With public speaking it’s important that speakers know their topic thoroughly.
Speakers need to be able to entertain. As I have said previously, there is nothing worse than being in the audience of a boring speaker. Avoid this at all costs. Avoid being in the audience where there is a boring speaker and most importantly avoid being a boring speaker.
Speakers need to be able to sell what it is they’re speaking about. This can range from information about modern art, or about sculpture for example.
You need to understand that when you are standing in front of an audience delivering a lecture, making a public speaking engagement, you are selling whatever it is you’re speaking about. You don’t want people to get up and walk out after five minutes, so bearing that in mind, you want them to buy what it is that you are selling or talking about.
Speakers need to provide support for their audience. They also need to deliver on the promises that they give in their lecture.
I find one of the best things that help me sell my lectures is my visuals. I always begin my talks with engaging image, usually an image of one of my own artworks, which relates to the subject of the talk. This immediately helps to sell the lecture. It probably sounds a bit strange talking about selling your talk, but really this is what it’s all about with public speaking.
You don’t want people to walk out or to start talking amongst themselves while you are delivering a lecture. As visual artists, we are very fortunate that we can have visual aids such as images of our own work to support what it is we say, so without going overboard I make the most of it by choosing a selection of works which really support things that I’m talking about in my lecture.
