When it comes to fears, public speaking is one of those things that always send a chill down peoples spines. Surveys have found that three out of every four individuals suffer from speech anxiety and it can adversely affect their careers. A fear of public speaking can have a significant impact on your career. On average, those who have speech anxiety make about 10% less than those who don’t.

But you’re different. You love nothing more than getting up in front of a large group of people and speaking your mind. You can command a crowd and you thrive on the energy of a big room.

Whether you know it or not, you might just able to turn that speaking talent into a business venture. If you’ve ever thought about becoming a full-time motivational speaker, here are some general tips for entrepreneurs that will help you to becoming successful.

• Make a connection: If you’re trying to become a successful paid international speaker, one of the most important things you have to do is making a connection with the audience. Whether you’re in speaking or in business, one of the most important tips for entrepreneurs is to get the audience to listen to you. If you’re a successful international public speaker, the audience knows you’re smart, but you have to show them you’re relatable whether you’re talking about something serious or something funny and lighthearted.
• Keep it simple:

Another one of the most helpful tips for entrepreneurs is to keep things simple. Whether you’re talking about speaking or business, it’s best to keep things simple. Find a way to make your products or your message accessible to the average person. You don’t want to bore an audience and have them falling asleep.

• Have a road map: Depending on what kind of message you’re trying to deliver, establishing a road map for your presentation is a good idea. What are you trying to say to the audience? Are you trying to make them laugh or feel sad? Are you trying to inspire them or give them a no-nonsense informative talk? Knowing what your goals are is another one of many helpful tips for entrepreneurs: figure out what your message or mission is and key in on that to stay focused.
• Practice: Another one of the many helpful tips for entrepreneurs is that practice makes perfect. If you work hard to become successful, more often than not your hard work will pay off. But whether you’re in speaking, the food service industry or another area of work, you don’t want to rest on your laurels. There’s nothing wrong with ad-libbing a couple funny stories, but when you’re really trying to hammer home the main points of your message, you’re going to want to make sure you’ve rehearsed a little bit, especially if you’re speaking at a convention or something.
• Inject some personality into it: One way you can connect with people as a speaker is by telling personal stories. Telling stories is a way to make that aforementioned connection and makes you more relatable to your audience. Opening with a funny story or an inspiring story will draw the audience in and if you can keep them engaged, you’ll have them in the palm of your hand from beginning to end.
• Show your passion: When it comes to tips for entrepreneurs, letting your passion shine through is one of the most important. Studies have shown that what you say to someone, whether it’s an audience of one or 1,000, isn’t as important as how you say it. Studies have also shown that an effective presentation is 55% non-verbal communication, 38% a speaker’s voice and only 7% the content of the presentation. So to summarize: if you’ve got a message to share with people as a public speaker, use your passion for what you do to make that message resonate with people.