Archive for February, 2010
Public Speaking Anxiety: Everyone is Judging Me!
Many people express fear of public speaking – which is quite a large category of fear when you think about everything that might be considered public speaking. But is it really “speaking” that they fear, or is it something else? What people are really afraid of may be something much more personal:
* Fear of being judged
* Fear of not being liked
* Fear of being boring and not having anything worthwhile to say
* Fear of being exposed as an imposter – as someone who isn’t really an expert
* Fear of losing one’s place during the talk
* Fear of making mistakes
* Discomfort with being the center of attention
Public speaking is perceived as a venue for scrutiny, and much of what people really fear is that their flaws will be revealed. Is your biggest fear on this list?
Now ask yourself these questions: How many of the fears on the list are based on reality for you – that is, you absolutely know that they will happen? How many of them have happened to you before? Which fears might you be able to decrease or lose entirely – with preparation, practice and letting go of rigid expectations of perfection?
Today’s pointers are not about you. They’re about your audience. Today’s pointers are also about reframing, or training your brain to perceive the situation of public speaking in a different way.
Pointer #1: People want you to succeed
The audience is not sitting there hoping you’ll fall on your face. The audience doesn’t care if you mess up. Even if you make a mistake, everyone can relate. We’ve all been there, and we’re all human.
It’s actually much easier to relate to a speaker who is human and imperfect than it is to relate to an overly polished, overly slick speaker. Put yourself in the audience’s shoes for a moment. You’ve been on the other side many times – did you ever want the speaker to fail? Of course not!
People want to connect with the speaker, have a relationship with the speaker, whether they are conscious of this or not. Your job, as the speaker, is to build that rapport with the audience. The more you connect on an emotional level, the better the audience relates to you.
Before the event, while you’re visualizing your successful presentation (you do visualize your successful presentation, don’t you?), say to yourself, “People want me to succeed.“
Pointer #2: People want to learn from you
They have come because they are expecting to learn something new or hear something interesting from you. They know you are the expert. They don’t know how nervous you are; they don’t know that you feel insecure. They expect you to know what you’re talking about. And guess what – you do!
Think of yourself as a teacher. You are there to convey information that your audience needs and wants. Nobody can deliver this particular information the way you can. Your content, style, and delivery are all unique and special to you. Take pride in your ability to pass along this valuable information to your audience.
Remember this phrase: “What’s in it for them?” If you put the needs of the audience above your own concerns about how you’re being perceived, you will find great satisfaction in meeting those needs and your fears will become secondary.
Before the event, while you’re visualizing your successful presentation, say to yourself, “I have valuable information to share and I know my stuff.“
Pointer #3: You can’t always tell what your audience is thinking
Have you ever looked out into the room where you’re speaking and noticed someone sending e-mails from his handheld device?
You’re rarely going to have the full attention of everyone in the room when you give a presentation. People have too many other things on their minds, and that’s just a reality that all speakers face.
You might be the most intelligent, engaging and humorous speaker they’ve ever heard, but someone in the room will not be paying attention. Are you going to focus on the one person who appears to be nodding off, or the 47 people who are smiling and enthralled?
Something else to keep in mind: not everyone expresses her/himself in the same way. We all know this rationally, yet we still feel uncomfortable and anxious when we spot someone who appears to be bored or distracted.
A participant may process your words better while doing something else, like reading e-mails, playing a game, or doodling. Some people hear better when they’re not distracted by visuals, so those people may not be making eye contact with you or looking at your materials. They may be paying attention to everything you say, but in a way that’s not familiar to you. You may even be surprised when one of these audience members comes to you at the end and tells you how much they enjoyed your presentation!
Now, if half of your audience appears to be nodding off or scrunching up their faces in confusion, there may be some basis for shifting gears a little. Do pay attention to your audience throughout your talk, and make an effort to read their body language so you know where you stand. There are plenty of good books and articles online about body language if you’d like to learn more.
Before the event, while you’re visualizing your successful presentation, say to yourself, “I am an interesting and engaging presenter.“
Practice reframing the way you perceive your audience, putting your attention on meeting their needs, and using positive affirmations before speaking engagements, and you will greatly reduce your public speaking anxiety.
Lisa Braithwaite works with individuals to uncover their challenges and build their strengths in presenting themselves confidently as speakers. Find your voice with public speaking coaching! Sign up for the Presentation Pointers newsletter and find out about having a free consultation at www.coachlisab.com.
