Trump: How to Get Rich

Connect with Your Audience (The Art of Public Speaking, Part I)

One of the problems with my schedule lately is that I am unable to accommodate most of the requests I receive for public speaking. I happen to enjoy giving speeches. I know some people dread the thought of having to give a presentation in a boardroom, let alone appearing before thousands of people. Not me. I get so much energy from my audiences that it is always fun.

I’ll bet a lot of you are wondering whether I’m making that up to sound like I’m not afraid of anything. It’s possible I’m forgetting a few stressful moments. Years ago I was probably nervous about facing an audience, but I got over it. Being afraid of speaking in public is something you can conquer. The following pointers can be applied by people who find presentations, whatever the size of the audience, to be a roadblock on their highway to success.

It helps if you are a naturally gregarious person. My driver, Tony, recalls a time when I was going to deliver a speech. When we were about five minutes away, I asked Tony what I was supposed to be talking about that night. Tony couldn’t hide his shock. He said, Boss, don’t you know? There are twenty thousand people waiting for you.

I said, Yeah, but I’ve been busy. I’m sure it will be okay. I was trying to reassure him.

No go. He said, Where are your notes? Didn’t you make any notes?

I said, I’m making some now.

Tony was looking at me through the rearview mirror with an expression of astonishment. I think he was checking to see whether I was kidding. I wasn’t.

I’d been asked to give the speech by Anthony Robbins, the bestselling author and self-help guru. I had been paid a great deal of money for the speech, but I’d never asked how many people I would be speaking in front of. As I was leaving the office to go to Philadelphia, my secretary told me I would be speaking at a basketball arena, the Wachovia Center, and that there would be approximately twenty thousand people there. I said, You’ve got to be kidding. I’ve never spoken before twenty thousand people before!

Telling it like it is.

That situation could cause panic in some people. Instead, I thought about my audience not as a massive group of people just waiting to judge me, but as individuals who might be there because they’re interested in something. Then I started thinking about what people are interested in and the kinds of questions people like to ask me.

I was ready. I suddenly had a gut feeling that we were all in for a great time.

Leaving an ashen-faced Tony in the car, I hopped out, ready to embrace the experience. Somehow the audience picked up on my energy and got much more than a speech. They got give-and-take that no one who was there will soon forget. We had a hilarious time, and we walked away having learned a few things as well.

Tony Robbins turned out to be a terrific guy. Until I met him, I didn’t believe in him or trust him, but that was only because I was getting my information secondhand. Having gotten to know him and his wife, I now wholeheartedly endorse him—he is out to do good and help people. His seminars are absolutely a happening, and after our successful experience in Philadelphia, I agreed to make ten more appearances.

All in all, it was a valuable lesson in public speaking: Think about your audience first. The rest will fall into place.

Granted, having useful information to convey will help, too. But tuning in to people is the first step. I’m good at that, and I don’t have to try too hard. Even in my office, with a few people around, the conversation will never be one-sided. I like to involve everyone and hear what they have to say.

So: Involve your audience. They will appreciate being included.