Make no mistake, the power of a good speaker comes from within. It is always a good idea to improve your extrinsic technique by studying healthy and pleasant vocal production and by practicing good posture, appropriate and dynamic gestures, eye contact, and vivid storytelling.  But even if you gain valuable skills, you must be genuine in your intention to communicate your message to a person or audience, or it will not be a successful transfer of information.

What makes a credible speaker; someone who is perceived as genuine?

It is presence, a quality that shines through the words and gestures and shows passion and expertise. When you are genuine, or authentic, you easily establish credibility and trust. As I have written previously, “ethos” is a Greek word for custom or character. As originally used by Aristotle, it referred to a person’s character or personality. And it is the persuasive appeal of one’s character. Without establishing ethos or authenticity or a genuine nature to your audience, listeners will be unmoved by your passion and dismissive of your reasoning. They will tune you out.

Being genuine is not easily faked. If you don’t personally believe in the message or the points you want to tell your audience, chances are they won’t believe you. All the technique in the world won’t make an inauthentic message ring true.

Before you write your speech or your presentation, make sure you believe what you’re trying to say. Make sure you really care about whether your audience hears you and understands what you are trying to say. Otherwise, all the good eye contact in the world won’t help you convert your message from mere speech to true communication.