Any speech or talk will be more convincing and professional if the speaker sounds conversational rather putting on an artificial performance.  That should be reserved for theatre acting.

This requires practice and preparation. Being conversational does not mean that the speaker stands in front of an audience and flies by the seat of their pants, impromptu style.

So, what helps a speaker sound conversational?

Firstly know the topic very well. It helps that the speaker feels passionate about the topic or has researched it very well such that they feel comfortable discussing it.

They have freed themselves from the notion that they have to be word-perfect as what is in their notes. No one will know if they have left something out, and if they are well researched and prepared then being word-perfect does not matter does it?

They are authentic (see yesterday’s topic Be Yourself).

Even a professional speech can be more effective if it sounds conversational.

Now a lot of people are curious about how to become a TED style speaker. I came across the interesting infographic below which shows the differences between a professional speech and a TED Talk. All of the Lessons from Behind the Lectern apply to either type of speech or talk.

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Come back for tomorrow’s Lesson from Behind the Lectern – D is for Dressing Appropriately for your Talk.

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This post is part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Twitter hashtag is #AtoZChallenge and Twitter id is @AprilA2Z