Leading Speakers

Saana Azzam

Description

Leading Speakers is a book for both amateurs and professionals looking to learn the art of public speaking through the lens of a student. This book helps you to hone your skill as a public speaker by delving deep into the different strategies and techniques used by distinguished public speakers across the world, and then encourage you to decide what works best for you.

Sujets

• Employabilité, métiers et formations

Informations

• Publié par: Sail Publishing LLC
• Date de parution: 01 mai 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781913227982
• Langue: English

Extrait

Leading Speakers
The Insiders’ Secrets to Public Speaking
By Saana Azzam



Published by Sail Publishing L.L.C.

First published in 2019 by Oyster, an imprint under Sail Publishing LLC.

Copyright © 2019 by Sail Publishing L.L.C.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

ISBN: 978-9948-36-611-9

UAE National Media Council Permit #: MC-02-01-4765402

Age Classification: 17+
The age classification for this book’s contents is set in accordance with the age classification system issued by the UAE’s National Media Council.



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Dedication
This book is dedicated to all the determined speakers who set out to educate, engage and empower their audience every time they stand on stage. To those who voice their ideas and thoughts bravely in front of hundreds of people and can challenge the status quo deftly. To those who seek to refine their message and make sure that it is heard. To those who understand the sheer power of their influence and use it to reform the world.
It is to all the talents at MENA Speakers who are the best in class in their regions and spread their message to the world persistently and positively. To those who have partnered with us and make sure that we rise together.
Lastly, to my seven siblings who were so loud and constantly opinionated throughout my childhood that I had to learn to debate and communicate effectively, and I am now gifted with the ability to help others find their voice too.
Preface
After watching so many of my clients make a complete turnaround from hating, avoiding or dodging every speaking opportunity to completely owning the stage within a few hours, I realized that my strategies could really be used to help others.
Having great presentation skills in public speaking is the accelerator in anyone’s career. In my first big corporate job, I was continuously invited up on stage to speak in panel discussions or hold keynote speeches. It caught the attention of the top management in the organizations I worked for and put me on the fast-track of the corporate world. I have seen the same outcome with every client I deal with and so I know that having the executive presence and great communication skills is definitely a determinant of how quickly your career will move up the ladder.
So I decided to take on a real challenge with a complete novice that hadn’t done any presentations at all or ever been trained in any form of public speaking. This is when I decided to place an advert at NYU Abu Dhabi and take on an intern that would never expect the challenge that they had ahead of them. If an intern with zero presentation skills could master, motivate and structure an impactful speech then I was certain that business professionals would be able to do the same. It was a challenge for myself and for the intern. It was far from easy, but it was a delightful journey in understanding the path to communication mastery. This book is based on my observations from Noor, her actual notes from her journal and the workbook that I have spent years perfecting to make public speaking as structured and easy to understand as ABC.
It was really important to maintain diversity in the perspectives because in so many books and in different classrooms that teach public speaking, you see the perspective of one trainer or the angle of one school of thought. However, I wanted to include the many perspectives of people that actually do speak professionally and use incredibly different styles to showcase how charisma, engagement, storytelling and the way of influencing from the stage has many different voices and faces. The professionals mentioned in the interviews are all professional speakers that have managed to inspire their audiences and are professional public speakers with MENA Speakers, a leading speakers’ agency in the Middle East, that get frequently booked for it. Tthe road to success in this field isn’t linear and isn’t specific to one style, but these frameworks and structures can help you find your own voice and style.
In this book I provide examples and real-life conversations of how a coaching session could look like. You see live examples of how to use the frameworks and the exercises, but the main priority is for you to be able to actually apply them to your own speech and use exactly the same structure. The structures have been acid-tested and used in both business speeches as well as TED style speeches and they have a universal application. After having coached hundreds of people, ranging from very technical CFOs to aspiring motivational speakers, I am certain that whatever your speech topic, you will be able to apply it yourself.
I would like to extend my gratitude to all the speakers that participated in sharing their thoughts and perspectives with us, to Noor that was very brave in embarking on this journey and expressing her own vulnerability, to all those that have read the manuscript and helped me improve it and to my beloved husband that always supports me and is there for me through thick and thin.
I believe that we can truly create an improved state of the world through great dialogue. When we master our own communication and how we convey our thoughts then we are creating some form of roadmap to peace. Please use this book as a way to improve your thoughts on public speaking and know that communication mastery is something we can improve on daily. It is a lifelong process of learning.
Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - Now or Never
Chapter 2 - How to Prepare for Success
Chapter 3 - How to Develop Your Story
Chapter 4 - How to Structure Easily
Chapter 5 - How to Create Compelling Content
Chapter 6 - How to Build A Magnetic Brand
Chapter 7 - How to Use Non-verbal Power
Chapter 8 - How to Influence Through Voice
Chapter 9 - How to Master Stage Presence
Chapter 10 - How to Effectively Deal with Q&A
Chapter 11 - How to Always Expect the Unexpected
Chapter 12 - How to Leverage your Speech

