Do you have an idea that is worth spreading? Have you become so passionate about it that you have decided to make things happen and start your very own podcast? For some of us, this sounds easier said than done. Whether you are new to speaking or have been doing it for years, there is always the question of, “Is my message being heard?” You can be speaking until you’re blue in the face, but if you haven’t caught the attention of your audience and infected them with the same passion for your idea as you have then your effort may be futile.
To be a great podcaster and really spread your message to help others around the world, it all comes down to, yes you guessed it, how you communicate! You may not think this has anything to do with public speaking, but in fact, the root of it all is exactly that. Every episode of your podcast goes out to your listeners who tune in to hear what you have to say. This essentially puts you up on a stage, and your listeners are the audience members sitting in the chairs below. Your speaking skills are absolutely key! It doesn’t help if you’ve rambled on for an hour and listeners are left thinking, “So what was the message here?”
So what is an idea anyway? According to TED curator Chris Anderson, an idea is a pattern of information that helps you understand and navigate the world. Ideas come in all shapes and sizes, and your mind is filled with hundreds of ideas that are carefully linked together to form a complex structure that is your personal worldview. If communicated properly, ideas are capable of changing forever how someone thinks about the world, shaping their actions now and into the future.
Now we all know there is no single laid out formula that tells you the exact steps for becoming a great speaker. However, through analysis of hundreds of TED Talks and brilliant speakers, Chris has found the secret ingredient that all great talks have in common. Chris has been a curator for the TED Conference since 2002 and since then has developed it as a platform for identifying ideas worth spreading. Tune in to the video as Chris shares TED’s secret to great public speaking along with four ways to make it work for you.