When you listen to exceptional speakers, or watch masterful performers of any kind, what do you remember? The beauty of their words? The power of their ideas? The depth of their talent? No doubt. And all of that will leave you with a feeling that will, in some way, inspire you. That’s the bottom line.

Captivating your audience means bringing them into your colorful world of experience so they can learn from you. You can do that by using the tools those who’ve mastered the stage know how to use – creative expression and emotional engagement techniques.

Some would say this isn’t necessary for your everyday presentation. Au contraire! Whenever you have a chance to impact someone, you will be much more effective if you create a world they can imagine for themselves, and that means bringing it to life through your emotions and body language.

As someone who has used these techniques on stages throughout the world and seen the way they can delight and enthrall an audience, it is with great joy I share them with you. You are unique and will bring your own signature to these ideas.

  1. Find your truth in your words and communicate from that truth. Resist parroting words you’ve heard from others without first doing the truth test for yourself. Your “telling” then becomes natural, creating trust, engagement and believability.
  2. Speak with your audience as if you’re having a conversation with your best friend over coffee, then amplify it.
  3. Share what you’re feeling through your nonverbal expressions — when you feel, your audience feels. Give us a peek behind the curtain.
  4. Live your experience. Tell your story from the “first person, present time” perspective. Put yourself mentally and emotionally back into that experience and speak from that place.
  5. Reveal your “back story” through your body language, facial expressions and tone of voice. Let your body do the talking.
  6. Get comfortable with silence. Pause between thoughts. Take your time. This creates poignancy and gives your audience the chance to reflect.
  7. Make eye contact with the individuals in your audience. Shift your gaze purposefully from one person to another. Allow your eyes to stay with one person for several moments.
  8. Be willing to go “big” when called for, using exaggerated gestures and physical movements. Use your space.
  9. Eliminate adversarial or jargon words, unless you are doing so on purpose.
  10. Start at the “top of the scene.” In other words, don’t warm up in front of your audience. Be ready to go before you step on stage.
  11. Exhibit your special talents. Do you sing? Juggle? Play an instrument? Incorporate them into your presentation to bring forth your signature presence and wow your audience!
  12. Take risks, and when you do, commit! You can’t go halfway. If you’re going to tell that story, tell it with confidence!

Most importantly, have fun! Use these ideas to invite your audience to play with you. People love to be engaged and they will take their cues from you. Give them permission through your example.

Most importantly, remember what Maya Angelou once said: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Use your creative expression and emotional engagement techniques to invite them into your world. I’d love to support you! Please contact me at Andrea@AndreaBeaulieu.com