Archive for February, 2009
Public Speaking – Preparing Your Introduction
Public speaking can be considered as conversation with more than an audience of one. The only other difference is that there is less interaction with the listeners.
On the basis that public speaking is common conversation then the speech is the thing – not the speaker. In the same way the play is the thing not the players (Thanks William Shakespeare)
Over the next few days I will write a series of blogs on speech writing. First up:-
Selecting A Topic.
How do you select a subject for you speech?
The determining factors will be;-
What are you familar with? What do you know from experience?
Can you speak confidently on the subject?
Is the subject relevant? Timely?
Can you make the subject interesting to your audience? Not just for yourself. The speech should fit the group that is being presented to.
Keep your audience in mind.
Once you have spent an appropriate amount of time selecting your topic get on with the preparation of the speech. Do not procrastinate over it.
The topic you select will determine how you present it.
For more public speaking tip and conversation tips please visit http://www.SelfConfidentSpeaking.com and claim a free preview of The Art of Great Conversation
Public Speaking – Deliver that Speech the Right Way – Part 2
The most popular public speaking method of delivery is known as the Extemporaneous Method.
In this method the speaker prepares a speaking outline and memorizes the ideas. It is popular it makes you think on your feet and promotes lively communication. It is flexible it will allow you to make advisable changes as for example if the program is over running you can cut you speech short as required.
You may or may not speak from your notes but don’t lose your eye contact with your audience. When you are thoroughly familiar with your ideas and supporting material there will be little need for your notes.
For more tips on public speaking and conversation visit http://www.SelfConfidentSpeaking.com to claim a free preview of the resource The Art of Great conversation
Bill Gates – Public Speaking Lessons
It appears Bill Gates have recognised the importance of being a great communicator to get his ideas across. This review gives examples from the speech and why the example is effective. The link below will take you to the article in the Business Week.
From BusinessWeek:
Microsoft MSFT co-founder Bill Gates, who is considered a brilliant technologist and a leading philanthropist, has not been known for his public speaking skills. His Microsoft presentations were largely filled with mind-numbing statistics, highly technical jargon, and busy PowerPoint slides. Well, something has changed. … (Click on link below to read the rest of the article)
For more public speaking tips and great conversation tips visit http://www.SelfConfidentSpeaking.com to claim a free preview of The Art of Great Conversation
Public Speaking – Deliver Your Speech the Right Way
In public speaking there are 4 possible ways of delivering your speech:
1. Write it out and read it word for word
2. Write it out, memorize it, and then deliver it
3. Present an impromptu speech
4. Write an outline and memorize the ideas.
Very technical papers, elaborate theses and papers of state require profound study and should be read for accuracy. You should not read any other speech. Writing it out is ok but reading it isn’t. Your audience wants you to speak to them – with your head bowed you lose most of your personality appeal – they can’t see your face and your eyes.
A completely memorized speech has the advantage that you can use phrases you would not normally use but it is likely it will sound stilted and stiff. It will lack any spontaniety.
Avoid impromptu speeches if you can – i.e. if you have time to prepare, make sure you do. If you suspect that you will be asked to say a few word, it is good have some quips to hand. If the subject is something you know nothing about, it is best to tell the audience you are completely unfamiliar about the subject and that it would be best if you sat down before your ignorance show. Then do exactly that!
See my next post for detils on the 4th method of delivery.
For more public speaking tips and conversation tips please visit http://www.SelfConfidentSpeaking.com
Public Speaking – Personality Plays It’s Part
Speech delivery is both vocal and visual. It is a reflection of the speaker’s personality. Your personality is your desire to being pleasing to others. Public speaking practice will develop your personality.
Your delivery should be natural but like many natural things it is capable of being developed. A tree’s natural beauty may be improved by pruning the bad branches. Your natural delivery can be improved by working on your bad habits and enhancing your strengths.
It may sound contradictory to say that you should deliver your speech naturally and then suggest you should improve your delivery. However this isn’t as bad as it sounds.
Improving your personality/delivery comes naturally too. Because all people of good thoughts do not want to offend. If it is pointed out that talking too slow or too quickly is irritating they will naturally improve their personality in this respect.
Public Speaking – Your Guiding Light is Your Listener’s Pleasure
Your delivery and everything else associated with it – your gestures, your tone, appearance, word, pauses etc should be directed toward your listeners. Your course is directed by the audience at all times.
