All of us can benefit from improving our public speaking skills. Even if you don’t regularly give presentations, lectures or speeches, having the ability to speak in front of a group or a crowd, will help you in all walks of life, whether it be at work or outside of the work environment. Being an effective speaker will give you self-confidence, and make you more willing to take on leadership roles.
Being an Effective Speaker
Talking to other people comes naturally to us, almost as naturally as breathing. Yet, when we have to speak in front of a group or a crowd we become apprehensive, and we shy away from the prospect of having to get up and address an audience. To overcome our fears, we need to acquire the know-how behind effective speaking and address our shortcomings.
Being an effective speaker means that you are able to project certain qualities, without which you will have difficulty in delivering a compelling message.
Sincerity. Effective speakers deliver their message with sincerity. That implies that you honestly believe in what you’re saying. If you don’t, it becomes degrees more difficult to to come across as sincere. Which, of course, is why lawyers and debaters practice their speaking skills by speaking to either side of the argument.
Passion. Without passion, your presentation will come across as dull and unconvincing. A message delivered with enthusiasm rings true and earnest. And passion is contagious. Politicians deliver their speeches with fervor, to gain the support of their audiences.
Knowledge. Many types of presentations demand that you’re able to show your command of specific subject mater. And even when it is not required, you will benefit from being widely read. This also means that you need to be well-prepared before your presentation of speech.
Connecting with the audience. Effective speakers get their audience involved. For instance, audience participation is often elicited by asking questions or doing quick hands-up surveys. Even when their participation is not expected, you should seek to get a response from your audience by getting them to laugh or cheer. A presentation without audience involvement will soon be forgotten.
Overcoming Your Weaknesses
You may have misgivings about public speaking, due to shortcomings you may believe you have.
Dealing with anxiety. Many of us become anxious when we have to speak in front of a crowd. Practicing beforehand what you will say, will help to alleviate your nervousness. If you’re concerned that you may forget what you wanted to say, you should take with and refer to your notes during your speech. Even experienced speakers , such as politicians, often read their speeches from carefully prepared notes.
Language issues. You should not let your lack of command of a language deter you. You do not need to have the gift of the gab or be literary genius to be an effective speaker. People want to hear your ideas, and very few will judge you for knowledge of the language or the way your pronounce words. People are adept at understanding ideas even when delivered in a disjointed fashion.
Inferiority. Do not think of yourself as lesser than the people that are listening to you. After all, you got to speak to them, due to your knowledge or position. They’ve come to listen to you, and to learn something from you.
Delivering Your Speech
There are several things effective speakers do when delivering a speech or a presentation.
Idea flow. What you say is more important than how you say it. Your audience is interested in the ideas you have to offer, rather than the language or words you’re using the convey them. Effective speakers concentrate more on the flow of ideas they are presenting and less on on finding the perfect words to do so.
Body language. Your body language contributes to the message you want to get across. Effective speakers carry themselves well, maintaining an upright but relaxed posture. You need to strike a balance, appearing neither tense nor lethargic. Using hand and arm gestures to emphasize points is an important public speaking skill. Another is to make eye contact with your listeners.
Focus on your message. Effective speakers are focus their speech on the message they want to deliver. They are so focused on the theme of the talk that they find new points coming to mind as they speak. By concentrating on the points you wish to make, you will hold your audience’s attention and also come across as a fluent speaker.
Varying your tone. Effective speakers vary their tone. A monotonous drone will quickly put the audience to sleep. You need to allow the volume and pace of delivery to ebb and flow, and to incorporate short pauses into their speech. This allows you to emphasize the important points, and hold the attention of your audience.
Being alert to the audience. Effective speakers are alert to their audience’s reactions, to tell whether their listeners are bored, perplexed or enthusiastic. This allows you to modify your prepared speech on the fly, so to speak, to justify or embroider a point, or to ask questions to get your audience’s attention.
Using anecdotes. Using anecdotes or examples in your speech turns it into something that is based on reality, rather than being simply a theory or idea. It also helps the members of the audience to relate to what is being said. If you regularly speak on a subject, you could compile a list of anecdotes or examples for this purpose.
Speaking without hemming and hawing. Embarrassing pauses midway through your speech to determine what you need to say distract from the speech and will not do anything for your confidence. Effective speakers do sufficient preparation, and when appropriate memorize and rehearse their presentations, to ensure it comes out smoothly.
Closing Your Speech
Save the best part of your speech for the close. People love to be led to a conclusion. Effective speakers leave the climax for last and there are a number of ways to do this.
Posing a question at the end. Effective speakers often end their presentations with a question to the audience. This has the audience mulling the question in their minds, and thinking about the presentation long after they have left. This implies that it should be a question which requires some thought to answer, or may not have an obvious answer.
Place a great quote at the end. A memorable quote can also be employed at the end of a speech or presentation. You do not have to elaborate on the quote; leave the quote hanging in the minds of the audience to make their own connections.
Sum it all up at the end. If you don’t know how to effectively close your speech, just give them a summary. This serves to reinforce in their minds what you just said.
Make an earnest plea. If you’re speaking in support of a cause, you would want to make an earnest plea at the end of your speech. Often, it will also be effective to have someone else, such as a prominent personality, make the plea.
Conquering Stage-Fright
Even experienced speakers suffer stage-fright when confronted with an audience.
Practicing Your Speech. If you’re not a regular speaker, you should practice your speech. This includes running your ideas over in your head. But even better, is to rehearse the speech either on your own, preferably in front of a mirror. Or practice in front of family or friends. Not only will this give you confidence when you get to face the real audience, but your trial audience may even assist you with constructive suggestions.
Surveying the audience. Before you start speaking, have a look through the audience. Glancing around and getting to know who you’re speaking to, will help you feel less intimidated and conquer your stage-fright.
Captivating or amusing opening line. Effective speakers grab their audience’s attention from the start. In preparing your speech, you should give considerable attention to the opening line, both as to the content and the way you deliver it.
Self-consciousness. Psychologists say that people get stage-fright not because they have to deliver a speech or perform on the stage, but because they are too conscious about the way they look and conduct themselves. Practicing in front of a mirror, and rehearsing in front of someone else, will help you become more comfortable with the way your presentation comes across.
Improving Your Public Speaking Skills
Practicing your public speaking skills. If you wish to become a proficient speaker, and you don’t speak regularly in front of an audience, you should go out of your way to find more opportunities to practice you public speaking skills. For example, you could join a debating club, or even video yourself giving a presentation to post online. Or you could volunteer for a position in an organization or club, that requires you to speak to a crowd.
Watching other speakers. You can learn much by watching other people speak, whether live, on television, or online. on video sharing sites. You will come across many traits and examples that you could incorporate in your own presentations and speeches.
Staying well-informed. Effective speakers keep themselves abreast of the latest news in their subject, and in the world in general. You may learn of something that you would want to allude in your presentations. Yo help you stay informed, and for that matter improve your public speaking skills, you should also talk to people, for their ideas and feedback.
Public speaking can take on many different forms, from speaking to small social groups, to addressing large audiences. And the circumstances and requirements for each may vary widely. Being an effective speaker means that your have to adopt your style and the content of your delivery to the specific circumstances and the occasion.
