By Janice Mayo Mathers
A speaker’s message begins long before she takes her place behind the mic. It begins the minute she walks through the door. In fact, her message often begins even before she arrives. As I started to speak at one event, I noticed a familiar-looking young woman in the audience. Since I was several states away from home I couldn’t imagine how I knew her, and yet I did. Suddenly, as I continued speaking, it came to me. She’d been my server at a restaurant the night before in a town fifty miles from this one! She was there at the invitation of her grandmother. The minute I finished speaking, I headed straight for her table. How thankful I was that I’d been friendly to her the night before, showing honest concern when she told me about how lonely she was, being new to the town. And how very thankful I was that I’d left a generous tip. Her heart was open to my words because I’d shared my message informally long before I shared it formally. And my informal message matched my formal message.
As speakers we can never forget that we are our message – not the words we’ve written down and rehearsed. Our warmth and authenticity is our message as we move around the room chatting with the guests before the program begins. During this time, hearts are often opened – or closed – based on our persona.
One of the most important aspects of speaking is “working the room” before the meeting begins. That’s why arriving early is essential. Pray as you chat with the guests. Ask God to guide you to the ones who especially need to make a connection. The more time you spend mingling with the guests prior to speaking, the more receptive they will be to your message.