If speaking in public has always frightened you, don’t worry – there are many people just like you. Many people share this fear of speaking before crowds. You can control the situation and excel at public speaking, however.
You cannot give a speech and automatically assume that everyone will follow what you say. You need to work hard if you want their attention, and you need to work harder if you expect to keep it. Since this is technically a performance, you have to work to get the desired results.
Being prepared is key to making good public speaking impressions. Know what you’re going to say. You may want to research to make sure your statement are factual. Take notes of whatever you have to say. Practice your speech over and over. You will be much more confident when giving your speech if you are properly prepared.
Practice your speech and time how long it takes. You’ll be able to add or subtract content to keep it in your time limit. If it’s too short, try finding more information to add to it. Finally, never rush during a speech.
Know your material as best you can. If you have your speech committed to memory, it is still very important to understand the topic completely so you can tell stories or jokes related to it. Work them in when you can to see how your audience reacts. In addition, you can rely on them during the question and answer period or during follow-up conversations.
Pay Attention
Make eye contact with your audience as much as you can. Do not turn your attention to things going on behind you or elsewhere. You want your audience to pay attention to you, so you need to pay attention to them as well.
When getting ready to make a speech, learn the words of the actual speech first. Once your speech is in your memory, you can then work on delivering it. This will help you to be relaxed in front of the crowd.
Learn your audience. Try to find out the names of individuals who will be listening. Then, greet them as they enter the room. You will feel more comfortable, and so will your audience if you are engaging them on a personal level.
Concentrating on story telling is an effective path towards better public speaking. Before speaking to the audience it is important that your speech is outlined. Your story should have a clear beginning middle and end for better communication of your ideas. Make sure your story is based on a real life event and your words will come off as authentic and natural.
Become familiar with the environment before giving a public speech. Test the acoustics and the mic to see how much you have to project. If there is equipment you’ll be using, learn about it before the speech. Understand the best ways to use visual aids. Figure out how much eye contact you must make.
Make eye contact with your audience as much as you can. Do not permit other things that may be occurring in the room to distract you. You are attempting to convey a point or be persuasive, so you must be completely present.
Don’t drink alcohol before a speech. While it might seem wise, it can actually backfire. Do not step up to the podium with liquor in your blood or you might make some terrible mistakes.
Stay as confident as possible when in front of a crowd. Make sure that your topic is as exciting as possible, and also something that you are deeply interested in. Keep a conversational tone and your audience will be impressed with all your knowledge rather than be confused with all the complicated jargon.
Get the audience engaged and with you before you launch into your actual speech. Smile while they’re walking into the room, and give a friendly handshake or two. Giving off positive energy to your audience will go a long way in keeping them interested in your speech.
Know who your audience is. If you know who is attending, it will help you to engage them better. Greet them at the door and ask their names. It can make it easier to talk in front of your audience.
Each day, get out your speech and run through it. This will give you confidence because it will make you feel prepared. Have your notes with you as you stand at the podium, even if you’ve done a good job of memorizing your speech. That way, if there’s a point you forget, you can make a quick glance at your notes to jog your memory.
The conclusion of your speech should really pack a punch. Of course your whole speech is important, but your ending is what will help make it memorable. If you end on a boring note, your speech will be remembered as boring.
Visual Aids
One way to become more effective at public speaking is to concentrate on telling a true story. Give a brief description of your story beforehand. Make sure the story is complete from beginning to end. If you relate the story to something personal or some other event that truly happened, your story will be more natural.
Be certain you have visual aids that are not the main attraction. They should enhance your words, not detract from them. Make sure they do not become the main attraction. Use high quality visual aids to make key points. Make them colorful and pleasing to the eye while not distracting listeners from paying attention to what you are saying.
Make sure you are in a good mental state. Feeling nervous is normal. Everyone experiences a little anxiety and nervousness right before an important speech. But, keep yourself from going negative in your thoughts. If you start thinking about failing, chances are you will fail. Think that you’ll succeed, and you will.
Know who you will be delivering the speech to and prepare accordingly. Every audience wants something different. Your colleagues may want to be informed. Friends may simply want to have fun. Please your audience, no matter who they are.
Get to know your surroundings before your speech. Find out if there is a microphone. Use any equipment to get a feel for it. Try learning to use visual aids, if they’re available. Get a good handle on the eye-contact range you will need to make.
Never tell the people you are speaking to that you are nervous. Your speech will be more meaningful without the audience knowing that. It often seems our nervousness must be easy to see, but that really isn’t true. Just let them believe you’re really confident, and fake it until you make it!
Have you always dreaded speaking in public, even in school? Have you forgone the chance of sharing great ideas because you can’t share the information with others? From reading the above suggestions in the article, you now don’t have a valid reason to keep your voice silent any more.