Most of us, one day or another, find ourselves in the position of being called upon to make a speech in front of a number of people. Maybe it will be for general staff motivation, instructional teamwork or speaking to colleagues at a teambuilding. To a few of us this might come naturally, but most people don't have the slightest clue as to how to go about it. A longtime motivational speaker had a lot of time to work on their method of presentation for their motivational speech and are usually very good at it. There are a number of guidelines for good effective speaking that they will undoubtedly have called upon, guidelines that can be made use of by anyone who has to make a speech. The first thing you'll notice about a good international motivational speaker or regular after dinner speaker is that he captures the attention of his audience within the first thirty seconds or so of his speech. And then he holds it. It doesn't matter if it is a motivational speaker in London; a Dubai keynote speaker or a Johannesburg professional speaker, it is all the same. I think that we've all witnessed the so-called inspirational speaker at an international conference who drones on and on in a monotone, or mumbles his words, and is generally boring. There is nothing worse. What is it that this speaker lacks and that a good international motivational speaker has that is different? Firstly, you must capture your audience's attention within the first thirty seconds of your speech. Having done that, you have to keep it, and here are a few tips you can use to do this. Eye contact is extremely important - you must establish and frequently use eye contact with your audience. Your body language speaks louder than the words from your mouth. If you slouch about, the audience will lose any interest they had. Articulate your speech, and colour it with gestures, posture and movement. Ensure that your grammar and pronunciation are correct and get in lots of practice and before you know it you'll be speaking as well as any good well-known motivational speaker.