We hope you enjoy this article reprint from professional speaker Ken Okel.

As a professional speaker, I’ve learned that while most audiences want you to succeed, you will lose them if you’re not properly prepared. No matter your skill level, follow these tips and take your talks to a new level.

Start and Finish Strong:
As a broadcaster, I only had about 10 to 15 seconds to grab the viewer’s attention or they’d change the channel. While your audience won’t have a remote control, they’ll tune you out if you’re not holding their attention and capturing their curiosity. Studies have found that you can only focus on a presentation for about eight minutes before your mind will wander. If you’re talking longer than that, you need to make sure that your conclusion sums up the main points of your presentation. If it’s good information, there’s nothing wrong with saying it twice. In order to start and finish strong, you need to spend extra time rehearing your opening and closing and really have it down cold. Your first and last impression will stay with the audience so make it count. It’s also a great way to get rid of any pre-speech nerves.

Believe in What You’re Saying:
Enthusiasm feeds an audience’s interest. Never treat a topic as if it’s not the most interesting thing in the world. Don’t fake excitement but rather show that you like what you’re talking about. Remember as a child how you’d light up when you’d tell your parents about an exciting part of your day? If you can make the ordinary interesting, you’re on your way to being memorable.

So Make the Ordinary Interesting:
How many times have you heard the pre-flight safety messages from a flight attendant? I bet most of the time, you blocked it out. But every once in a while the flight attendant might throw in a joke or a funny observation and suddenly you’re listening. Think about your material. Is there a shared experience that everyone can relate to like oversleeping your alarm clock, losing your keys, or finding less than a cup of coffee left in the office coffeemaker when you need some serious caffeine? Your audience can immediately identify with those situations. Your challenge is to relate it to your topic. This will play a key role in letting the crowd know why they should care about what you’re saying.