The cruise ship speaker is, or should be, a student of public speaking, speech giving.

What does it take to deliver a REAL top notch cruise ship lecture?

Borrowing from the four letter – R – E – A – L.

R is for relevant

The content you are delivering should connect to your audience’s interests. This is easy enough when doing a destination talk. But what about when you are giving an enrichment talk? It’s tough at times to know whether or not your audience really cares.

• Are they there to kill time?
• Do they want to learn something?
• Do they want to be entertained?
• Have they been dragged there?
• Can you make an unexpected connection between what you know and what they ought to know?

E is for eloquent

The language, phrasing, idioms, expressions, terminology, examples I use for teens, 20-somethings, 40-somethings, my peers and those old enough to be my parents will be different.  The good cruise ship lecturer will have thought this through and know what kind of language to use.

A is for articulate

The excellent cruise ship speaker will have more than one way to make a point. The speaker will be sensitive to eye-glaze, twiddling fingers, tapping feet. If one way of saying something didn’t work, the speaker will know of another. If one example didn’t make the point, there will be another example in the bag to use.

L is for learned

The speaker should be a legitimate expert. Sometimes the speaker may be just a step ahead of the crowd. But this is not a recipe for being top notch. Indeed the speaker will get the job done. It’s the true expert in a field who starts with respect from the audience and has to lose it. Where the amateur has to earn that respect big difference.

Be a REAL top-notch speaker and your audience and you will be glad you are.