The Ancient Greeks and Romans thought hard about the purposes of public speaking.  In fact, one story has it that public speaking began in Greece with the arguments in court by the world’s first lawyers – who were not allowed to take a fee and had to pretend that they were simply the friend of the defendant, helping him out of the goodness of their uncompensated hearts.  The Roman iuris consulti were similarly barred from taking fees and were trained in rhetoric, not law.

Very early the awareness grew that the speeches these early lawyers gave had to be both educational and entertaining.  This dual purpose is implicit in the Ancients’ early study of rhetoric itself.  And so I often post on this blog about moving audiences to action, persuading them, and changing the world – broadly speaking, the educational side.  Today, I’m going to focus on the other half of rhetoric:  pleasing the audience.  How can you best please or delight an audience?

There are five rhetorical moves that are at the heart of successful speaking.

1.Show your audience you understand it.  We humans want to be seen, to be recognized in the deep sense of having someone get what makes us tick, what concerns us, what we’re passionate about.  Developing an understanding of your audience, and then demonstrating that understanding in some way to the audience, is the beginning of successful speaking.  Conversely, most of the failure in public speaking begin with an inadequate understanding of the audience.

2.Demonstrate your expertise – but wear your learning lightly.  Audiences want to have the sense that they are in expert hands for the hour, or twenty minutes of the talk.  And they love to learn something that takes them behind the scene and reveals some secret knowledge they haven’t known before.  But don’t talk down to your audiences, and don’t overload them.  Getting that balance right is one of the most important aspects of the expert talk.

3.Create some situational humor.  If you can find humor in your story, and your subject matter, in addition to something serious, we will be far more delighted with you than if you take yourself completely seriously.  I don’t mean the humor of the one-liner, but rather the kind of humor that comes from an insider’s perspective.

4.Have some fun.  Play a game, start a competition, involve the audience in a contest – you should take your subject seriously but demonstrate your ability to have fun at the same time.  A speech is not a license to bore your audience.  It is an opportunity to turn on the charm.

5.Bring your charisma.  Ultimately, though, the fun and games has to give way to the real purpose of your presence.  You are an expert, you do have a serious point to make, and there’s a reason why that audience is sitting there waiting for you to deliver.  So do it with passion and make it memorable.

Speeches need to be both persuasive and fun.  The Ancient Greeks and Romans understood this dual need, and it hasn’t changed in 2,000 years.  If you’re naturally better at one or the other, don’t let yourself off the hook.  Mastery of the world of public speaking means working hard on both.