How to Improve Your Public Speaking Skills

Overview

What Is the “Speak-to-Sell” Method?

The “speak-to-sell” method of communicating refers to the ability to persuade and influence your audience. It is also the manner of establishing authority by way of public speaking and communication for the purpose of promoting your products, business and services.

This method is useful for a variety of purposes particularly in grabbing the full attention of your listeners and to convince them about your causes and practices.

Your primary goal for using the “speak-to-sell” method is to present yourself as someone who has the credibility to talk about the subject and to trigger a positive response from your audience.

Therefore, it is crucial for you to make logical explanations and rational interpretations to make your speech convincing and plausible.

“Speak-to-sell” is the art of convincing and influencing people.

Hello, readers and visitors! Welcome to BobBakerMarionettes.com!

My name is Bob Baker and I’m a motivational speaker, events host and salesman all rolled into one. People assume that I’m a jack of all trades but I just consider myself privileged for having multiple opportunities to showcase my abilities.

I make a living by talking in front of an audience. I get invited for speaking engagements, I host parties and events, and I market a handful of products as well.

Basically, public speaking is my “bread and butter” and I consider it as my profession. It’s how I sustain myself, my career and all other aspects of my life.

Learning the Art of Public Speaking through Entertainment

If you think that public speaking had always been easy for me or that I’m a natural, you’re having the wrong impression. I grew up as a shy, awkward and skinny boy in Miami with quite a lot of insecurities.

As a teenager, I was uncertain about my career path because I couldn’t find my passion. Scoring a date was even more a struggle.

Until one day, I saw my best friend’s younger brother working on a school project. It was a puppet with strings attached to it coming from a cross-bar above from where its movements can be controlled. It’s called a marionette. And for some reason, I actually enjoyed playing with it.

A marionette refers to a puppet and my interest in puppets is what led me to public speaking and entertaining people.

 I was able to come up with a catchy script on the spot while controlling its hilarious movements. That’s when I learned that I’m a natural puppeteer and that I can actually be a marionettist.

I mastered the skill and was able to score some gigs on children’s parties as a puppeteer. By controlling a marionette, I was able to communicate my thoughts, talk to a large audience, crack humorous jokes and come up with interesting storylines.

People actually started watching my puppet shows.

I was able to develop my confidence. I discovered my ability to entertain and capture people’s attention. More importantly, I was able to enhance my creativity with words and the whole experience was a major boost to my self esteem.

And the rest is history as the cliché goes.

Being marionettist has opened doors for me to public speaking and events organizing. I realized that I had a way with words and people.

From Public Speaking to “Speak-to-Sell” as a Profession

Being a marionettist opened doors for me to become an events host which eventually led me to start my own events styling and organizing company.

A lot of opportunities opened up for me. When I was a marionettist, people just stared at my puppets and listened to my voice. But when I started hosting, all eyes and ears were focused on me. It was euphoric and it gave me a different kind of high.

Soon enough, I started selling our company’s products and services. I sent out proposals for product presentations and executed everything.

Before I even knew it, I became a speaker for various small business and franchise conventions and started facilitating sales and business symposium as well.

I knew that I was in the right direction because my business was doing so well and more clients were coming in.

It felt like I wasn’t just selling my products and services to my audience. I was actually selling myself as well including my “methods” and personal experiences. And in a lot of way, I was influencing a lot of people.

I started my venture of organizing events and parties and I hosted them all. Over time, my hosting abilities paved the way for bigger opportunities.

How to Attract Women

So here’s the situation, I was able to overcome my insecurities, found a career path and my business was doing well. I’m enjoying a good life and earning a decent income. I talk about life, business, money and goals. Now all that’s missing on my list is the romantic element.

If you think that “speak-to-sell” is just for sales, marketing and promotions, try to look back at its meaning. “Speak-to-sell” is the act of convincing, persuading and influencing the person you’re talking to.

Needless to say, the same method that you use to sell your product is also the same method that you can use to win a woman’s heart.

The art of convincing people doesn’t only work in entertainment, business and sales. It can also be used to win the attention of women.

When you’re selling a product, you’re trying to convince your audience about its features and benefits. To win them over, you must present a deal that is hard to resist.

The same principle applies to women. If you want to win her love and attention, you must give her an irresistible offer – something that will keep her up all night and something that’s impossible for her to forget. In short, you must find her weakness and attack from there.

How to Practice the Skill of Convincing Women

I believe that the principles I use to convince my audience applies perfectly to romance and dating.

Winning over the trust and interest of people is similar to a business transaction. We come up with terms and conditions in an attempt to sell ourselves.

Our pitches depend on how confident we feel or how desirable the woman is. And sometimes, we act like the “buyer” who’s in charge of evaluating if this person is really worth our time and effort.

And we condition our minds with the goal; “I have to get her to want me!” or “I have to score a date with her”.

If you feel that your convincing powers need work, here are some ways you could practice;

Phone Dating

The whole concept of phone dating revolves around talking to a person on the other line and convincing that person that “hey, you may not know how I look like but I’m worthy of your time.”

