Sunday, December 19, 2021
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”
– Albert Einstein
As I reflected on this year of 2021, I thought of some of the biblical stories concerning Christmas. The one most prominent in my mind is the story of the three wise men bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Other stories from different religions are just as apropos as the three wise men.
You may not realize it, but you are a speaker bearing gifts every time you speak in front of your audience.
The three gifts that come to my mind you are bearing are faith, hope, and charity
A Speaker Bearing the Gift of Faith
There is a lyric from one of my favorite hymns. It goes like this, “We walk by faith and not by sight.”
Isn’t that what faith is. You have faith when there is no outward sign to have faith.
Have faith in yourself. Have faith your presentation will move your audience, get your audience to think about what you are talking about, and get your audience to believe they can overcome their challenges.
This brings us to a good point about speaking. Whatever you want your audience to feel during and after your presentation must first be felt by you and then demonstrated throughout your presentation delivery.
You should exude faith during your presentation. You should give your audience permission to gain faith throughout your presentation. Finally, you should give your audience a call to action at the end of your presentation to make what you say more effective for them after it is over.
So faith is a gift of your presentation. The second gift from you to your audience is hope.
A Speaker Bearing the Gift of Hope
Make your presentations hopeful. You never know what people in your audience need hope at this point in their lives.
So how do you give hope? Well, let’s think about what is the opposite of hope. I believe it is despair. Your audience feels despair when they believe that they will not overcome their present challenge in life no matter what they do.
It’s impossible to know your audience’s life challenges when you speak to them. However, one thing is clear. Your presentation can go a long way in giving them hope.
It was Henry Ford that said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right,” Your mind and your audience’s minds are designed to believe your self-talk. These are the thousands of messages you and your audience tell themselves every day.
The positive or negative messages you tell yourself are believed by your subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind then goes immediately to work to make these messages, positive or negative, a reality in your life.
Hope can only take hold in your audience’s mind if they tell themselves positive messages. So start to weave this concept into your presentations. Your audiences will feel better about themselves after your presentation.
So faith and hope are gifts from your presentation. The third gift from you to your audience is charity.
A Speaker Bearing the Gift of Charity
When you deliver your presentation to your audience, you give yourself without expecting anything in return. In other words, you are bearing the gift of charity for your audience.
When you want to give someone a gift at this time of year, you usually find something the person wants.
It is the same with your audience. To give your audience charity, you need to know something about them. One way to do this is to talk to the event planner before the event. Ask what the audience is looking for in your presentation and what they need to learn from it. They may be two very different things.
A second great way to give charity to your audience is to greet them at the door when they come in and ask them questions like “What do you hope to get out of my presentation?” and “What made you come to my presentation?” You can also do this in the virtual world. The only difference is everyone hears your conversation, which is not a bad thing.
A third great way to provide the charity your audience needs is to accept questions during your presentation either verbally or in the chatbox if you are presenting virtually. Audience questions during your presentation provide you vital clues as to what the audience understood, what they would like you to address further, or what related area they would like you to address.
So, in a nutshell, providing charity to your audience always has more impact if you know what they would consider charity to them.
Remember, a speaker bears the gifts of their speaking in the form of faith, hope, and charity!
Call to Action
Give the gift of faith to your audience – instill in your audience what Henry Ford said: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right,”
Give the gift of hope to your audience – make your delivery positive and uplifting
Give the gift of charity to your audience – find out what your audience wants to and needs to hear to give the most charity to them
“Seeds of faith are always within us; sometimes it takes a crisis to nourish and encourage their growth.”
– Susan L Taylor
_____________________________ Frank formed DiBartolomeo Consulting International (DCI), LLC (www.speakleadandsucceed.com) in 2007. The mission of DCI is to help technical professionals to inspire, motivate, and influence their colleagues and other technical professionals through improving their presentation skills, communication, and personal presence. Frank can be reached at frank@speakleadandsucceed.com and (703) 509-4424.
Don’t miss Frank DiBartolomeo’s latest book!
“Speak Well and Prosper: Tips, Tools, and Techniques for Better Presentations”
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