7 Characteristics Exceptional Speakers All Share

Exceptional speakers are surprisingly difficult to find in many organisations today, but when you do encounter one, you know instantly.

There’s something unmistakable about them, a presence, a clarity, a generosity, and although each speaker is unique, the very best share a set of powerful characteristics.

Here are the seven qualities we believe exceptional presenters have in common.

1. Courage

Standing in front of an audience is always a risk as you can’t be certain they’ll like you, agree with you, or even believe what you say.

Anyone who stands to speak deserves credit, but exceptional speakers go further.

They dare to be different, take their audience on a journey and help people to feel something.

Exceptional speakers challenge the status quo, reject mediocrity, and do whatever it takes to engage and inspire.

Courage is a muscle, and it grows through:

– Stepping into fear with faith and frequency

– Focusing clearly on what you want and why it matters

– Less procrastination and more action

– Believing in the value of what you know

– Trying new things instead of repeating old patterns

2. Presence

You’ve probably met someone and thought, “That person has real presence.” It’s hard to define, but easy to recognise.

At Mindful Presenter, we believe presence comes from being fully in the room, not trapped in your head.

Exceptional speakers breathe, focus, and give their whole selves to their audience.
>They command the space not through force, but through connection.

They aim for conversation, not performance.

They arrive early.
>They stand in the room before anyone else arrives.
>They become part of the space.

The route to presence includes:

– Spending a few minutes each day in silence, noticing your thoughts

– Slowing down and paying attention to your senses

– Listening fully in conversations, not waiting to speak

– Doing one thing at a time with full awareness

If you can’t be present with yourself, you won’t be present with your audience.

3. Humility

Exceptional speakers care more about their audience than themselves.
They take their message seriously, but not themselves.

In our workshops, we often see two extremes:

– The anxious presenter is overwhelmed by nerves

– The self-promoter focused on bravado, expertise, and effort

Audiences want neither; they want someone who:

– Values and respects them

– Cares deeply about the message

– Genuinely wants to make a difference

The route to humility is:

– Being yourself and letting your audience into your world

– Admitting you don’t have all the answers

– Taking responsibility rather than blaming

– Putting the audience first

– Leaving your ego at the door

4. Emotional Intelligence

Exceptional speakers have a high degree of emotional intelligence; they work hard to:

– Understand the impact they have on themselves and others.

– Know their strengths and utilise them.

– Recognise their weaknesses and work on them.

They take time to understand what drives them and what drives their audience.

The route to emotional intelligence includes:

– Managing negative emotions and reframing unhelpful thoughts

– Expressing feelings constructively

– Staying calm under pressure

– Understanding how your behaviour affects others

– Responding rather than reacting

– Recognising and managing others’ emotions as well as your own

5. Creativity

Too many presenters read their slides; exceptional speakers do the opposite.

They don’t just present facts and data; they bring them to life.

They know the spoken word can move people in ways the written word cannot.

Exceptional speakers tell stories; they engage both the logical and emotional brain and  use surprise, suspense, humour, metaphor, and drama.

The route to creativity is:

– Creating the environment where your best ideas emerge

–  Breaking your own patterns and routines

– Asking new questions

– Being open to everything and closed to nothing

– Surrounding yourself with creative people, places, and ideas

6. Generosity

Exceptional speakers are generous to a fault, they give their audience everything:

– Passion

– Energy

– Enthusiasm

– Respect

– Focus

– Value

They hold nothing back.

The route to generosity is:

– Practising gratitude regularly

– Spending time with generous people

– Understanding the difference, you can make

– Believing you can help make the world better

7. Value

Exceptional speakers focus relentlessly on value.

Why speak at all unless you have something meaningful to offer?

One of the biggest mistakes presenters make is believing their job is simply to share information. Exceptional speakers know their real job is to help to make a tangible difference.

The route to adding value is:

– Setting the intention to add value before anything else

– Defining exactly what that value looks and feels like

– Crafting every word and action with that intention in mind

What value do you add each time you speak?

Exceptional speaker focus on how they can help and make a tangible difference to their audience.

What value do you add each time you speak?

If you’d like to become one of those exceptional speakers:

– Book yourself onto a powerful public speaking course.

– Invest in some really good one to one public speaking coaching.

– Get yourself some excellent presentation training

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