Breaking Rule #3: “Be ENERGETIC!”
There is a myth out there that public speakers must be WILDLY ENERGETIC!!!! Like Tony Robbins. ALL THE TIME! Some people caffeinate, put on loud music, jump up and down, frantically pump themselves up for every talk. They will actually say, “I need to be anxious to have a good performance,” and worry if they are calm. I promise you, a caffeinated, anxious, intensely pumped up performance is not a great performance. What distinguishes a talk or performance is emotional and intellectual movement: variety of energy, vocal quality, tempo, emotion, and expression. Like a great symphony, the great speaker moves us rather than batters us with forced ENERGY. The best thing for a speaker is simply to be PRESENT. That way, we are available to be swept along in the energetic dance between the text, the audience, the moment, and what we walk in with that day. It will be different every time we do the talk. Alive, not forced.
So break this rule, to BE ENERGETIC! Instead, be present. How?
That’s enough.