Speaking to a Faith-Based Group

Yesterday, I was in Nashville Tennessee speaking to the CEO Academy, a faith-based group.

Beforehand, I must admit that I was nervous. I knew that the audience was going to be 300+ people and range in age from 7-70. I knew that it would include:

• Grade-, Middle-, and High School students.
  
• Parents of those students.
  
• Local business people.
  
• Local council members.

To cut the end, it was, perhaps, my best speaking engagement ever! I felt that I did pretty well and also many people stood up after I spoke (side note: I think I should have waited at the podium for the few to turn into a full standing ovation, but that's beside the point). There are a lot of speaking techniques that one can do that I'm learning from incredible speakers such as Jason Dorsey and Michael Fortino. But at a key level, I think practice and willingness to make each talk a little better and a little more out of your comfort zone are very important.

Also, a practice that I've always followed before each talk is meditating, praying, and visualizing for about 2-3 hours. In the end, when you're up on stage and you're not using any notes, you're essentially doing improv and going with the flow of thoughts and audience reactions. This is similar to any conversation you have during the day. I know that preparing can help some, but I think one has to surrender control and pray/hope that the words and feelings that come up will be those that have the maximum, positive impact on the audience.