Ever seen a dynamic speaker who seemed completely on point with every word? If you’ve seen a professional play, chances are you’ve been exposed to this before, though you may not have been cognizant of the underlying mechanism – and why would you be? You’re not an actor!
It’s real simple: day 1 in scene study school, they teach that you need an action. What are you trying to accomplish in that moment, and why? What’s your underlying motivation behind wanting to accomplish that action, and why? What is unique about the circumstances or character that inform your responses, actions, and motivations? These are just some of the questions that an actor needs to ask to embody that dynamism.
Luckily, you’re not an actor, and you’re not trying to rally the troops “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.” Rather, you have a speech or presentation that you’re trying to get through – but the same rules apply. You still have to understand each slide and each moment of your speech or presentation. You need to interrogate the underlying value of each word, each phrase, each slide, and understand the ways that they enhance your message.
Remember, it is your obligation to capture the attention of the audience! They do not owe you that attention, so you must capture them and be so compelling that they won’t want to drop their focus on you. Likewise, you can drive them to their cell phones if you aren’t careful. If you apply this approach rigorously, you will remove all the fluff, and keeping the audience’s attention will come naturally.