There are some speakers I have seen that influenced me a lot even though they are not necessarily the most articulate and eloquent.
Some of them had one thing which made them stand out and that skill significantly contributed to their success.
They connected in a special way with their audience when speaking to them.
They had that unique quality companies usually look for when hiring people to fill their executive positions.

Next time you have a speech to prepare make sure you have that quality in your presentation.

Consider if your speech is as targeted as it should be since the reason for preparing the speech in the first place is to connect with a certain set of people and convey a message.
This you can successfully achieve if you tailor your speech to meet the needs of your audience.

Investigate, as much as you can, into who the audience is; what type of people are they? Are they business people, students, or educators?

For example; have you considered the average age of your audience?
You will need to present the contents differently to suit the needs of each audience and its experiences.
You want to try to anticipate the mood and disposition of the audience.
Are they having motivational problems?
Are they frustrated with the current situation?
Factors to consider include vocabulary, stories and illustrations, the kind of humor employed etc.

What do you know about the common interests of your audience?
Do the members of your audience share common interests?
Consider using that common interest in examples and as metaphors to bond with them.
The idea is for you to use what they are familiar with to connect with them and thus establish a bond.
From experience, the audience wants to empathize with the speaker and have the speaker empathize with them.

What is the level of education, training and related background that your audience have attained?
There is a need to take this into consideration since you do not want to speak over their heads.
By speaking in a way which is easily understood by the audience also shows you respect them.
You want them to understand your offer.

Do you know their cultural background?
Cultural differences offer a lot of potential pitfalls but are also good opportunities to connect.
For example religion is a very sensitive issue the world over.
You had better avoid any matter relating to religion.
You may consider waiving this if you are speaking to an audience that shares the same faith.

As a speaker, you must also consider many other factors in a bid to connect with your audience but these will help to put you on the right path.