How to deliver an unforgettable speech

About to make your conference stage debut? Practising your keynote or pitch in the bathroom mirror is a common and sensible tactic employed by those who tread the business event boards often.

But Simon Bucknall, a public speaking expert and member of Toastmasters International, urges small business owners not to rely on that approach alone. "Book a lunch or coffee with a trusted friend and have a conversation – talk them through your speech content. It's more dynamic, and you will gain clarity quicker and get some useful feedback too."

In terms of the content of your talk, he says that you should never start by introducing your company, because one sure-fire way of sending people to sleep is to make it all about the dull inner-workings of your operation. "Make your speech about the audience," says Mr Bucknall, who instead suggests starting by addressing a question or challenge that people might have, but which your company can solve.

Getting viewers actively involved and interacting with you is even better, thinks Anthony Fletcher, chief executive of Graze. "Participation is a great tactic to keep listeners interested – for example, having them vote on a particular topic," he says. "If people are stimulated, it makes for a more memorable session."

His other trick for an unforgettable speech is to share anecdotes. "Personal stories are easier to follow and relate to," he explains. "With Graze, I talk about the journey that I made in my little car down to the brand's offices, where I banged on its doors to offer my services.

"Emotive language and imagery draw people in and make them feel as if they were really there.

If you can tie a personal tale to a point of your presentation, even better. "First-hand stories guarantee credibility and bring your ideas to life," says Mr Bucknall. "If people remember your stories, they will remember your points – don't just spout facts and data."

Something else to avoid is bullet points on slides, he adds. "The problem is that your audience reads them faster than you can voice them, so you lose control over the specific point on which they focus."

A good rule of thumb is one key point per slide. "This might be a single sentence, an image or a diagram," says Mr Bucknall. "You will end up with more slides, but that's fine."

Graze's Mr Fletcher uses offbeat and less obvious imagery to arouse the audience's curiosity. "Human beings are visual creatures, so stimulate them," he says, adding that with a smartphone in every person's pocket, failing a presentation is much easier to do nowadays.

"Attention spans are dropping," he states, reminding speakers to be punchy through their use of language, and to vary their intonation and move around the stage a lot. "It keeps people on their toes and engrossed in what you have to say.

"What you don't want is a situation where everyone is bowing their heads, looking at their phones; that's when you know you've lost the audience."