If you are one of those people who break out into a cold sweat at the thought of speaking in front of others, take heart. Do your research to make the entire process easier and find the empowerment in speaking publicly. Read on to learn more.
Public speaking needs to be taken seriously. You can’t just get up and speak and expect that everyone will hang on to your every word automatically. You need to make an effort to get and keep their attention. This is actually a type of performance, and that means that you must work hard to obtain the desired results.
You can’t just expect to have the audience’s attention. Strive to find ways to engage them. This is actually a type of performance, and that means that you must work hard to obtain the desired results.
You should know the speech you are giving. It is useful to know all the facts, figures and a few jokes or stories relating to your topic, whether your speech is memorized or not. If you have time, you can add in some of these things throughout your speech as needed. Draw on your general knowledge in the Q&A session following your presentation.
Time your speech before you give it. This way, you can remain within the time you are allotted. If you need more information, do some research and find helpful information. Finally, do not rush when giving your speech.
If you realize you missed a sentence of your speech, just keep going. You will ruin your momentum if you try and backtrack to include the missing information. Also, your audience probably won’t notice you omitted anything, unless you draw attention to the fact.
Make sure your speech is memorized. Once you have the ability to make your speech without assistance at any time, you can then start working on delivery. This also gives you the opportunity to ad lib if you need to.
Practice all that you can prior to your speech. You can practice before your mirror or make a recording you can play back. However, it is best to practice before loved ones, so they can give you constructive advice.
The key to a good speech is preparation. Be prepared when it comes to your topic. Do your homework to back up your statements, if you must. Put down on paper what you hope to speak. Practice your speech a number of times until you have it memorized. Sound preparation lets you feel comfortable when the time happens that you must speak.
Do not drink alcohol prior to giving your speech. While it can seem like a great confidence booster, it’s not. You don’t want to stand behind the podium feeling tipsy because you may forget what you want to say or your speech may be slurred.
When making a speech, know the concepts of your topics to start with. Researching well lets you see all parts of the subject. Make sure that you understand each of the key points. You’ll know your prep was worth it when your audience is engaged enough to participate eagerly in a Q&A session.
Continue to practice your speech so that you are at ease with it. Watch yourself in the mirror to fine tune your facial expressions and gestures for the greatest effect. Ask those close to you to allow you to deliver the speech to them and give you feedback. They will be able suggest ways to make the speech even better.
Keep your speech moving right along even though you realize you skipped over a section. By pausing to correct yourself, you could end up blowing the entire speech. Most likely people won’t even realize you made a mistake, so there is no reason to go back and correct it.
Keep your voice clear and bold when delivering your speech. You can use a cup of water, kept nearby, to help with this. On speech day, don’t drink any dairy or soda. These fluids could thicken your saliva when delivering the speech. Have a nice mug of hot tea to ease your vocal chords.
If you hope to speak in public with confidence, then it is critical that you know your material. Make a thoughtful topic selection, preferably one that you know well. Keep a conversational tone to keep the attention of your audience.
Give no consideration to winging your speech. This idea is always a bad one, regardless of your level of passion or personal knowledge of a subject. While your delivery may be okay, you want more than that. The problem is, you might also forget some very important details along the way.
Public Speaking
Try not to announce to the audience that you are really nervous about giving your speech. Your speech will usually hold more weight without that confession. It is often the case that a speaker believes their fear is showing through, but it usually is not. Show them your confidence even if that’s not how you’re feeling.
Most people find the concept of public speaking to be very intimidating. The truth, however, is that there are things you can do to make public speaking easy and smooth. Apply these concepts whenever you must give a speech.
Prior to speaking in public, warm up your voice. This is really important if you’re going to be speaking during morning hours. If you do not perform the warm ups, your vocal chords will experience tension as you give your speech. This leads to cracks and high pitches in your voice.