Public speaking is one of the most important skills that you can develop in your career. Most effective public speakers have worked hard to master effective speaking skills and good public speaking techniques. They may spend hours practicing, working with a coach, or taking speech courses. Here are some things to take into consideration when preparing for your public speech.
Listen to recorded speeches
If you want to become a great speaker, you should first have an idea on what it means to be great. Famous speeches became that way in part because the speaker knew how to wring the most feeling and meaning out of what he was saying. Pay attention to the pauses they take, the words they emphasize, and the steady pace most famous speakers perform at. Source: wikihow
Nervousness Is Normal. Practice and Prepare!
All people feel some physiological reactions like pounding hearts and trembling hands. Do not associate these feelings with the sense that you will perform poorly or make a fool of yourself. Some nerves are good. The adrenaline rush that makes you sweat also makes you more alert and ready to give your best performance.
The best way to overcome anxiety is to prepare, prepare, and prepare some more. Take the time to go over your notes several times. Once you have become comfortable with the material, practice—a lot. Videotape yourself, or get a friend to critique your performance. Source: extension
Focus on concepts
Avoid sounding over-rehearsed. Rather than memorizing the entire content of your presentation, understand the concept as this will help you develop the points even on an impromptu basis. It also takes away the fear of your mind going blank at any point during the presentation. Create bullet points of the key takeaways and speak naturally about them. Source: yourstory
Give Yourself Time to Acclimate
Many speakers begin talking immediately after being introduced or walking onstage. Instead, try approaching the stage in silence. This gives you time to gather your thoughts, take a deep breath, and get used to being in front of the audience.
It gives your audience the chance to get used to you as well. If they’re checking email or answering some last-minute texts, it provides a few buffer moments so they can wrap up. This pause also sets the tone for the rest of your speech, which should be evenly paced, effective, and purposeful. Source: blog.hubspot
Slow Down
Most inexperienced speakers talk faster on stage than they realize – and it’s completely understandable.
When you’re giving your talk, you’re nervous, anxious, and you’re trying to hold all the information you need to present in your head. All you want to do is get through your speech so you can get off the stage and go someplace where people can’t judge you.
Unfortunately, this can cause you to rush through your speech far too quickly, which make the information you’re presenting hard to understand. Source: collegeinfogeek
Structure your material in three sections
Grabber, middle, close. Know your material. Get really interested in the topic. Find good stories. Source: forbes
Be Yourself
You don’t have to be someone else on stage, all you have to do is just be yourself. Sometimes, no matter how much you believe in your message or how well you’ve rehearsed, if you don’t act like yourself in front of the group, your audience may view your speech as insincere or calculated.
If a political candidate doesn’t seem authentic, it’s not likely they’ll win an election. If a company’s social marketing strategy appears inauthentic, their sales will not go up. If you create a page on a dating website but what you write is not authentic, the people reading are likely to pick up on this inauthenticity and never contact you. Speaking is the same way. Source: magneticspeaking
Body language
Make sure your body language is engaging and comfortable. If you fold your arms across your chests or you speak with your head down the audience will be able to pick up on your nerves and may not be receptive to you. Use your body language to convey a message of ease, comfort and openness. Source: studentbrands
Think Positively
Positive thinking can make a huge difference to the success of your communication, because it helps you feel more confident.
Fear makes it all too easy to slip into a cycle of negative self-talk, especially right before you speak, while self-sabotaging thoughts such as "I'll never be good at this!" or "I'm going to fall flat on my face!" lower your confidence and increase the chances that you won't achieve what you're truly capable of.
Use affirmations and visualization to raise your confidence. This is especially important right before your speech or presentation. Visualize giving a successful presentation, and imagine how you'll feel once it's over and when you've made a positive difference for others. Use positive affirmations such as "I'm grateful I have the opportunity to help my audience" or "I'm going to do well!" Source: mindtools
Just Smile
There is nothing as powerful as a smile and nothing as simple either. Smile before you head on stage. Smile as your audience filters into the room and smile during your speech. When you take a moment to smile, it naturally brings a feeling of confidence and relaxation over your entire body.
Smiling at someone in your audience can help you feel calmer, and less nervous, while helping you feel more connected to the audience that you are speaking to. It is really that simple—so give it a try. Source: blog.mindvalley
Ask questions
Draw your audience in by asking questions. If you do not receive many responses to a question posed to the entire group, approach one of the participants and ask, “What do you think, John? I’m interested in how you would approach this.”
Once one person responds, others will often engage. If you are asked a question, repeat if for the group, and rephrase it to be sure you fully understand what is being asked. When responding to a question from the audience, be sure to talk to your group, not at your group. Source: meadowlandsusa
Make first impressions count
Before you even begin to present, your audience will base their first impressions on your appearance. Make it count. Dress appropriate to the event. Be neat, clean, professional, and comfortable enough to act naturally. Source: office.xerox
Be Open to Receiving Feedback
Both positive and negative feedback can improve your confidence. One of the most painful experiences is watching recordings of yourself. Although I’m uncomfortable every time I view my performance, I push myself to do it and to find places I can improve.
Watch yourself on video and observe your overall delivery. What seemed to rouse the audience? Watching yourself from a third-person perspective can accelerate your growth. Negative reviews help you pinpoint areas for improvement. Even though negative feedback might sting your ego, these points of view usually boost your skills in the long run.
Being open to criticism helps you develop thick skin. Grow your confidence from both positive, inspiring feedback and negative, constructive feedback. Source: businesscollective
