How can you build Thought Leadership credibility through public speaking as a start-up founder?

Don't sell your product. Tell the public what you genuinely believe in and show expertise in the field. A thought leader's credibility lies in the knowledge that they can share.

Too many founders use public speaking as an opportunity to brag (even if it's presented with faux humility). Sure, your accomplishments are part of your credibility. But be brief. Thought leadership isn't about looking back, it's about looking forward.

Be authentic, honest and transparent. If you must tout your accomplishments, do it briefly and try to couch them in a way that serves the narrative of the topic, not of your bio. Speak slowly, clearly, with grace and humility and don't be afraid to sprinkle some humor or light hearted anecdotes. Self deprecating humor can work but use it sparingly and carefully. TLDR: be the most 'yourself' you can be.

To establish credibility as a thought leader through public speaking, it's essential to follow a multi-faceted approach. Craft presentations that offer unique insights or solutions. Consistency is key, so actively participate in relevant conferences and events to build your presence. Networking with fellow experts can validate your credibility, and complementing your speaking engagements with written content helps reinforce your authority. Ensure your public speaking skills are engaging and memorable. Seek feedback for continuous improvement. Maintain authenticity in your communication to connect with your audience. Actively share your speaking engagements and insights on social media and professional platforms to expand your reach.

Building thought leadership credibility through public speaking can be a powerful strategy for a startup founder. Here are some tips to help you establish yourself as a thought leader: Identify expertise. Create valuable content. Build a personal brand. Start local, then submit to conferences. Network and collaborate. Leverage social media. Be authentic and passionate. Collect and share testimonials. Continuously improve. Use visuals and stories. Stay informed and adapt.

It is said often but is worth saying again. Slides are an important part of a presentation but they should be there only as a placeholder for your thoughts. The most powerful slides contain a single picture or a single word. The audience hasn’t come to watch the TV a don’t present your content in the slides. Getting this right is hard however and takes a lot of iteration and practice, but if you master your slides you will nail your presentation.

Visualization is a good technique to use when practicing. There are tons of studies that show that visualizing the way you want it to go or experiencing the way you want to feel at the end can be a helpful way to practice. Saying something positive to yourself before you speak is a good technique to practice. If you are energetic and excited about what you will share, people will overlook the minor errors. Most people are looking to learn something new or feel inspired and motivated after hearing someone speak. If you are nervous or need to improve your skills in public speaking, Toastmasters International is a great place to start.

Think about places you could ask questions or have the audience place themselves in the same situation. Watch your nervous energy, pacing, and how you make eye contact with the audience. Start powerfully. Hint: A joke or the phrase, “I can’t hear you” is not powerful.

Just because you don't have stage fright, doesn't mean you don't need to rehearse a TON. Rehearsal is not just for one performance: When done correctly with different techniques, rehearsal makes you a better speaker. Speak over loud music, or while doing jumping jacks, or with a cork between your teeth or while eating an apple. All of these work wonders to make you better onstage!

Something that I've found very helpful is applying 3 components of rhetorical situation. Firstly, what is the context surrounding the speech, this is very crucial. Secondly, The Audience. Understand the audience you are conversing with. Thirdly, purpose of the speech. Why are you giving the speech and what is it meant to achieve. As a cherry on top, avoid waxxing lyrical about your achievements, I'm sure everyone in the room knows them all too well.

Deliver your practised piece of ideas and thoughts with confidence and authority in your expertise. Building thought leadership credibility thorough public speaking is to connect to your audience with highly premium and unique ideas. What comes out of your mouth is power-filled and let the confidence show the authenticity and undiluted values in your delivery. You are called to serve leaders and let the humility to do so reflect in your words and action, that is thought leadership.

Own it. Tell stories. Never ever use a podium. Always use a lavalier mike. Lights up. Do it without slides. Let your stories and your passion shine through !!! Ask questions of the audience. Ask them to hold you accountable to deliver what they came for !!! Put a business card and a loot bag on every seat. Have fun !!

Just be authentic. You probably know more about the topic than anyone in the room, so don't have to pretend you're someone else.

Competence is more than confidence — it's also humility. Thought leadership isn't about impressing the layfolk. It's about influencing leaders. And the best way to do that is to mix in a little humility. One of the hallmarks of true expertise is knowing what you don't know.

Cuide bem de sua voz, escolha o tom adequado, sem demonstrar arrogância. Use seus braços e gesticule o necessário para que as pessoas percebam que você está confortável naquele momento. Olhe para seus expectadores com confiança, respire de forma equilibrada trazendo toda a energia positiva que puder para você e sua mensagem. Faça algumas paradas estratégicas, como se quisesse puxar uma reflexão da platéia para o tema que está sendo exposto. Olhe nos olhos das pessoas, seu olhar deve estar confiante e refletir o domínio que você tem do assunto e do momento.

Sorry, I disagree here. The number one most important step is to listen to the feedback and build out on that feedback before you share further. They already saw your talk or read your article the first time. Show your community you care about their input and follow up with... I heard you, here is what I think we can do to build upon your input, and this is what I'll do next. "Listeners" are more than an audience. They are why you have the right to say anything at all. If they believe in you and know they can co-create with you, they will become all that more invested in the outcome - assuming you've hit on a topic they care about. Avoid classic self promotion. Constantly challenge yourself to keep building by embedding input along the way.

Most important. As a startup founder you are the thought leader, the sales person, the channel driver, and often the deal closer.