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6 Simple Ways to Appear Assured & Dramatically Reduce Fear of Public Speaking
Do you suffer from the fear of public speaking? You’re not alone! In fact, speaking in public is not only one of people’s biggest fears, it’s also the fear shared by a majority of people around the world. No one wants to get up in front of others and suffer under their scrutiny while stumbling through a speech and trying to keep sweaty palms dry.
In spite of this all-encompassing fear, it’s surprising that presentation skills, including public speaking skills, are crucial “must-haves” for the person who wants to advance in their career. Opportunities to speak in public are business-building and career-boosting situations that can’t be ignored. From sales presentations to annual meetings, and from Chamber of Commerce events to trade shows, there will be a lot of opportunities in your career to get up in front of an audience and speak.
Will you let the fear of public speaking keep you from succeeding?
Don’t let the fear of public speaking eliminate the many opportunities to succeed at work. There are several ways that you can overcome your public speaking phobia. One of those ways is to simply pretend that you are confident.
That’s right – feign self-assurance! Why? People see the exterior: someone that has a smile on his face and can hear your clear, strong voice speaking knowledgably and engagingly about a topic won’t be aware of your knocking knees or pounding heart.
How can you act more confident? Here are 6 simple ways:
1. Offer to speak when the opportunities present themselves. Other people share your fear of public speaking and that keeps them from presenting. That leaves a vacuum… that you can fill!
2. Smile when called upon. Don’t frown or shake your head. Stride confidently up to the stage, shake the hand of the person who introduced you, face the audience and make eye contact.
3. Breathe! Inhale and exhale to help calm yourself down.
4. Remember that even though you’re scared to be up there, most people can’t even make it that far!
5. Be prepared. Know what you want to say before you have to say it. This requires doing some homework and practice, but the confidence & credibility it will give you will be unmatched.
6. Before going up to the front, look around the room for a couple friendly faces of people. When you take the stage, look for their faces again and make eye contact. Those faces smiling back at you, will help to give you the confidence, assurance and support that you need to begin speaking.
Many people will agree the hardest thing is getting started. Planning and practicing the moments immediately before public speaking and the first few minutes into your speech are the hardest. Being aware of these simple facts can give you the security you need to take a leap of faith to overcome the fear of public speaking one speech at a time.
Deborah Torres Patel an internationally acclaimed Voice & Presentation Coach. Sign up for complimentary online training at http://www.expressingyou.com . To dramatically reduce fear of public speaking, register for 20 free lessons at http://www.fearlessinfive.com .
Public Speaking Tips – How to Get a Great Response from Your Audience
I’m sure you know that the fear of public speaking is one of the strongest fears that people have. The truth is that it’s not the speaking that is the source of the fear, people speak everyday. The fear comes from the perception that the audience is judging the speaker. The true fear is the fear of a bad audience response.
You can ensure that you will get a good audience response every time by following a simple five step formula.
Step 1: Visualize a Successful Audience Response
A large percentage of your behavior is under the control of your subconscious mind. You subconscious mind is strongly influenced by your expectations. For this reason you should spend some time imagining a hearty applause at the end of your talk. You could also visualize happy, interested faces throughout the talk. This is the best way to set that expectation in your favor.
Step 2: Be Yourself
You can always tell a speaker who has been trained by one of the (unnamed) speaking groups. They have a rigid formula. They start their talk with a joke and so on. It is stiff and mechanical and rarely works well.
You don’t need a rigid formula like that. Just be yourself. If you are a funny person then a joke will pop out at an appropriate time and it will be funny. If that is not your nature then you don’t need to tell a joke. If you just be yourself then you don’t have to remember any mechanical formula because you have already been yourself for years.
Make sure that your talk contains no more than five key points and if the talk is a long one then you can further break those points down into no more than five sub-points per key point. You put those points down on a card (or five cards in the case of the long talk) and then you talk off the top of your head on each point. If you have prepared your topic well then you will know the material and it will flow naturally.
Step 3: Engage The Audience By Speaking To Them.
Treat the talk like a one on one conversation with a bunch of different individuals. Make eye contact with the most positive looking people in the audience and make sure that you do this with people in various parts of the room. As more people become interested make eye contact with them as well. They then feel like you are speaking to them.