A good delivery is good manners. When you keep your audience in mind your personality naturally improves. This is true in public speaking and in conversation as people are people in groups or individually.
Also when preparing your speech you will keep the audience in mind. Your speech will be different depending on your audience – are they business people or a literary club.
Ask yourself: Why did they invite me? What do they want to hear from me? What do I know of their organization? Which anecdotes will please them most?
For more information on public speaking and conversation visit http://www.SelfConfidentSpeaking.com to claim a free preview of The Art of Great Conversation.
Public Speaking: Get the Audience’s Attention
Audience do not pay attention by themselves, the speaker must spark and maintain their interest. There are many reasons that cause an audience’s attention to wander.
Monotony is one of them. When the audience’s interest is obviously waning, their attention can be restored by an attenton “getter.” These are rhetorical questions the speaker asks such as “What are you going to do about it?” The intention is that the speaker will answer the question themselves.
Of course you should be prepared for an unexpected answer from one of the listeners. If it is correct the speaker should express his gratitude. If it is incorrect, this gives rise to the opportunity to repeat the highlights from the speech.
To learn more about public speaking and great conversation visit http://www.SelfConfidentSpeaking.com and claim a free preview of The Art of Great conversation
Public Speaking – Know Your Subject
A thorough knowledge of your subject matter is required for effective public speaking. You may be a master of delivery, have top class command of the English language and pleasing vocal tones, but despite all of these fine attributes your speech may still be a flop if you are not fully up to speed about your subject.
A lack of knowledge of the subject has wrecked more public speakers’ aspirations than any other reason.
Listeners can quickly sense when your grasp of the subject is minimal or superficial. The speech will go over like a lead balloon. Conversely, a person that is considered an expert in their field and is thoroughly conversant in his subject may still be very much in demand despite not being considered a top class speaker.
Your primary source of material for your speech will be your lifetime experience at home, at work etc. Be keenly alert, pay attention to details and be impressed by all you see and this will vastly swell your bank of knowledge and add more conversational material to your repertoire.
After that there is the internet, books, television, conversations. Make sure you have a variety of sources and opinions so that you do not become too lopsided. Note your experiences and observations down in a notebook. You will then have them to hand when you start pulling your speech together.
Speakers are readers and never stop learning so that they can deliver to their audiences a content rich speech.
For more information effective public speaking and converesation visit http://www.SelfConfidentSpeaking.com to claim a free preview of The Art of Great conversation
Spice Up Your Public Speaking
Note, an interesting and informative speech may be highly entertaining without being humorous. You will be speaking because you are informed about your subject and it is interesting to your listeners. If they wanted to be entertained they would have invited an entertainer. When starting in public speaking plan how to spice your speech. Radio and television performers, with few exceptions follow their scripts so closely they would not even “ad lib” a sneeze.
Make sure the story or humorous anecdote fits the speech and the occasion. Keep it brief use only the words neceesay to tell the story. You don’t want it to drag. Try to tell fresh jokes rather than old “standing” jokes.
Also don’t introduce you joke by saying that you are going to tell a joke and the audience will die laughing at it. You will find that at least some in the audience will prefer to “choke to death” rather than laugh.
Don’t milk the story or joke for more than one laugh. Also ensure you remember the punchline. You do not want to recount every last detail until the end when he asks “how did that go?”
Remember, keep the humor close to the subject.
For more information on confident public speaking and conversation visit http://www.SelfConfidentSpeaking.com to claim a free preview of The Art of Great Conversation
Public Speaking Preliminaries – Speech Writing
When writing your speech, keep in mind the organisation and the type of audience you will be speaking to. There are many kinds of audiences that are in any community.
When you are a popular speaker you could address professional people or literary groups one day and the next day it could be a sports banquet, scout rally, or a sales convention. The speech that is to be delivered and the way it is to be presented will need to be modified for the different audience.
Ask the following questions of yourself and/or the organisation:
Why did they invite me?
What do they want to hear from me?
What do I know of their organisation?
Which anecdotes will please them most?
Would a personal experience appeal to the audience?
Have they suggested a subject?
Do they have a particular interest in the topic?
Who is going to introduce you and what would work best as an impromptu remark to begin with?
If a return engagement – was there anything interesting that happened at the previous engagement?
Finally decide on whether your talk should serious or funny, light or heavy?
For more information on public speaking and conversation please vist http://www.SelfconfidentSpeaking.com to claim your free preview of The Art of Great Conversation.