IT TAKES A LOT OF EFFORT TO MAKE THINGS LOOK EFFORTLESS
We’ve all seen it: the speaker who steps up to the mic and captivates the room—it feels like they’re speaking right to you, taking you on a journey, and making you care. It’s the kind of authenticity that lingers with you long after you’ve left the room. But for most of us, achieving that kind of connection seems impossible.
Authenticity is one of the most sought-after qualities in public speaking. Executives especially want to come across as natural, relatable, and in tune with their audience, but so often, they end up feeling disconnected. It’s a common struggle. So, how do we solve it?
True authenticity isn’t something you can fake, and it’s not something that happens overnight. It’s the result of your involvement throughout the entire process of developing your presentation. Here’s how to nail it.
Be the Captain of Your Ship
When working with clients I often hear them say “I want the audience to be excited.” While it’s natural for someone on a stage to want from the crowd before them, it’s just the beginning. It’s the baseline. I urge them to unpack that a bit more. When we speak we should know what we want the audience to feel and more importantly what we want them to take away.
This is why when I start working with any speaker, we focus on three big questions:
- What are you passionate about?
- What is the one, singular thing you want your audience to remember or action you want them to take?
- What is the perspective only you can offer and what makes your take on this subject unique?
These three guiding questions help the speaker, or their scriptwriters, get the ball rolling on content that’s not only authentic but resonates deeply. It’s not just about giving a presentation; it’s about anchoring yourself in the material in a way that feels personal and unique.
One thing I always say to clients is, “You’ve got to steer the ship from the beginning.” If you’re not involved in setting your presentation goals early on, you’re already putting yourself at a disadvantage. You might be handed a message list or talking points, but unless you’re helping to shape those goals yourself, you’re not going to feel any real connection to the material.
Setting up those guidelines upfront allows the speaker to create a roadmap. If you’re clear about where you’re headed—whether it’s motivating your sales team to hit their numbers or unveiling a new company initiative—you’ll feel more connected to the journey. And by the way, if you’re excited about the material, the audience will be too.
Rehearsing Like You Mean It
One of the biggest reasons speakers feel disconnected on stage is that they haven’t spent enough time with their material. The script ends up being something they barely know, and the result? It feels robotic and scripted rather than genuine.
We recently worked with a financial company team on their annual Sales Kick-Off which was a virtual show, so speakers delivered content by teleprompter, directly to the camera. With that kind of intimacy, it was critical that the speakers were using an authentic voice.
Every week, for 2 months they did read-throughs of the presentation—even if it was a rough draft—so their speakers could familiarize themselves with the flow. As they read, they’d ad-lib, change a word here or there, or tweak the sentence structure to make it sound like their own. The writers would listen, and make edits in real-time to adjust the text, ensuring it matched the speaker’s voice perfectly. By the time the day of the presentation arrived, the script felt like second nature to them.
Here’s the critical part: rehearsing early on also exposed big revisions in the script well ahead of time. While discovering the need for major changes can feel intimidating, it’s far better to catch those issues weeks or months in advance rather than during last-minute stage rehearsals. Making adjustments earlier allows the speaker to settle into their material and make it truly their own without scrambling under pressure.
It’s a simple concept, but repetition is key. You can’t just read your script in your head once and think you’re good to go. Have your assistant put 30 minutes on the calendar every week. Stand up, read it out loud, feel the rhythm of the words, see where things are feeling right and where they’re falling apart, then adjust as needed. Even better, get a small audience in the room—whether it’s your team or just one trusted colleague—and see how they respond. The feedback loop is invaluable.
Through regular rehearsals, you’ll find yourself not just delivering lines, you’re connected to them.
Map It Out—Emotionally
Here’s where we kick it up a notch: emotional mapping. Imagine if you couldn’t change a single word of your script. How would you still make it impactful? The key lies in the performance.
A partner we work with—Virtuozo, who helps transform leaders and creators worldwide into skilled communicators—takes a smart approach to this. One of the exercises they employ is “chapterizing.” Rather than focusing solely on the words, you map out your motivation as a speaker or the reaction you’re trying to elicit from the audience.
Let’s say you’re pointing out some challenges and are anxious about problems that are arising, you’d want the audience to feel tense at this point, note that in your script, “Create tension” or “get stressed.” Then, when you want to switch gears and release that tension by revealing the solution; Note that too, “Relieve pressure” or “Offer help” in those places within your script. When I want the audience to feel like they’re part of the solution, I lean into my delivery, showing them I’m confident in what I’m saying. Creating those peaks and valleys of emotion ensures you’re not just talking at people; you’re bringing them on a journey with you.
Another key aspect of emotional mapping is thinking in verbs rather than adjectives. Don’t just write in “energy.” That’s not actionable. Instead consider writing in, “motivate” the audience, or “pump up the audience to take action”, and “encourage” them to see the solution. When you focus on doing something, rather than being something, the emotion feels more natural—and more importantly, the audience feels it too.
Eventually, with enough practice, these prompts disappear from your script. You internalize the highs and lows and are able to ride the wave. Something that happens on stage with actors who go on every night, is that every performance is a little different. They are listening to their audience, to their scene partners, to the vibe in the room; and then they are reacting and riding the feelings and connection based on that. Now that’s not to say you mirror the audience because if they are not engaged, don’t let them take you down. Instead, read the room and dial it up/down/sideways in ways that delight you and them. Being fluid and dynamic during your presentation transforms it from a speech at the audience into a conversation with the audience.
Authenticity Takes Work
True authenticity on stage isn’t just about being comfortable or confident. It’s about doing the work to ensure that the message you’re delivering is truly yours. As I often tell clients, “It takes a lot of work to make things look effortless.” When you’re involved every step of the way, that experience isn’t just polished—it’s authentic.
Preparation gets you to authenticity. Authenticity connects you to your audience. The rest is smooth sailing.