Step 4: Use Everyday Words and Everyday Examples.
Use everyday words and everyday experiences to explain your points and the audience will follow you more easily.
If I am going to give a talk on a topic I haven’t spoken on before then I practice the talk while I’m driving around in the car. I do exactly as outlined in this article and talk off the top of my head on each point but I am listening to myself to make sure that the language I use is simple and easy to follow. I will do this as often as I can before I actually have to give the talk so that when I am on the platform the talk flows easily and the right words automatically come out.
Step 5: Be Friendly.
If you were having a social chat with your friends then you would have a friendly demeanor and you would naturally smile from time to time. Treat your audience as if they are your friends and you will find that you will naturally act in a friendly way toward them. When you smile people are more likely to smile at you. Friendliness attracts friendliness.
Try this simple five point system at your next talk and you will find that the audience will love you.
James Delrojo would like to help you by giving you his ebook “Unleash the Success Power of Your Mind” (valued at $27) completely FREE. Go to http://www.YourSuccessMind.com
James Delrojo would like to help you by giving you his ebook “Unleash the Success Power of Your Mind” (valued at $27) completely FREE. Go to http://www.YourSuccessMind.com
Public Speaking Tips: Your Way To Success
he fear of public speaking is one of the worst phobias to suffer at the hands of – if not the worst! Sufferers can be almost paralyzed with the fear in some cases. In my clinic and via my products, I help hundreds of people over each and every year to control their fear and actually begin to enjoy the art of public speaking.
I use Hypnosis, Emotional Freedom Technique and Neuro-Linguistic Programming to achieve the client’s desired results. If you are currently battling a phobia of public speaking then I would really encourage you to get some professional help, either from a practitioner of the three mentioned therapies or from one of the many successful products available on the internet for instant download.
To get you off to a flying start though I have included a few tips that I give to my clients that you maybe able to use to alleviate your fear somewhat. Here they are:
1. Understand that up to 90% of the nerves that you feel don’t actually show! You will always feel worse than you look and there is a very good reason for this. When you feel nervous it is because you body/brain is trying to tell you that maybe this is not such a good idea. In most cases you will be the only one actually picking up on this.
2. Try to pause and breathe regularly. We do this naturally in conversation and doing it while speaking publicly will help you to remain calm and stop you from talking too fast.
3. Never memorize a talk word for word – this will only confuse you more if you lose your place. Instead have notes and pointers that you have memorized. Have these with you so that you can refer back if you get lost.
4. Always speak on things that you are an expert on. This way you will nearly always know more about the subject than your audience. This is a real confidence boost.
5. In the days that are leading up to your talk – When you feel nervous – spend some time feeling positive. You see, it is actually the lead up to a presentation that makes most people nervous. By concentrating hard on the positives as well as the negatives it allows those bad thoughts running through your head to have another more positive outcome. This is in fact the most important as if you can change that dread to positively then you at 90% of the way to success.
So there you have it – my top tips! Remember that once you get up there you notice that it is not as bad as you thought it would be. And once you get a little bit of belief in your abilities then you will soon be on the track to success.
Richard MacKenzie in an expert in Hypnosis. He is also the best-selling author of Self-Change Hypnosis.
Two Great Tips For Public Speaking Success
The experts on our fears and stresses consistently tell us that the fear of public speaking is the greatest fear that most people have. When I first started public speaking I would have happily agreed with them, but now I love it and I earn a large amount of money whenever I speak. Here are a couple of tips that may help you love it too.
The first tip is that the audience is not your enemy (unless you are a politician) and that they are actually on your side.
Imagine the following situation. You are sitting in the audience with a few hundred people, waiting for the speaker to arrive on stage. The speaker is introduced and as he steps onto the stage he trips over a loose cable, falls flat on his face, his notes go everywhere. As he gets up and starts picking up his notes how do you feel about his predicament?
If you are like most people you feel for him. You may well see the funny side but you also feel sympathy for his situation. When you are a speaker the audience isn’t out to get you. They have come along to hear what you have to say. Also most people realize that you are doing something that they are not brave enough to do themselves and they respect you for it.
That tip was given to me, by a very successful public speaker, shortly after I started public speaking. Whenever I was about to get on stage I reminded myself that the audience had come to listen to me and were on my side. I always found that thinking in this way helped me get into a positive, confident state of mind.
