Update: I was treated to a delightful benefit concert sponsored by the non-profit organization I'm working with. The singer was dazzling, the musicians sounded fat and tight, and the speaker gave a brief, yet straight-to-the-point message. We were nicely surprised when a group of female Burundian dancers made their way toward the stage performing a native dance.

We held hands during the finale in celebration of the wonderful, spiritually uplifting evening with the jazz/gospel diva. She was all giggles and smiles when she received an expensive piece of artwork and a bouquet of flowers. That concert was the most successful event this organization had ever put together.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. There are some lessons we can extract from this event. Lessons that will help you become a dynamic speaker for your cause. Let's take a look at some of these in today's...

Feature Article: Speaking for a Cause

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It was Painful to Watch...

My friend Jeanine was ready to give her speech at her fundraiser. The Master of Ceremonies read the introduction. It was one accolade after another about Jeanine's business savvy.

Silence.

You could sense the confusion in the room...

Then she never tied her introduction with her talk. They were at cross-purposes. Her talk focused on how she started her organization, what they have done and touched on what we in the audience can do to help.

Afterwards, I found out she had been coached by some business speakers to emphasize her business success in her introduction. This tactic didn't work at all. In fact, it had the opposite effect. It gave the audience a good enough reason not to support her cause. Which is not the result we were banking on.

Speaking for a Cause

Dear Associate,

Whether it's a crusade to end hunger, a campaign to eradicate cancer, or walking to advance AIDS research — your message is one of the most important, if not THE most important element during your fundraising drive. Your message gathers everyone together as one team that will make an impact for another team: the victims who are suffering from one type of malady or deficiency.

And one of the most powerful ways to get your message across is speaking at a fundraising event. You get to share your message and vision to a captivated audience. At that exact moment in time, you have the power to move them from inaction to action. It's very important to know how to communicate your message.

From the moment you make your way toward the stage, you are already communicating. What you wear, how you carry yourself, and how you position yourself in the introduction sends a clear message to your audience. Are you open, relaxed and approachable? Are you smiling, shaking hands and giving hugs?

And then it's showtime...

Your audience is ready to receive you. You'll either connect with them instantly or else you'll have to claw your way back into their good graces. This usually occurs during your opening.

Your opening must engage their hearts and minds. They must realize you are involved in a cause for some greater good that you alone cannot tackle. In short, they want to know why they should support your foundation.

Let's focus on three keys that will open people to support your cause:

1) A proper introduction. Why is this important? Because your introduction lays the foundation for what you and your audience are there for. It also sets the tone and feeds into your opening.

Please don't include a list of all your business accomplishments in your introduction unless you cover that in your actual talk. I sat in the audience of a fundraising event one time and that's exactly what I heard: a business introduction that was unrelated to the speech. As the intro was read, the audience was in a state of suspended animation. They were probably thinking, "If she's so successful, why do I need to donate?"

Next, let's have...

2) A message that's congruent to the theme. The event organizer may have an event theme in mind that's disconnected from your message. Your job is to connect your message to that theme. Not the other way around. Unless your message takes prominence in time and importance.

I sat at a benefit concert where the star entertained for two hours. The speaker spoke for five minutes and never connected her message with that event's theme. Had she made the connection to the event theme, the audience would have connected the entertainment to her message.

And finally, you should make it a habit to...

3) Read your audience. Are you losing them? Can you shift gears to bring them back around? Were they ever with you in the first place?

If your audience becomes still, quiet, with an air of indifference—watch out. That's a sure sign there's a direct disconnect. And that usually translates to a disconnect with their pocketbooks.

I witnessed one speaker cram too much information into her talk. Instead of leading her audience of potential donors on a journey of possibilities—she suffocated them. Touching people's hearts still works better than information overload.

Speaking for a cause can be a meaningful and fulfilling experience for you. It can provide you with an inner satisfaction that you won't find with anything else. Why not speak up for a cause today?

Warm regards,