Leadership Speaker Traits
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
– John Quincy Adams
1.Integrity
We learned about honesty and integrity – that the truth matters… that you don’t take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules… and success doesn’t count unless you earn it fair and square – Michelle Obama
One of the traits of a good leadership speaker is achieving integrity. Speakers need to gain the trust of their audience to influence people. Being moral and honest is the key component here. A good leadership speaker should make their speeches and presentations rise above the ordinary level to make the level of honesty meet the integrity level. Audiences will be willing to change only for a speaker who shows that he or she walks the walk.
2.Credibility.
When you meet with someone and you try to assess whether they’re telling you the truth or not, there are several things you can do. You judge demeanour and credibility. You look at corroboration- John Kennedy
Leadership speakers should always demonstrate and represent their experience, expertise or sheer passion for your topic. Whatever the topic on the agenda, your audience have the right to ask themselves – “Why should I listen to this person?”. The speaker should never forget to mention the credentials that are testifying your ability to speak, your level of confidence increases credibility in front of your listeners. And as we say the first impression is the last, the first 60 seconds of your presentation should be the one to grab the attention of your listeners, once your audience knows that you know what you are talking about, you automatically gain their trust and they will listen and relax.
3. Audience-Centred.
“We all have a life story and a message that can inspire others to live a better life or run a better business. Why not use that story and message to serve others and grow a real business doing it?” – Brendon Burchard
For a leadership speaker how much impact they have on their audience is something important for their success as a speaker. For a leadership speaker looking good comes secondary, to be influential and effective through their speeches to their audience is what success is for them. How does a leadership speaker be Audience-Centered, well there is only one word for it that is practice.
From the moment you start your presentation to the last word of delivering it to your audience the gesture should make an effective impact on your listeners. Practise your presentation keeping in mind your audience’s thoughts relating to who they are and how will they respond to your speech. Looking at them eye to eye with confidence and a vital connection with your audience is important during the speech.
4.Authenticity.
Authentic leadership is revealed in the alignment of what you think, what you say, and what you do. – Michael Holland.
Wellbeing confident and being yourself is what every leadership speaker should be, showing your true self to your audience while delivering the speech will allow your audience to gain more trust in you. Leadership speakers should not memorize the speeches, because that could cause you to fumble or make you nervous. Being yourself and being authentic during your speeches is important for a leadership speaker.
5.Empathy.
“Leadership is about empathy. It is about having the ability to relate to and connect with people to inspire and empower their lives.” Oprah Winfrey.
People perceive Leadership speakers as larger than life. Of course, great speakers project power and lead their audience to greater things, but one can only do when they can understand their listeners. Speakers praise their followers in public and address problems in private. The best leadership speaker guides their audience through challenges, lookout for solutions and motivate them to become their better self and focus on moving forward for better growth.
6.Dynamic.
‘Achieving vision requires motivating and inspiring – keeping people in the right direction’ – Tom Flick
To keep your audience interested, engaged and on their seat till last is an important aspect for a leadership speaker. One should know how to engage their audience through their topic and gesture. No matter how important your topic is, how you project it in front of your listeners is important. Leadership speakers are dynamic in the context of altering their voice from higher to lower pitch, taking a pause, changing movements for variety, accentuation and energy. Converting your audience as your follower is an important task by being a dynamic speaker.
7.Good communicator.
‘Great leaders communicate and great communicators lead.’ – Simon Sinek
Leadership speakers’ one of the traits to engage their audience should be communication, they should be great communicators. Speakers should be clear, direct, simple and use a universal language to convey a clear message to the listeners through their speech. Communicating with your audiences to make them follow you is important as a leadership speaker.
8.Life-long learner .
‘Continous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field’- Brian Tracy
Being a life-long learner as a leadership speaker could help you guide yourself and your audience with every new challenge and provide you with constructive solutions. Learning is important every day for everyone, especially for a speaker who is delivering a speech in front of their audience and have to give a variety of examples and experiences to explain to their audience what the speaker is trying to say.
9.Goodwill
“Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.” – D. H. Lawrence
In the era of the world going digital, a lot of speakers are more concerned about followers on social media and tweets rather than their own audience. Leadership speaker should be more considerate about their own audience’s interests. This is the goodwill built by the leadership speaker which is one of the most important traits of all, for a speaker their audience,followers and listeners are their goodwill.
