This question was posed to me just today about being a better speaker. How do you become a respected speaker? Well, I think it’s a valid question, and very few people ask me this question. It’s probably the first quesiton that any decent speaker should ask.

First of all, you need to understand that respect is not a goal. It’s an outcome. It’s the outcome of having contributed to someone’s life. By being a speaker who contributes to someone else’s development, you have already begun to develop credibility and gain respect. So, remember: respect is not a goal.

Second, I’d like you to think of the people who are respected. Those who are well-respected have certain traits - they do what they do, and they do it well. I have a great amount of respect for a large number of people, and they speak well, but they have different styles of speaking. For instance, there is this guy whom I know who creates ironic humor very well. I like his humor style, but I dislike his voice. There’s another guy who is a great speak crafter - he writes great speeches - but he delivers them very poorly. So learn from the good in everyone, because even you have something good you can optimize, and something bad that other people can criticize.

Third, Keep At It! You have to constantly speak, and the more air time you have, the less regrets you will have on stage. If I don’t train for some time, I might not have enough time to warm up my speaking juices.

Fourth, build a LOT of knowledge. If you want to be respected, you most certainly need to know what you are talking about. Learn from books, by observing people and by doing things with other people such as teaching or sharing with them outside of the speaking environment. Your ideas about the knowledge you gather are just as valuable as the knowledge you gain, so learn to develop independent thought about the knowledge you have gained!