to things like global warming, strawberry pie or peach cobbler for dessert, or surmising how 300 Spartans can tackle a horde of Persians ten times their size.

Afterwards you end up slinking back to your seat. You might receive an empathetic hug or a handshake, but most likely you'll be given a lot of space. It's the loneliest feeling.

Here's how to keep your audience totally engaged:

1) Stay with the main topic. Please don't jump all over

Probably the loneliest, most nerve-racking moment you'll ever experience as a speaker is when you're talking to a disengaged audience. There's an invisible wall separating you and them. There's no laughing, crying or sighing. They sit frozen in their seats waiting for a connection—but their muted faces tell you something's very wrong.

In the speaking profession people expect you to take command from the platform. They want you to engage them with humor and pathos. They want to be taken on a magic roller coaster ride soaring to the highest highs and sinking beneath the lowest depths.

But for some reason: The geese aren't flying south this winter...

Maybe you've practiced your speech daily for this event. You've taped yourself or rehearsed in front of a mirror. You've probably delivered your entire presentation flawlessly in private. But the first time you bring this talk to an audience, they appear distant. Even absent. It's the death of your talk.

What are you going to do?

This is exactly what happened to our speaker at a recent speaking contest. The previous contestant brought the house down. He had a "feel-good" message and closed by getting the crowd jumping in the air and shouting a huge cheer.

Now it was our speaker's turn to shine. He had a passionate message that touched on the issues of the day. The disconnect came quickly when he brought too many issues to the table. The audience was lost.

Here's what we know...

If you stutter, lose your train of thought, get stricken with stage fright, or speak with a heavy foreign accent—you'll find the audience forgiving. They're sympathetic and supportive. Even quietly urging you on and wanting you to finish well.

On the other hand: if you don't engage them, they're not going to rally behind you. Their mind shifts to things like global warming, strawberry pie or peach cobbler for dessert, or surmising how 300 Spartans can tackle a horde of Persians ten times their size.

Afterwards you end up slinking back to your seat. You might receive an empathetic hug or a handshake, but most likely you'll be given a lot of space. It's the loneliest feeling.

Here's how to keep your audience totally engaged:

1) Stay with the main topic. Please don't jump all over

r and pathos. They want to be taken on a magic roller coaster ride soaring to the highest highs and sinking beneath the lowest depths.

But for some reason: The geese aren't flying south this winter...

Maybe you've practiced your speech daily for this event. You've taped yourself or rehearsed in front of a mirror. You've probably delivered your entire presentation flawlessly in private. But the first time you bring this talk to an audience, they appear distant. Even absent. It's the death of your talk.

What are you going to do?

This is exactly what happened to our speaker at a recent speaking contest. The previous contestant brought the house down. He had a "feel-good" message and closed by getting the crowd jumping in the air and shouting a huge cheer.

Now it was our speaker's turn to shine. He had a passionate message that touched on the issues of the day. The disconnect came quickly when he brought too many issues to the table. The audience was lost.

Here's what we know...

If you stutter, lose your train of thought, get stricken with stage fright, or speak with a heavy foreign accent—you'll find the audience forgiving. They're sympathetic and supportive. Even quietly urging you on and wanting you to finish well.

On the other hand: if you don't engage them, they're not going to rally behind you. Their mind shifts to things like global warming, strawberry pie or peach cobbler for dessert, or surmising how 300 Spartans can tackle a horde of Persians ten times their size.

Afterwards you end up slinking back to your seat. You might receive an empathetic hug or a handshake, but most likely you'll be given a lot of space. It's the loneliest feeling.

Here's how to keep your audience totally engaged:

1) Stay with the main topic. Please don't jump all over

appear distant. Even absent. It's the death of your talk.

What are you going to do?

This is exactly what happened to our speaker at a recent speaking contest. The previous contestant brought the house down. He had a "feel-good" message and closed by getting the crowd jumping in the air and shouting a huge cheer.

Now it was our speaker's turn to shine. He had a passionate message that touched on the issues of the day. The disconnect came quickly when he brought too many issues to the table. The audience was lost.

Here's what we know...

If you stutter, lose your train of thought, get stricken with stage fright, or speak with a heavy foreign accent—you'll find the audience forgiving. They're sympathetic and supportive. Even quietly urging you on and wanting you to finish well.

On the other hand: if you don't engage them, they're not going to rally behind you. Their mind shifts to things like global warming, strawberry pie or peach cobbler for dessert, or surmising how 300 Spartans can tackle a horde of Persians ten times their size.

Afterwards you end up slinking back to your seat. You might receive an empathetic hug or a handshake, but most likely you'll be given a lot of space. It's the loneliest feeling.

Here's how to keep your audience totally engaged:

1) Stay with the main topic. Please don't jump all over

ickly when he brought too many issues to the table. The audience was lost.

Here's what we know...

If you stutter, lose your train of thought, get stricken with stage fright, or speak with a heavy foreign accent—you'll find the audience forgiving. They're sympathetic and supportive. Even quietly urging you on and wanting you to finish well.

On the other hand: if you don't engage them, they're not going to rally behind you. Their mind shifts to things like global warming, strawberry pie or peach cobbler for dessert, or surmising how 300 Spartans can tackle a horde of Persians ten times their size.

Afterwards you end up slinking back to your seat. You might receive an empathetic hug or a handshake, but most likely you'll be given a lot of space. It's the loneliest feeling.

Here's how to keep your audience totally engaged:

1) Stay with the main topic. Please don't jump all over

to things like global warming, strawberry pie or peach cobbler for dessert, or surmising how 300 Spartans can tackle a horde of Persians ten times their size.

Afterwards you end up slinking back to your seat. You might receive an empathetic hug or a handshake, but most likely you'll be given a lot of space. It's the loneliest feeling.

Here's how to keep your audience totally engaged:

1) Stay with the main topic. Please don't jump all over the map by adding more topics. Don't break the thread. There's one central theme that runs throughout your speech and it's critical to touch base with it to ground your audience.

2) Pointless points. Avoid crowding five lesson points into five minutes time. Your listeners need time to absorb one lesson at a time. It's your responsibility to let them breathe that point into their being. Show how this one point will benefit them. And then back it up with the next point...

3) Delivering personal stories. There's nothing more powerful than stories to help get your point across. Stories touch people's hearts. They make us happy, tearful, angry, or delirious while connecting us on a deeper level.

4) The eyes have it. Please look at me. At my inviting eyes. Never pan the crowd like you're watching a tennis match. Or stare at fixed objects. Give your attention to one person at a time. Finish your sentence, phrase or story before moving to another pair of inviting eyes.

5) Start a laughing revival. Get your listeners laughing so hard—their sides hurt. But not with old, worn-out jokes from joke books or stolen material from stand-up comedians. That's shallow and unoriginal. People want to laugh. All you have to do is let them by finding the humor in your life's experiences. Do this well and you'll always be invited back.

6) Crucify your self-critic. It will become your greatest enemy—if you allow it. It lies by telling you you're absolutely horrible. You've messed up. You'll never make it. It gives you all the reasons not to return to the platform. Tell this critic to shut-up and move on because one slight setback propels you to become better the next time.

7) Move your body. It's visually stimulating to watch you give arm, body and hand gestures and to make your way around the platform.