In this series of articles we pay homage to the people we admire when it comes to the way they speak in public.
That last sentence probably doesn’t even do them justice. Our choices for these articles have truly found the purpose of their voices and speak so that everyone is listening to them. They inspire. They engage. They create passion. They can evoke tears. They tell compelling, human stories that make you feel something with every word. These are the inspirational speakers that blow our minds.
This time we are talking about a legend when it comes to speaking in public, and who has reached millions of people all around the world. Our choice is Simon Sinek. He’s a British-American, highly accomplished author and motivational speaker. One of his books, Leaders Eat Last, appeared on the bestseller lists for Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. He’s famously helped many businesses come up with their ‘WHY’ from his book, Start with Why and his many speeches about finding the Purpose of your organisation.
We immediately had a favourite speech from this guy, it’s one that stood out to us, and we didn’t want to choose the ones that 50 million people have already streamed! Instead we chose What Makes a Great Leader from TED in March 2014.
There are so many parts of his presentation that really ticked boxes for us but we really enjoyed the way he makes it easy for the people in the audience to get on the same page as him quickly and want to move through his story with him.
He talks with passion and conviction about leaders needing to make their employees feel secure and letting them into a circle of trust and safety. He doesn’t just use the words and move on, he lets you know that if you want to do this it’s time to take responsibility. The message is clear – it’s on you, and yet you feel glad he’s effectively telling you to step up and make a change. That is a public speaking skill that many would kill for.
He cleverly draws you in from the very first words of his speech when he talks to you about Captain William Swenson (we won’t ruin it for you but it’s a heartfelt moment) and brings his words alive with analogies and experiences which help him drive home his point. That we all want to work for an organisation where we feel safe and protected and when we do, the evidence suggests we cooperate and work harder.
He owns the stage, he can interact with all of you and one of you, he writes on his flip charts and still has the audience waiting for his next word or story. He speaks so concisely and with such energy and passion that it’s hard not warm to him. His storytelling abilities are second to none. That’s why we chose him as one of our inspirational speakers.
You can watch Simon in action by clicking this link.
Now we can’t guarantee to make you speak like Simon does, but we can help you become an awesome public speaker through our own SPEAK programme so if we can support you get in touch.