Speak with Passion
Episode #7 of the course Speak like a leader by Mark D’Silva
Welcome to Day 7. In today’s lesson, we will learn how to speak with passion. Believe me, this can make a huge impact.
What Is Passion?
Oprah Winfrey said, “Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”
Passion is an intense emotion! It is a feeling of bounding enthusiasm, strong desire, and magnetic interest in something. If a person has a strong passion, it makes them want to obtain as much knowledge as possible about that particular area of interest and share it with others.
The two steps to speaking with passion are: discovering the passion and learning how to share it.
How to Discover Your Passion
Ask yourself: What is it you love to do, play with, or investigate? What energizes you when you wake up in the morning? What makes you look forward to the next day? Discovering one’s passion may be easy for some, and for others, it may take a while. Enjoy the discovery journey and see where it leads you.
But in any event, try to find something interesting in every subject you are speaking about. You’ll see how this will help you prepare and present your speech.
How to Share Your Passion as a Speaker
Here are a few ways you can share your passion with an audience:
• Use positive energy. Audiences will reflect your energy as a speaker. Demonstrate your love for your topic by having the right amount of positive energy. You don’t have to go over the top, but show that you are excited to be there and share something special
• Use your body appropriately. While speaking with positive energy, you can use your whole body, including your hands and face, to convey your passion. Gesture naturally as you share what’s exciting to you (we’ll learn more details about body language in tomorrow’s lesson).
• Smile. The universal gesture of friendship is simply a smile. A smile conveys that you are happy to be there. So, smile often as you convey your passion.
• Involve your audience. While it’s great to speak about your passion, your audience will enjoy it more if they are involved. You can invite them to ask questions or experiment with a demo. You also may get them participating in an activity to explain your passion.
Exhibiting excitement about something separates good leaders from others. Discover your passion, and take joy in sharing it with others.
In tomorrow’s lesson, we’ll look at how body language can be a powerful way to enhance your message.
Best regards,
Mark D’Silva
Recommended book
TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking by Chris Anderson
Share with friends