'Setup' and 'Wrap-Up' phases are key, after the event, in the Wrap-Up phase, send thank-you notes and a summary of your talk to the attendees, reinforcing the key points and showing appreciation. Share your talk on social media to extend its reach and engage a broader audience. Additionally, ask for testimonials to build credibility and offer to conduct future talks, maintaining ongoing engagement with your audience. Using feedback from these efforts, continually refine your approach for future presentations, enhancing both your credibility and your connection with your audience.

This step for certain is key for start ups. The purpose of the start up is to continue what was started, and what better way than to have a follow on call to action to continue the conversation had in the speech. The speech is just the beginning and as they say the fortune is in the follow up. The follow up hopefully involves action that supports the solutions presented in the speech to resolve the pain or problem

It's always useful to monitor the comments box of any post. This shows that you are actively involved and engaged with your audience. Keep comments brief, direct and constructive. Personally, I like to click like on any follow up comments made on a post.

Always learn from the best. About everything. Always be improving and working on yourself. Look for criticism and ideas from your audience. Focus on people that didn’t connect with what you said, and engage them. Why not? What could you have said better?

Commit a disciplined part of your time to the work involved in developing and presenting your thought leadership. This means research and embedding yourself in the speaking and SME community with intention and personal commitment. It’s means prepare, prepare, prepare. Sometimes the best are not those who know most. I’ve seen well known founders ‘wing on’ and guess what! It doesn’t work. Your audience deserves your attention and prep way before you offer your thought leadership or step onto a stage.

A quote by Isaac Newton encapsulates this: 'If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.' Associate yourself with people you admire, and surely, soon enough, you'll resemble them with elevated skills.

Identify the founders you admire and whose style is culturally aligned to grow your business, then imitate and iterate; a few to consider: Steve Jobs for his Stanford Commencement Speech. Elon Musk for making high tech, high touch. Sheryl Sandberg for her TED Talk on leadership and empowering women. Simon Sinek for his TED Talk on inspirational leadership. Richard Branson for his charisma and insights on innovation. Indra Nooyi for her speeches on business strategy.

Ter algumas boas referências sempre ajuda a dar credibilidade aos argumentos. Citar boas escolas de negócios e grandes empresas traz uma consistência maior a sua exposição. Mas é preciso também tentar aproximar o discurso à realidade de quem está ouvindo e vendo explicação. Exemplos de uma mega corporação numa palestra a agricultores familiares pode não ser tão útil quanto se pensa. Mas conceitos universais de segurança, qualidade e ética podem muito bem ser adaptados a todos os públicos. Tem que ter sabedoria e discernimento para entregar algo realmente útil para as pessoas.

Consistency is very key for thought leaders. We're living in a world where most people do things based on what feels right at that moment or based on what is trending. This behaviour results in great inconsistency and brings confusion to ones audience. As a thought leader I've seen the results of consistency & persistency but this requires a lot of inner work, discipline and most importantly a deep conviction that is not influenced by the outside. It's easy for persistency to die because the world is quite loud, everyone has something to share, everyone has an opinion which has led to most people loosing their voice because of outside opinions and perspectives. The only way to stay consistent and persistent is through precision focus.

Thought leadership is personal marketing, and marketing requires consistency. You need to stay out there so people can find and follow you.

When I was running my own business, and public speaking was a revenue stream, I learned that rather than speaking about all my experiences, I needed to instead find a core message that grew from those experiences, a message people could use. True thought leaders don’t just talk about what they know, but instead help others come along the path of thought with them. It helps to find a theme that benefits your key audience and focus on that. If your messages are scattered all over the place, your potential audience will likely prefer someone who can dive deep into the topic they need to hear.

All good habits overtake bad habits through repetition. Consistency and persistency are two tools that if used correctly can you will observe your personal transformation. Construct a plan, create a strategy to apply the plan, and then get active with implementation. Thinking about your plan without doing anything keeps it an idea. Once you "do" the plan is alive.

Consistency is key. Sometimes people pretend like they are not paying attention but the truth is that they are watching with eagle eyes. Repeat the process but with errors corrected.

More merger & acquisition (M&A) strategies should include "buying" a thought leader. If you don't currently have a strong executive-level public speaker at your company, think about how to acquire one. Not only would you gain someone with the skills to fill a gap, you would acquire a net-new audience and following that will propel your new, joint venture forward.

How can you build Thought Leadership credibility through public speaking as a start-up founder? Embrace authenticity and compassion. Share your expertise with humility, offering genuine insights and practical wisdom that uplifts and inspires. Engage with communities from a place of empathy, fostering meaningful connections and mutual growth. Seek speaking opportunities aligned with your values, where you can authentically express your passion and purpose. Continuously refine your presentation skills with love and dedication, always striving to serve and empower your audience with heartfelt sincerity.

Speaking is an amazing platform to build trust and reach when your company is still growing. That’s a phase we’re resources might be small, so you need to be highly aware of the impact of each speaking opportunity. The first step is to make sure that you are speaking to the right audience. No matter how small it may seem, the right network will push you further. Large audiences, no matter how appealing they seem, may not be the right place to put your resources.

Do joint presentations with customers using your product to good effect. That endorsement serves to validate your assertions.

While one understands that thought leadership in a particular area is towards building brand, the start up founders or executive has to be authentic in their area of expertise / business. Also, in early stages, quantity of content on social media helps over quality, as you are trying to beat the algorithms!