Master Public Speaking with the World Champion of Public Speaking Aaron Beverly [#TBS Eps 14]
In this episode, Story Teller and World Champion of Public Speaking Aaron Beverly talks about finding his voice as an introvert, 4 powerful ways to sharpen your public speaking skills, listening to what people are not saying and practicing authenticity
Aaron Beverly is a story teller and 2019 World Champion of Public Speaking. An introvert at heart, Aaron began to pursue public speaking after a traumatic experience with stage fright during college. Little did he know, he would fall in love with the craft. Aaron takes pride in being a contrarian and rightfully so. His speeches often break widely accepted norms around public speaking such as having sound bites, 3 stories format etc to name a few. I particularly love Aaron’s ability to surprise his audience every time he takes the stage. If you don’t believe me, do watch Aaron’s 2016 and 2019 world championship speech (links shared below). The 2016 one is my favorite. To share his love for public speaking and help people find their voice, Aaron runs an initiative called Speak & Be You. In this episode we cover a lot of ground around public speaking. List of questions shared below.
Important Questions from the episode –
1. Why was your world championship speech on diversity and acceptance? (02 min, 35 Sec)
2. What made you believe a story about an Indian wedding ritual would appeal to an international audience? (04 min, 26 Sec)
3. Why did you start learning public speaking? (07 min, 46 Sec)
4. Importance of mentoring in overcoming your fear of public speaking? (12 min, 30 Sec)
5. Importance of Feedback (14 min, 40 Sec)
6. Any specific feedback that has immensely helped you? (16 min, 46 Sec)
7. What has been your approach to learning public speaking? (23 min, 50 Sec)
8. What makes a meaningful speech? (28 min, 20 Sec)
9. How do you measure if your speech really led to some action? (30 min, 17 Sec)
10. What goes in to making a good persuasive speech? (32 min, 42 Sec)
11. How do you make your message clear? (34 min, 33 Sec)
12. How do you balance between stories and hard numbers in a regular corporate presentation? (35 min, 47 Sec)
13. Why is authenticity important? (37 min, 40 Sec)
14. What is more difficult – 7 minutes speech or an hour long presentation (41 min, 50 Sec)
15. Don’t you think too much practice makes a speech sound robotic? How do you balance between practice and spontaneity? (43 min, 16 Sec)
16. How do you bring elements of surprise in your speeches? (47 min, 15 Sec)
17. Importance of humor in speeches? (51 min, 06 Sec)
18. In what ways has public speaking made your life more meaningful? (54 min, 54 Sec)
19. Please tell us about your initiative SPEAK & BE YOU ? (56 min, 38 Sec)
20. Summary of take aways (01 hr, 02 min, 50 sec)
Resources mentioned in the Episode
Links related to Aaron Beverly
1. aaron@speakandbeyou.com