Even if you’ve done it before a hundred times you’re likely to feel nervous if you have agreed to be an after dinner speaker at an event whether corporate, educational or charitable.
Being an after dinner speaker needn’t be that hard. It’s quite likely that if you don’t work as an after dinner speaker but have been asked to perform as one then you are relatively familiar with the organisation that has asked you to speak. Perhaps you hold a senior position within the organisation.

Whatever the reason for your association with the organistion for whom you will be speaking, you will find yourself at an advantage over speakers from agencies. This is because you already know the group’s interests, hobbies, ethos and potential taboo subjects. Put another way, you have already done the research part. Speakers from professional agencies have to research that sort of thing.

So, with the hard part done all you have to concentrate on is the other hard part: making the speech interesting. It takes a good after dinner speaker to combine the right amount of factual information, humour and anecdotes to produce an informative but engaging speech.

The presentation is also worth practising. it is absolutely no good having a captivating speech if it is read in a monotonous voice by a bored-sounding person.Presentation is as important as content, so think about your voice, sound excited when appropriate and never read from a sheet.If you really can’t remember the whole speech, use a list of bullet points to remind you of the most important parts of the speech. You’ll be surprised how much you can remember using this method and it has the added advantage of making speech sound more natural and friendly.

Body language matters too. the audience will have more fun if you look as though you’re enjoying yourself.So try not to look nervous even if you feel terrified. Use eye contact and natural hand gestures to look confident and calm.

Generally a professional, a motivational speaker is a speaker whose aim is to motivate his or her listeners. More often than not, the audience is encouraged to take action by the energy that the speaker puts in to the presentation.

Good motivational speakers can command high fees and are often hired long in advance of the event at which they are speaking.They are commonly used in the corporate sector to boost morale as well as in the educational field. Many professions, such as sports management, use motivational speaking skills on a regular basis.

Any good motivational speaker will be able to use their public speaking skills to influence the audience to come round to their way of thinking.This art is nothing new. There are many historical examples, such as Martin Luther King and Julius Caesar who have changed history dramatically with only words.

Further, a good motivational speaker must be convinced that what they are saying is true. It is vital that a speaker appears convinced that what they are saying is true and that they appear confident in their message.Otherwise, no audience is likely to be motivated.Believing in one’s message goes hand in hand with wanting to spread and share it and the best motivational speaker will use such techniques as voice modulation, body language and eye contact to put their message across convincingly.The best speakers will also come equipped with anecdotes and examples which illustrate what they are saying.