Have you ever considered you have a presentation delivery style. Maybe you use a lot of props in your presentations, or you ask a lot of questions of your audience, or you don’t use slides. Whatever it is, it is your delivery style.

What happens when you emulate another speaker’s delivery style? Usually, nothing good.

This article explores why you should stick to your delivery style and not emulate another speaker’s delivery style.

You should avoid emulating the delivery style of another speaker for the following reasons:

Authenticity and Credibility

Authenticity is critical to building a connection with your audience.

Do you remember the last time you talked to someone and felt the person was not completely authentic with you? Audiences feel the same way when trying to be someone you are not. They can sense it.

Trying to mimic someone else’s style can come across as inauthentic or forced, which might undermine your credibility.

Audiences generally respond better if you are genuine and authentic to yourself.

You will feel more comfortable talking to your audience when you are yourself in your presentations. You will also enjoy your presentation more if you are yourself with your audience.

Remember. Your audience has come to hear you speak your ideas, your opinions, and your conclusions on your topic. They can recognize when you are not speaking for yourself.

Your credibility increases when you are authentic because your audience can sense your authenticity.

So, one reason you should avoid emulating the delivery style of another speaker is to maintain your authenticity and credibility.

Another reason is to have personal comfort and effectiveness.

Personal Comfort and Effectiveness

Each speaker has their own natural strengths and comfort zones.

Your job as a speaker is to summon your natural strengths and exploit your comfort zones.

There is no one else who can be you. Your audience is yearning for you to be you. Don’t disappoint them.

Strive to have your presentation replicate how you converse with a single person or small group. What would be your mannerisms, your gestures, and your language? What would be your facial expressions in your conversations? How would you interact with your audience?

Don’t hide who you are “behind the curtain.” Let the fullness of who you are come out in your presentations.

Trying to replicate another speaker’s style can lead to discomfort or a lack of confidence if the style doesn’t align with the speaker’s mannerisms or preferences.

Your audience can easily tell if you are trying to be someone you are not in your presentations. It’s plain uncomfortable to try to be someone else. You have to think and display how the other person would present consciously. This takes tremendous effort – effort you can’t use to be yourself.

Being yourself frees you from having to think about this. It frees you to go with what you think is best in your presentations.

Maybe the most significant reason not to be someone else is you deprive the audience of your knowledge, ideas, and opinions.

Comfort in one’s style often translates to more effective delivery and better audience engagement.

You can more fully engage with your audience when you are yourself in your presentations. They more fully connect with you and your material. Your audience also enjoys your presentation much more.

So, two reasons you should avoid emulating the delivery style of another speaker are to maintain your authenticity and credibility and enjoy personal comfort and effectiveness.

A third reason you should avoid emulating the delivery style of another speaker is the context fit with your audience.

Audience and Context Fit

Different styles work for different contexts and audiences. What resonates well with one audience might not be as effective with another.

If you have researched your audience, you know their wants and needs. Emulating another speaker has the chance to mismatch your presentation with your audience.

You need to be flexible and change what needs to be changed in your presentation if the situation warrants it.

Emulating another speaker’s style without considering the specific needs and dynamics of your current audience and context can lead to mismatched communication and reduced impact.

When you are yourself in your presentations, you can “on the fly” adjust your style to fit the audience.

For instance, if your audience is particularly quiet, you may want to have a small group exercise, ask a question of the audience, or take a break. Emulating the style of another speaker may not allow you to do this.

So, three reasons you should avoid emulating the delivery style of another speaker are to maintain your authenticity and credibility, enjoy personal comfort and effectiveness, and mismatch the context fit with your audience.

Ultimately, developing and honing a personal delivery style that is authentic and suited to the specific audience and message leads to more engaging and effective public speaking.

Be yourself and succeed!

Call to Action

• Strive to be completely authentic in your future presentations; let your personality come out

• Enjoy the personal comfort you will feel and increased effectiveness with your audience when you present as yourself

• Don’t be “shackled” by how you believe another speaker would present your material. React to your audience.

Being a confident, engaging, and effective technical speaker is a vital personal and professional asset. With more than 40 years of engineering experience and more than 30 years of award-winning public speaking experience, I can help you reduce your presentation preparatory time by 50%, overcome your fear of public speaking and be completely at ease, deliver your presentations effectively, develop your personal presence with your audience; and apply an innovative way to handle audience questions deftly.

Working closely with you, I provide a customized protocol employing the critical skills and tools you need to create, practice, and deliver excellent technical speeches and presentations. Let’s connect and explore how I can help you become the exceptional speaker you were meant to be. Please reach out to me at frank@speakleadandsucceed.com or 703-509-4424 for a complimentary consultation. Schedule a meeting with me at calendly.com/frankdibartolomeospeaks.