6 Tips To Help You Master Public Speaking
It’s the number one fear for many of us, but these tips can help you feel comfortable when you are speaking at work or a wedding
It might be giving a speech at a birthday party, or a professional presentation at work – whatever it is, public speaking can make us very anxious. A study published in the journal Frontiers of Psychology found that fear of public speaking is very common.
Leadership and communications consultant Monica Lunin says the biggest challenge in public speaking is ensuring that your message hits home. She trains executives and professionals in the art of public speaking. To share her tips, she wrote the book What She Said: The Art Of Inspiring Action Through Speech
“You need your audience to home in and what you say, understand it and be moved to action,” explains Monica
So take a deep breath and try these six tips to take control of any public speaking situation:
First impressions matter and final impressions linger. People may lose the thread of your message in the middle, so make sure you structure a clear introduction and conclusion to your speech – this is a very easy way to make your speech better.
And make sure you include a strong hook or story at the start of the speech, to “hook” your audience. Think about what will really get them to listen. What are they interested in?
So if you do not have time to learn your whole presentation, make sure you learn the start and the end so you can start strong, and finish strong.
Good communication is time management. Before you make your speech, assess how much time you have to make your point or introduce yourself. If time is short, focus on the really key points and forget the rest. You will only trip yourself up if you try to do too much.
Remember the choosing part of your speech should deliver satisfaction and fulfil the promise you set out at the start – so think about what you want the audience to do after your speech. Do you want them to ask questions? Do you want them to toast the bride and groom?
The most impressive speakers make you feel like you are the only person in the room. Former US President BIll Clinton had the knack of achieving this. TV host Oprah WInfrey also makes her audience feel she is talking to them in person. This draws listeners in - and makes them more receptive. Because when people feel a connection they are more responsive to your point of view.
One good trick is eye contact. When you are feeling nervous it is very tempting to just stare at your notes or Powerpoint presentation, but do try to maintain eye contact. You can choose to look at one or two people you know, or you can move your gase around the room, looking at different people in turn. When you are talking, you should be looking at another human.
Before you speak, what is likely to be the main attitude, tone and energy in the room? There is no sense trying to force a message on an audience that is exhausted after a full day of meetings – they will just tune you out.
If people are tired at the end of a long day, you can inject new energy into the room with some form of group engagement exercises, or even movement. Just asking your audience to stand up and shake their arms and shoulders can be enough to revive them. Then your speech can follow.
Too many speeches begin with an apology such as “I will only take a few minutes of your time” or “I am sorry we are behind schedule”. This does nothing to improve people’s understanding and can actually make it harder to get your point across. It may even make them feel pity for you– and that does not help.
When they feel pity they are distracted by their own thoughts. This means they are not listening to you.
Likewise, if you lose your place and need to take a few minutes to organise your thoughts, it's okay to pause and just say you need a couple of seconds to focus. You do not have to feel flustered. It is okay to let people know you are human. In fact, it will probably help your speech because people connect with other people – not with corporate robots.
For every point you make, think about what you can say to back it up. Can you use a metaphor or a story to create deeper understanding?
For example climate activist Greta Thunberg brought the complicated subject of climate change to life by saying “It is like our house is on fire”
You need to make sure that whatever description you use is relevant and appropriate to your audience. Remember a online discussion that started up a few years ago when a Singapore Minister described a taboo subject as beyond an “OB marker”. Many listeners were confused. What is an OB Marker? It turned out that an OB Marker is a term used in golf to denote an area that is Out of Bounds. Trouble is, very few people in Singapore play golf, so the metaphor did not work.
For your message to be effective, it has to be understood. So do not feel you need to use fancy words or phrases to express your idea. SImply make your point upfront – and then use the rest of your speech or presentation to support that point,. Do not make your audience work too hard to understand you.
So it’s fine to speak in your normal way. If you need to use slang words or dialect to get your point across (and it suits your audience) go ahead.
As Monica says “Let’s stop trying to imitate the way someone else speaks. Try and develop your own voice – because the world needs your ideas. Learn to speak with an eloquence that is your own.”
Text: Bauer Syndication / ARE MEdia