Imagine . . . being able to tell the chiropractic story to groups of people in a way that genuinely motivates, captivates and persuades your listeners. Consider the following. As you stand in front of an audience, you feel at ease, confident and prepared. You deliver your special message with just the right balance of humor and emotion. As you near the end of your speech, you maintain this balance and level of comfort. You close with the talent and expertise of a professional speaker—no hard sell closing techniques or gimmicky giveaways. As a result, audience members choose you as their family chiropractor because you connected with them in a positive way.

Now I know that what I just described flies in the face of what most of us have been taught about giving chiropractic presentations. We were told that we have to "step outside of our comfort zone" and depend upon a confrontational close. If we were not willing to take such a bold approach, no matter how uncomfortable, we would lose our opportunity to turn audience members into new patients.

I have found, however, that this is not true! After training with professional speakers and marketing experts, I have learned that there are more effective and professional ways to attract new patients through speaking. So to help you grow your practice through public speaking with professionalism and ease, here are three easy keys. These keys to successful public speaking will strengthen your important message and boost your success as a chiropractic speaker.

"Connect to direct people to chiropractic" is the first easy key to strengthening your communication skills. You may believe that when you speak to groups in your community your primary objective is to educate them. And naturally, once they learn about chiropractic, they will choose your care.

Now of course you want your audiences to learn more about chiropractic when you speak to them. However, simply teaching people facts about chiropractic does not usually motivate them to choose chiropractic.

Instead, your primary aim should be to allow your listeners to connect with you on an emotional level. The first step is to create some rapport with your audience and earn their trust. Then, the main focus of your presentation must concentrate on touching them emotionally by speaking to their heart and soul.

The most successful advertising and marketing campaigns sell products or services by appealing to consumers' emotional needs. As a chiropractic speaker, it’s important to apply the same principle to successfully attract new patients. So connect with your listeners to direct them to your office!

"Refrain to retain a connection" is the second principle that will enable you to be a more powerful chiropractic speaker. A chiropractic presentation that is too long and filled with too much information will actually weaken your connection with audience members.

I will never forget the lesson I learned from Mary Lou who attended one of my stress reduction workshops. On her first visit to our office, she told me that she appreciated how my presentation wasn’t too long and how I understood the golden rule of public speaking. I asked, “What golden rule are you referring too?” And she replied, “The mind can only absorb what the rear end can tolerate!”

The bottom-line is that most people in your community will prefer shorter, more concise presentations. So be lighter with your content and make your talks entertaining and you will be on target with your listeners.

"Slides may collide with the message." This is the third easy key to your speaking success and it simply means that audiovisuals may not always enhance your chiropractic talks. Audiovisual aids like PowerPoint are an excellent way to help audience members understand and retain information. However, they must be used in conjunction with solid speaking skills.

When you give a chiropractic presentation, it’s important to depend on the same thing that top speakers depend on, stagecraft. Stagecraft otherwise known as presentation skills will help you to connect with your listeners, not computer generated slides. In other words, audiovisuals don't make your chiropractic talks successful, you do! So polish your speaking skills and you will shine on the platform.

Growing your practice through public speaking is easy. Simply tell the chiropractic story, tell it well and tell it often. So use these three easy keys to boost your communication power and talk your way to the top!

Larry Duboff, DC, is a speech coach and marketing mentor to chiropractors worldwide. He shows fellow DCs easier and more effective ways to attract new patients through public speaking. He can be reached at lduboff@chirospeakers.com or though www.chirospeakers.com.