried over into my selling, training, and interpersonal relationships. Eventually, people would comment, “We like to work with you, because you’re such a good listener.” Or, “You’re easy to talk with because you listen to me.”

That was surprising. By then, I had several ex-girlfriends who would’ve disagreed with that sentiment.

Because of these skills, I developed deeper empathy for others. I better understood the emotion behind what they said. Whether it was a speech, sales presentation, or one-to-one conversation, my intuition improved. These are key skills people crave from their leaders today.

The best part of this experience is that there’s nothing special about my experience. I was looking for a way to become a better speaker. I stumbled on a skill that helped me become a more effective communicator. I become more influential as a speaker, trainer, and leader – through listening.

If you’re in a leadership position, time is a precious commodity. How much time have you lost due to miscommunication and misunderstanding?

Do you want to increase the impact of your communication so that you save time and energy?

Invest a small amount of time. Evaluate other peoples’ speeches, sales presentations, or written communication.

If you want to become a more effective communicator, evaluate others. You’ll love the benefits.

Evaluating the Delivery of Your Own Speech is Difficult. Why Do It Alone?

A big challenge to improving your speech delivery is the difficulty in evaluating ourselves. We are each blind to our strengths and weaknesses.

The best speakers use coaches to help them unlock their best and most authentic delivery style.

If you’d like to talk with Michael about how to deliver your speeches in the most effective manner, schedule  your no-cost & no-obligation ZOOM call with him: https://calendly.com/speaker017/15-minute-call