The second tip was also given to me by the same experienced speaker and this is something that I do in every talk I give, even to the present day.
When I take the stage and begin speaking I look around the audience for interested faces. I then spend more time looking at those people than I spend looking at others. I imagine that I am having a one to one conversation with those interested people. This helps the flow of the talk and soon I am seeing more interested faces.
This technique helps me build a rapport with the audience and before long almost everyone is listening with an interested, involved look on their face.
Occasionally as I am scanning the faces I see someone who doesn’t want to be there. Perhaps they have been dragged along by a partner and have no interest in what I am saying. When I see that uninterested face I immediately turn to one of the key, very interested faces that that I have been using to build the rapport. In this way the uninterested face doesn’t distract me from my momentum.
I have also learned over the years that sometimes people who appear disinterested are in fact very interested in what you are saying; they just don’t have a face that shows it.
I was once giving a talk where a gentleman in the front row fell asleep a few minutes after my talk began. He went so deeply into sleep that a couple of times he almost fell out of his chair (fortunately he didn’t snore). At the end of the talk I opened the floor to questions and this guy woke up and proceeded to ask me very specific and interesting questions about things I had said. I don’t know how he did it but I learned never to assume that someone isn’t listening.
I hope that these two tips will help you in the next talk that you give. Remember that the audience is on your side and remember to build rapport by talking to those interested faces.
James Delrojo would like to help you by giving you his ebook “Unleash the Success Power of Your Mind” (valued at $27) completely FREE. Go to http://www.YourSuccessMind.com
James Delrojo would like to help you by giving you his ebook “Unleash the Success Power of Your Mind” (valued at $27) completely FREE. Go to http://www.YourSuccessMind.com
Public Speaking – The Easiest Way To Write and Deliver a Great Talk
People who aren’t used to public speaking may never the less be called on at some time to give a talk, perhaps as part of their job. This can be a daunting task but there is a very easy, step by step formula for writing and delivering a great talk.
Step 1: Decide What Your Main Message Will Be.
Let’s use this article as an example and say that your main message is that “there is an easy step by step formula for writing and delivering a great talk”.
Step 2: Break That Main Message Into Up To Five Headings Or Steps.
Sticking with this article as your example for a talk, your five steps would be:- 1. Decide on your main message. 2. Break that message down in to no more than 5 parts. 3. In the beginning of your talk tell your audience, in summary, what you are going to cover in the talk. 4. Cover each of the five points in more detail. 5. End your talk by reminding them, in summary, what you covered during the talk. The reason why you use five points is that the human brain can only absorb 5 to 9 chunks of information in a sitting. Choosing five (rather than 6, 7, 8 or 9) ensures that you are keeping your talk within the capacity of every audience member.
Step 3: Tell The Audience, Early In The Talk, What You Are Going To Cover.
Staying with the theme of using this article as our example, you could say:-
“Today I will be showing you a simple but powerful system for writing and delivering a great talk. In the course of the presentation you will see that writing and giving a great talk comes down to five simple steps.
1. Decide on your main message. 2. Break that message down into no more than 5 parts. 3. In the beginning of your talk, tell your audience, in summary, what you are going to cover during the talk. 4. Cover each of those five points in more detail. 5. End your talk by reminding your audience, in summary, what you covered during the talk.”
Step 4: Present The Five Points In More Detail.
If the talk is short, and you know your subject well, then you can speak off the top of your head on each of the five points. All you will need as notes is a single card with your main theme written at the top, and underlined, and then the five key headings written down the card in numbered point form.
This simple structure has the advantage of actually giving your talk enough structure while at the same time allowing enough freedom for your talk to sound spontaneous. The spontaneous aspect makes it interesting for your audience to listen to, while the structure makes it easy for them to follow and understand.
If the talk that you have to give needs to be too long for this simple structure then you can further breakdown each of the five key points into no more than five sub-points per main point. Now all you need for notes is a card with the theme, at the top and underlined, then the five main headings in numbered point form, plus five more cards each with the a main heading at the top (underlined), and the five subheadings for that point written under that main heading in numbered point form.
I suggest that you use a different numbering system on each point card than on the main card. For example, if your main card used 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 then each of the other cards could have its heading at the top (with its number, say 1) and the sub points below numbered A, B, C, D, and E. In this way it avoids you getting confused as to which card you are on.
