When asked to speak you want to make sure that what you are saying is something that the audience wants to hear.

Becoming an interesting speaker is basically learning to be yourself when talking to a large audience as when speaking to just one person.

At one time or other in your life you will probably be asked to deliver a speech.Â  This could be a commencement speech, eulogy for a friend or relative, a business proposal, asking for donations for a charity, or even a talk in church.Â  The goal is to deliver a speech that will be interesting enough to keep the listener wanting to hear more.Â 

Good preparation is a must for an interesting speech.Â  Very few people are born orators.Â  Most have learned to develop their speaking habits after time and experience.Â  There are several key elements in giving an interesting speech or presentation.

Personal Experiences - Relating personal experiences will give you credibility and help your audience members relate to you.Â  You might want to tell a story from your childhood, a conversation you have had,or relate an experience or happening in your life.Â  Do this without being embarrassed that you are telling them something personal.Â  Make it a "this happened to me" short story.Â 

Presenting Ideas - When presenting ideas always make a comparison on how or why it will work.Â  Use the phrase, "What I'm talking about is like..."Â  "It is the same as..."Â  Using a comparison will also help your listener clarify and understand what he is hearing and what you are trying to say.Â  Occasionally this can be two different things and you want to make sure your listener is hearing exactly what you have intended.

Concrete Examples - Presenting concrete examples, incidents or illustrations will help drive your point home to your listener.Â  A real-life example that the listener can understand will help clarify murky points as well.Â  Often times an example can make the point for you as the speaker and will make it much more interesting to hear.Â 

Visual Aids - Audiences find it easier to concentrate and much more interesting when they can actually see something.Â  When they see visual aids such as pictures, diagrams, models or objects it will reinforce the ideas you are trying to illustrate.Â  It will also help the listener visualize the ideas that are being related and will help him remember your speech.Â  Make sure that you are allowed to present visual aids before preparing them.Â  There are some venues where they are unacceptable.

Moments of Humor - Unless you are delivering a comedy act, keep the humor to just moments in your speech and not a lengthy dialog of jokes.Â  Having humor will always soften the listener and create more interest in what you are saying.Â  Your speech doesn't need to be full of belly laughs it can be just a few moments where your listener will smile or chuckle.Â  That is all that is really needed during a normal speech.Â  If you are telling a joke within your speech make sure you know it well.Â  Stumbling through a joke or a humorous story is painful for not only you but your audience.Â 

When using any stories, humor, examples or visual aids, make sure they relate to the topic of the speech.Â  Going off in other directions just to get a laugh makes it hard to get your audience focused back onto your original topic.Â 

Once you have your speech prepared make sure that you can deliver it well by practicing it constantly until your are comfortable.Â  Knowing what you want to say and how you want to say it will insure the kind of speech that will make your audience want to hear more from you.