You must sound attractive and irresistible for the communication to get to somewhere more interesting.

It all depends on how you speak and how you sell yourself and your interests to the person on the other line. If you want to practice talking to women without revealing yourself, see how far your abilities can take you by calling the free chat lines available at the chatlinenumbers.

Phone dating can help you assess how your communication skills fares to other people particularly to women.

Read Books

Knowledge is power and we can all agree with that. Smart people have a certain aura that accounts for their confidence, sense of authority and appeal.

So don’t just go out of your way and start talking. That could potentially turn people off. Instead, base your opinions, spiels and speeches on actual knowledge.

Reading books can help you gain knowledge and strategies in convincing people. It can prevent you from making false statements and from delivering empty words.

Read books that feed your interest and line of work. Be more insightful about topics that are in line with your work. Be an authority of the subject.

Look at it this way, you may not be the most good-looking guy in the room but if you’re smart, confident and articulate, it could all add up to your appeal and general aura.

And we know for a fact that good women like men with substance. So as you see, it’s not just all about the looks. Being smart can also be sexy.

Talk to Professionals

To present yourself as a pro, you must learn how to act like one. Try to get in conversations with professionals particularly those whose line of work is convincing people.

In my case, I learned some negotiating skills through a Miami public adjuster who was working on my property insurance claim. People in this field have a way with words. Their objective is to convince and negotiate with insurance providers from a winning standpoint.

This strategy is important if you want to achieve a specific goal when talking to people.

Get into the habit of talking to professionals. This can boost your confidence and it can make you become a versatile speaker.

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Be fearless and start exploring communication methods that go beyond your comfort zone. This can help boost your confidence when dealing with people and allows you to develop a sense of authority.

Examples; during meetings, voice out your opinions. In functions or events, take the opportunity to speak in front of the guests like leading a toast. Talk to attractive women and initiate conversations.

If you feel that you’re not ready yet, practice talking in front of the mirror or call the adult lines and talk to strangers. Explore topics you’re comfortable with and work on being a spontaneous speaker.

Chat lines feature hundreds of singles that are under various fields of interest and are calling for different purposes. Find one that matches your criteria for a more meaningful experience.

Meeting new people and talking to strangers can help you improve your communication skills and ability to convince others.

How to Become a Good Speaker

For most of my childhood and teenage years, I was uncomfortable about the idea of speaking in public. It was the most terrifying thing I could imagine. However, an opportunity came up that opened a lot of doors for me.

I owe it all to my first marionette because that’s how it all started. I overcame my fears without even realizing it. After that, I knew I wanted more. So I asked myself; “how can I become a public speaker who can actually convince and inspire others?

There are already many resources that can reveal to you secrets of effective communication. So from a personal point of view, I want to impart with you what I have learned based on my own experiences.

1. Don’t Pretend

Be yourself and never pretend to be anyone or anything you’re not. Honesty is still the best way to convince people and to win them over.

2. Be Sincere

Treating ourselves and other people as commodities makes communicating and dating stressful. It steals away the fun elements.

So why not see the situation for what it is. If you’re promoting your business, just state the facts. If you’re on a date, consider it as a meeting of two people who are trying to find chemistry on each other.

Instead of trying hard to impress or getting the upper hand, just treat the other person or your date with sincerity, kindness and respect.

Be sincere when dealing with people. It’s not enough to know the right words to say at the right time. Treating people with kindness and respect can boost your credibility as a person.

3. Work on Your Sense of Humor

Nothing could be more appealing than having a good sense of humor. I can offer you four tips on how to work on this. First, timing is everything. Second, don’t make offensive remarks. Third, don’t try too hard. And fourth, make some sense out of it.

Remember, being funny is different from having a good sense of humor. If you’re funny, it refers to the ability to crack jokes and interpret hilarity. While having sense of humor refers to wit and appreciation for the funny side of things.

4. Be Sensitive

Don’t just try to convince your audience or listener. Be sensitive about their reactions and concerns as well. In your attempt to “speak-to-sell”, never lose sight of people’s feelings.

Instead of talking non-stop and executing your speech, make certain adjustments to accommodate your audience/listener’s reactions. Be receptive and sensitive about their wants and needs and you’ll find more rewards in what you’re doing.

5. Don’t Be Pushy

Whether you’re selling a product or trying to win over a woman’s affection, never be pushy. Just be honest and sincere and everything would fall into place.

Focus on your best intentions, state the facts and offer something that is tempting and desirable. From there, allow things to take their own course.

Don’t be pushy. Instead, establish factual information and base your statements on actual evidences. Prove to your listeners that what you have to offer is worthy of their time and attention.

6. “Walk the Talk” and Practice What You Preach

My goal in business is to make my clients happy and satisfied with my team’s professionalism and efficiency. This enables me to become more results-oriented rather than just sounding convincing.

Remember, talking can be useless without actions and evidences. It’s also easy to put down the words but making them happen is a different story.

So learn how to take action and full responsibility for every word you say.