subject: The 3 Essential public speaking tips to achieving an effective speech [print this page] The 3 Essential public speaking tips to achieving an effective speech
The following are 3 public speaking tips that I feel are crucial and can when applied instantly make the most worried of speakers feel more positive.
Public Speaking Tip 1Reassure yourself its ok to be nervous!
The first mistake many people make when faced with a public speaking event is that view their nerves or fear in a negative way. Convinced that the level of fear they have is negative, they try their hardest to eliminate it. Having told themselves or been told by others that they "should feel more confident" especially if they are normally seen as someone who is generally confident or in a senior position, their fear becomes more severe when they realise they cannot make it go away.
The greatest emotion the speaker then experiences is not a fear of the presentation, but it then is a fear of the fear itself.
The most effective way to feel confident despite this fear is to say aloud and repeatedly: "The feelings I am experiencing are ok" "I accept my fear or nerves and will not try to diminish it." "I accept how I feel before a talk, it is completely ok and does not mean anything is bad."
The effects of these simple affirmations are enormous as once we stop attempting to change our feelings, it naturally decreases as it was the attempt to eliminate the fear that kept it alive. So the first public speaking tip is to remember it is ok to feel anxious!!!!
Public Speaking Tip 2Be yourself!
There is a well known phrase that "people buy people" and nothing could be more apt than in the case of giving a speech. Although we maybe do not know the exact reason, we all know when someone inspires us with a talk or presentation.
Unfortunately most people when asked to give a speech are not sure of this and feel that they are required to be anything other than themselves.
People who are normally positive and chattyenter "public speaking mode" when asked to give a talk and then become, cautious. Many people become convinced that this "public speaking persona" is a better persona to show their audience than who they really are.Furthermore they put even more effort in ensuring the audience doesn't see the real' them in case they are unimpressed.
Trying to be someone else in general, is exhausting, but trying to be a different person when putting on a presentation is doubly so. The best speakers in the world know that if they can someway convey who they are to the audience in a powerful way the audience will trust them and then buy what they are saying.
So practise being yourself in front of your audience, don't think your regional accent needs to change, and your words need to suddenly become very different
So Speaking Tip two is: Be yourself!
Public Speaking Tip 3State your intentions clearly and concisely from the outset.
There's nothing worse than attending a talk where you have limited knowledge of the topic in hand- or maybe haven't been briefed on all the necessary details and the speaker opens with a line such as "As I am sure you know" Lines like this that fail to offer any context of the presentation are a sure fire way to lose the audience right from the beginning of the talk.
Even if you think that the audience should be briefed the topic you are speaking about don't assume!!!
In fact assume nothing from your audience.
The reality is, that if you are speaking in a business context for example your audience may have listened to a number of different presentations given by different people on that day or during that week and may genuinely be unaware what your presentation is supposed to be about.
Without a clear objective they might literally be confused as to the purpose of your talk.
So public speaking Tip 3 is: state your topic content clearly! Let them know what you will be speaking on.