Chapter 1 NOW OR NEVER
‘Marketing’ Intern: that’s how the position was labeled. When I first decided to apply, I was hoping within the deepest recesses of my heart that this internship did not include the usual social media posting that is now encompassing a large section of the marketing industry. As much as I love social media and what it stands for, by applying for this internship, I decided to diverge from strategy and law internships and try something in the corporate field for the first time. Something about MENA Speakers, its engaging industry and its goals stood out to me. I have worked with governmental entities, a magic circle firm, even with an Italian international law firm, but a firm that branded itself as the “Leading Speaker and MC Bureau in the Middle East” invoked a feeling of curiosity in me. It wasn’t until Saana Azzam, the founder of MENA speakers, interviewed me that I realized why I wanted this internship.
I began by introducing myself: My name is Noor and I am a law student from NYU. When I told her about my background—including the fact that I was born in Stockholm—she attempted to converse with me in Swedish, then bounced to Arabic and we eventually landed on English. As the founder of MENA Speakers, she held a staggering record that included graduating from the illustrious Stockholm School of Economics with a Master’s in Economics as well as having earned the prominent and esteemed title “Female Economist of the Year.” I admired her immediately and there was no more doubt left in me. I wanted to work with this woman because she was not only bright and organized, but I saw a lot of what I wanted for myself in her: a successful young Arab who thrived in an area where she is considered not only a minority as a woman but a minority as a Muslim Arab.
With that in mind, I made the decision to work as an intern almost instantly, willing to do even the most tasking errands as long as I could work alongside a well-regarded woman. On my first day, Saana laid out to me what my tasks for the next two months would be: One, I would have to interview a minimum of 10 of the best speakers in the Middle East. Two, I would have to present my inspirational speech in front of an audience at the end of my internship with MENA Speakers. As someone who has never given a serious and formal speech beyond the usual class presentations, a whirlwind of emotions rushed through the tunnels and hallways of my brain: Who is this going to be in front of? What am I supposed to talk about? Does anyone even care what I’m going to talk about? How long will this be? I felt my heart race, the pits of my stomach churning and fizzing as I imagined standing on a stage on my own and giving a speech. I never saw myself as an introvert or as a self-conscious presenter, but suddenly the thought of giving a serious and formal speech in the next two months sent shivers down my spine. I had no experience with something of this magnitude. I found reassurance in the knowledge that it is normal for public speakers to feel a healthy dosage of nerves (Bodie 78). After all, the fear of public speaking is the most common phobia to date (Nor th M.M et al. 4).
Saana saw the waves of shock across my face when I heard the news. My nervous smile must have given me away. I just hoped she wouldn’t notice the goose bumps erupting on my skin. She asked me to answer two questions, to which I gave these written answers:
1. What do you believe about yourself when it comes to public speaking?
As someone who hopes to pursue a career in law in the future, I believe public speaking is majorly about the art of pe