Simba Nyazika Of Lenica Research Group On 5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Make eye contact with sections of the audience, especially during key portions which you want them to remember: Eyes are considered the windows to the soul. Even when a speaker is on stage, when that speaker looks at different areas in the room for a few seconds, the people in that area feel like the message is meant for them. The speaker is no longer speaking to the audience, they are speaking just to them. Making eye contact in a large crowd adds to the impact and influence of the speech. We sometimes see this with politicians when they look and point to specific areas in the crowd. The people in that area tend to feel more connected to that speaker.

At some point in our lives, many of us will have to give a talk to a large group of people. What does it take to be a highly effective public speaker? How can you improve your public speaking skills? How can you overcome a fear of speaking in public? What does it take to give a very interesting and engaging public talk? In this interview series called “5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker” we are talking to successful and effective public speakers to share insights and stories from their experience. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Simba Nyazika.

Simba has helped 1000s of people improve their communication, increase their confidence and overcome their fear of social situations. He is the go-to expert on mindset and communication bringing over 10+ years of experience. Simba completed his educational background from the University of Alberta with a BSc in Neuroscience and a BSc in Psychology. He spent 7+ years as a Behaviour Consultant specializing in developing behaviour management strategies using evidence-based protocols from Applied Behaviour Analysis, Neuro-Relational Framework and Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy. As a tech founder and CEO himself, Simba is very pragmatic about the information he shares with his clients, customizing it to maximize their results. If you struggle with confidence, want to improve your communication skills or need to shift your mindset, Simba will help you get the results you want, guaranteed.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

When I migrated to Canada from Zimbabwe in 2005, I realized some of the non-verbal cues that worked well back in my home country were not working in Canada. I was intrigued with how body language meanings differed based on culture and of course as a teenager I was trying desperately to get a girlfriend. My initial passion for speaking came from the awareness that how we communicate determined how people responded to us.

In University, I studied psychology and neuroscience completing two separate Bachelor of Science degrees. I went on to work as a Behaviour Consultant for children with various neurodevelopment differences for over 7 years where I gained a deeper understanding of human behaviour and its role in communication. In 2017, I founded the Body Language Training community in Alberta which aimed to share my expertise on communication. What started as a simple course to help people learn to read other people’s body language turned into a consulting organization teaching courses on public speaking, dating, confidence and mindset. The Body Language Training community now has over 3000’s members across North America.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

A tool to improve communication is to record yourself speaking. So I decided to try this when I gave my first lesson in 2017. It was well attended, with about 20 people coming and all in all the presentation went well. However, when I went to review the video, I was mortified not only by the sound of my voice, but by the realization that by the end of my speech I looked like I had run a marathon. I learned not to wear grey and to apply a lot of antiperspirant in my subsequence presentations.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

So, I have an accent. In one of my sessions, the attendees had no idea what I was saying. They mentioned after the lesson that they were trying to figure out whether I was speaking English or they had lost their ability to understand language. This offered the opportunity to adapt my speech patterns so my audience could understand the message I was conveying.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

My family has always supported me whenever I venture into a new project. In addition, I followed a lot of past speakers through books and audio recordings to learn how they had gotten the outcomes in their lives. Some of these included Dale Carnegie, Winston Churchill and Barak Obama.

You have been blessed with great success in a career path that can be challenging and intimidating. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

Public speaking has allowed me to benefit immensely in almost all aspects of my life. Not only has it been a rewarding career, but it has also helped me when I founded my neurotechnology company as I was able to communicate and articulate my vision well.

When you start anything new there will be a period of discomfort. Like the first time you ride on your bike without the training wheels. If you know why you started it and stick with it, it will become the most easiest and natural thing to you. My passion for public speaking only emerged after 3 years of engaging in it consistently.

What drives you to get up everyday and give your talks? What is the main empowering message that you aim to share with the world?

Many people feel disempowered and struggle with their self-worth. My primary message is to help them realize their power and worth, not just from the words I convey but also from the plethora of examples of how other people have become empowered.

You have such impressive work. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Where do you see yourself heading from here?

I just completed a course for singles on “How to Attract, Vet, and Keep Your Ideal Partner” launching on Udemy this month.

My neurotechnology company has secured three new partnerships.

Over the past few years, I have developed habits that have resulted in positive outcomes in my life. I will continue to engage in those behaviours to progress my life.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

You become what you do every day. The beautiful thing about life is that it takes place one day at a time. So each day we get to choose what we want our life and how we want our future to look. All success comes down to being deliberate about how you are spending your time and resources, every, single, day.

