3 Ways to Mic Drop Your Next Talk (Even If You’re a Newbie Speaker)

I used to get these insane nerves every time I took the stage. They’d start as a light flutter and the closer I got to getting on stage the more the flutters felt like bats taking over my stomach.

As nervous as I was at the start of every presentation, by the end I’d leave the stage feeling like I was an all powerful speaking Ninja able to take on even the largest of stages.

These days I never think twice about accepting a speaking opportunity and I don’t have a single fear about stepping on the stage in front of 100 entrepreneurs for my Talk & Profit LIVE event this fall. To me I just look at it as a great way to gather incredible business owners in one space to help them grow their business.

I treat every presentation, whether it’s a workshop, 3 day event, webinar, interview or live talk as an opportunity to drop the mic. Meaning, it’s not just that your audience feels like they want your offer but they are 100% wowed by you (whether they buy from you or not).

You see, I believe that our mission as entrepreneurs is to go out and create transformations with what we know and do and I think the best way to get others to see that is by delivering a presentation that will showcase it.

So how do you do that, even if you’re a new speaker (or maybe are anxious about speaking to begin with)?Here are a few of my favorite ways to have mic drop a presentation.

Share Your Brilliance

There’s a big difference between a canned presentation and one that comes from your heart. For years I delivered sales presentations about health insurance and even though I did my best to make them sound really good, there wasn’t anything too sexy about what I was saying.

Once I started talking about my passion and the system I created to grow my business with my signature talk, webinars and workshops I was not only able to talk about something I was really passionate about but I was able to talk about something I know really well. I became an instant authority and could step out and speak with the utmost confidence.

When you speak about what you know, you never need notes and you too can become an instant authority on your topic.

Move…(as in own that stage)

Rarely will you ever see me stand still on stage. First of all it’s painful for your audience to not see you move but secondly, you need to capture the attention of the room. The best way to do that is to keep them focused on you and let them “be” with you through the experience. Movement does just that. 

The way I like to do it is to start in the center of the stage and then move to the right. Move back to center. Then to the left and back to center again essentially while creating a rhythm to both my walk and talk.

Another thing I do is when I’m making an important point I’ll slow my pace down and ground myself until I finish making the point. Then I move again.

Let Go Of Caring What Other People Think

Now this one’s harder than you think but the sooner you let go of what your audience thinks the sooner you’ll give presentations that will create standing ovations and an audience rush.

Don’t get me wrong, you want them to like you. But not everyone always will.

For years I worried about saying the wrong thing. That my ideas weren’t innovative. That I wasn’t smart enough or unique enough. But the truth is, not everyone knows what I know. In a presentation it’s my opportunity to showcase that.

So what if they’ve heard some of what you’ve said before. So what if they don’t relate to you. Your job is to share what you know and to relate to the people who most want to step up and work with you. You’re never going to please everyone but you do want to reserve yourself for just the write people. When you speak from the heart and share your message, the right people will love you. That’s what counts.

That’s the formula…share your brilliance, work the stage (give them a performance) and stop stressing about what they’re going to say about you. The sooner you drop the latter, the sooner you’ll relax and get into your zone.

Let’s hear from you. Where are you on the mic drop speaking scale? Feel like your talks are mic droppers or do you still have a long way to go before you’re totally commanding the stage. Let me know in the comments below.

And if you’d like to learn how to develop a mic dropping talk, join me for Talk & Profit LIVE! this October. Click here to reserve one of the Early Bird seats.