Here's how you can identify indicators of a successful public speaking performance.

Your success as a speaker is based off your audience. What was their nonverbal communication during your presentation? When a person is engaged they will maintain eye contact, give a head nod or smile when appropriate, etc. Does the audience desire to speak with you after the presentation? If so they will communicate the value gained from your presentation. Pay attention as to whether they recall a specific part of your presentation that is typically a sign that value was offered.

Observing body language and facial expressions provides valuable real-time feedback on the effectiveness of your message and delivery. Positive signs such as nodding, smiling, and leaning forward indicate that the audience is engaged and receptive, while signs of distraction or restlessness suggest that adjustments may be needed. Paying attention to these subtle cues allows speakers to adapt their delivery on the spot, ensuring that their message resonates with the audience and maximizing the impact of their presentation. This responsiveness to audience feedback is key to delivering successful and memorable public speaking performances.

Audience response is a great indicator of how well your talk landed, especially in live presentations. If the audience is engaged, you know the presentation is going well. This is harder when the talk is on-line. One of the best ways to gauge if the audience is involved is to ask something-ask a question or request the audience put something in the chat.

Confidence is indeed contagious and can significantly impact the success of a speaking performance. When speakers convey assurance through their posture, eye contact, and conviction in speech, they naturally inspire trust and belief in their audience. Conversely, signs of nervousness or lack of confidence can detract from the effectiveness of a presentation. It's essential for speakers to recognize these indicators and use them as motivation to practice and prepare more thoroughly for future engagements. By cultivating confidence and honing their public speaking skills, speakers can elevate their performance and leave a lasting impression on their audience.

Clarity is important. Make sure you talk tells an whole story and has a "throughline", a theme that is running through the entire presentation. If you just add a lot of information without connecting it, the talk may fall flat.

Engagement is a key determinant of speaking success. Presumably you want your audience to take some sort of action at the end of your speech: • buy your product or service • join your cause • adopt a new routine or mindset If they’d not engaged, they’re not going to heed your call to action. So, get them engaged. Ask rhetorical questions that require them to engage, if only in their minds. Ask them to take mini-actions: • Raise their hands or hold up one, two or three fingers as an answer to a question. • Take a few deep breaths. • Turn and introduce themselves to their neighbors. The more you can prime them to engage in small ways, the more likely they’ll be to fully engage with your speech

If you have a specific time limit, stick to it. Practice your talk to get the time right. A great talk can be 1 minute or 2 hours, as long as it fits in the allowed timeframe. And it builds speaking skills when you can give the same message in any different amount of time.

You can identify indicators of a successful public speaking performance through thinking about your own honest reaction to your performance. Reflection and evaluation after your performance could help to indicate whether your performance was successful based upon your own objectives. For instance, was the message conveyed with clarity? Did you use strong vocal delivery to display confidence? Additionally, using the audience’s response to help assess your public speaking performance is a helpful indicator. Eye contact and facial expressions can indicate the audience’s attentiveness and engagement during your speech.

Spending time on SELF-REFLECTION + SELF-ASSESSMENT after your speech is THERAPEUTIC. You could gauge your personal satisfaction level by asking yourself these questions. 1. Did I have the "feel good" feeling? 2. Did I experience "a great sense of glory"? 3. Did people come up to me after my speech to praise me for my impactful speech? 4. Did I receive invitations from some people in the audience to speak at future engagements? Be honest with yourself. If you don't have a resounding YES to all of the above questions, that's ok. This is because you now know which areas you could do better in your next speech, and do even better in the next few ones. Your satisfaction level will surely improve through time with diligence & determination.

All of the factors listed as aspects of this topic: time management, engagement level, clarity of content, level of confidence displayed, and audience response can best be determined fairly quickly - post speech by keen observers on site - who may or may not be in the audience. Video footage of the recorded event can work as supportive evidence of what keen observers offer you as feedback. Learn to trust these observers, their answers to your questions regarding your performance. They will provide some balance to your own perceptions. Remember the old Turkish saying: "The eye sees everything but itself." These trusted observers can offer you great suggestions as you dialogue with them about the goals you set for yourself. Good Luck!