Ok, thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker?” Please share a story or example for each.

1. Have a clear vision (why) for the presentation: During one of my presentations on confidence, the purpose of the speech was to help the audience overcome their fear of criticism and discomfort in social situations. Because the purpose of the presentation was not to convey information but to have the audience overcome their fears, I spent 50% of the lesson having the attendees engage in specific exercises to overcome their mental barriers.

2. Clarify the one primary thing you want your audience to leave with or to do: Sometimes we offer a lot of information when public speaking, however, we need to ask ourselves, “if the audience were to only take one key takeaway what would it be?”. During my body language classes, we hyper-focus on one key behaviour to improve. For example, if it is eye contact, we may spend the majority of the practical component of the lesson practicing eye contact. For other speeches such as sales presentations, then you may want your audience to engage in a specific behaviour. Everything you say and show them has to lead the audience to that one outcome.

3. Use stories to engage and make your speech memorable: Stories are much easier to digest than facts. For example, if I am teaching people that it is only our perception of events that make them good or bad I would use the story of the Chinese farmer. In this story, the farmer’s horse runs away, in the evening when the villagers meet they all say that was a terrible thing to have happened. The farmer’s response, “maybe”, The next day, the horse returns with 6 wild horses. That evening the villagers say that was an amazing thing! The farmer responded, “maybe”. The following day the farmer’s son fell trying to tame one of these wild horses and broke his leg. The villagers again said “that’s terrible”, the farmer responded, “maybe”. The following day the Chinese army came to the village to take all the men to fight in the war and left the farmer’s son because of his broken leg. The villagers commented, “Isn’t that great”, and he said, “maybe. This story helps the audience build a mental blueprint of the idea being conveyed so they can easily recall it in the future.

4. Use your non-verbal behaviour to make your speech more impactful (hand movement and the voice): Body language is an extension of our words and can be used to help make the speech more engaging. Using your hands when you talk can add emphasis on some words while reducing them in the areas that may not be important. Voice tonality, intonation and speed also impact how engaging the speaker is. We have all had the experience of being tortured by a monotone speaker. No matter how important the message is, the brain just shuts off what is being said and drifts away. The most engaging speakers, the best inspirational leaders all used their non-verbal behaviours to make their speeches more impactful.

5. Make eye contact with sections of the audience, especially during key portions which you want them to remember: Eyes are considered the windows to the soul. Even when a speaker is on stage, when that speaker looks at different areas in the room for a few seconds, the people in that area feel like the message is meant for them. The speaker is no longer speaking to the audience, they are speaking just to them. Making eye contact in a large crowd adds to the impact and influence of the speech. We sometimes see this with politicians when they look and point to specific areas in the crowd. The people in that area tend to feel more connected to that speaker.

As you know, many people are terrified of speaking in public. Can you give some of your advice about how to overcome this fear?

The fear of public speaking emerges from the fear of rejection. If you are afraid to meet one person because of what they would think of you, can you imagine being in front of 100 people you do not know? Understand the route of where this fear comes from and then create a plan of how you can start to overcome it. Start public speaking in areas you are more comfortable with. This could be with your family, friends or even in front of a mirror. Be diligent and consistently practice. Review the speech you provided and practice again. You can then advance to larger crowds. Remember the following tips:

• Practice, practice, practice (with feedback. This could even be recording yourself and reviewing it).
• Know your material and use prompts if necessary.
• Become comfortable to give the speech with no visual support. When you get to this point, then add the sports.
• Break down each element of the presentation. For example, listen to yourself without watching your body language then watch your speech without audio. Improving each of the components will make the sum of each that much better.
• Don’t aim for perfection. When you mess up it makes you more personable. (I used to tell myself any time I would mess up that I am just becoming more likable to my audience which relaxed me).

You are a person of huge influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Teach through the clarity of your example. Many people focus on everything they want to change in the world. Become that which you want the world to be. If you want the world to be more loving, become more loving to yourself, if you want the world to be more peaceful, then become peaceful within your own life, if you want people to get along, make sure you are getting along with yourself. It all starts from within, then and only then, can we be effective in changing the world around us.

Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!

If this happened it would be amazing! Barak Obama. It would be great to understand his mindset and how he achieved his accomplishments. I would also be curious how he gave such amazing speeches.

Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simba-nyazika/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simba_nyazika/

This was so informative, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!