Step 5: Finish The Talk With A Summary Of What You Told Them.
You could say something like:- “To wrap up today’s talk I would just like to remind you of what we covered, so that it will stick more firmly in your mind. I started by promising you a simple system that will enable you to write and deliver a great talk. I delivered on that promise by showing you that it really is a straight forward five step process. 1. Decide on your main message. 2. Break that message down into no more than 5 parts. 3. In the beginning of your talk, tell your audience, in summary, what you are going to cover during the talk. 4. Cover each of the five points in more detail. 5. End your talk by reminding your audience, in summary, what you covered during the talk.
I trust that you enjoyed today’s talk and that you will put this simple but powerful system into practice soon and discover how easy giving a talk really is.
Thank you and goodnight” (or good day as the case may be)
You will notice that I made the concluding remarks flow by using the terms “by promising” and “delivered on that promise” and then made it clear that the talk was over by encouraging them to put the new learning into action and thanking them for listening.
The terms “by promising” and “delivered on that promise” also reinforce in the minds of your audience members that you did a good job and that you gave them exactly what you promised. This will make your audience appreciate the talk and, as a result, when you thank them they will spontaneously applaud you.
Please try this five point system the next time that you have to give a talk and you will probably be pleasantly surprised just how easy, and how much fun, speaking in public can be.
James Delrojo would like to help you by giving you his ebook “Unleash the Success Power of Your Mind” (valued at $27) completely FREE. Go to http://www.YourSuccessMind.com
James Delrojo would like to help you by giving you his ebook “Unleash the Success Power of Your Mind” (valued at $27) completely FREE. Go to http://www.YourSuccessMind.com
10 ways to improve your public speaking speech
1. Confidence
You have to have a positive sensory orientation towards your speech, learn to have confidence. Unfortunately there is no secrets to this, you have to rehearse over and over again until your confident that you can make it.
Do remember that most people can easily distinguish between the certain speaker and the uncertain one, this is why you should never read your speech directly from a piece of paper. It gives an extremely bad impression.
2. Spice your speech
“Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech”
Make your performance remembered, make it tasty and try your outmost not to bore people. We all dislike hearing a boring professor speak, why commit the same mistake? A good way to spice your speech is by adding quotes to it, the more the merrier.
By the way, young folks are part of this culture where one uses some keywords over and over again which could make your whole presentation contaminated. Watch out for words such as; “like”, “well”, “you know” etc. A good way to counter this is by using alliterations, ie.
A sentence where all the initial letters in every word start by the same letter. For example: Cool! Crusty´s car crushed Carl. The important things is; be innovative when it comes to speeches!
3. Your posture
Your “body language” could turn out to be more crucial than you think, some people even claim that it might be more important than the speech it self!
Make sure you have a firm control over your body and try your out most to diminish the use of unnecessary movements. This might distract the audience and your recital might even be viewed as void.
4. Eye contact
Be cautious concerning your eye movements. You should avoid starring at someone/thing provocative, you do not want to be angered, annoyed or aroused when speaking.
5. Water
I think that this one concerns the guys a bit more; we (male gender) have this thing, we speak louder and less calmer then women. God knows, you might even become thirsty or lose your voice in the middle of the presentation, bad idea!
If your equipped with a bottle of water, your problem is fixed, plus you get a few seconds to fetch your thoughts when drinking.
6. Cards
Ever watched one of those lousy talk shows they air all the time? I am sorry if I brought back bad memories from the days you use to watch this garbage, but in case you paid attention back then you’ve probably noticed how all the talk shows hosts use cards when speaking.
This is an excellent move, you should employ that as well for a number of reasons:
a) Looks professional. b) By using keywords and sentences, you can summarize a long speech. c) You avoid using normal (A4) paper, if your hands shiver when you speak in public, the paper might shiver and produce this awesome sound of embarrassment.
7. Tools
Do you know how to make a power point, flash (or the like) presentation? If the answers yes, then what is stopping you?
In case you do decide to use a sideshow, be sure to avoid weird animations or music, this might distract your audience. Keep it simple, it usually works the best.
8. Your clothing
People don’t usually think of this, but be aware of the clothes you wear that day. You don’t want to wear tight/revealing clothes.
The whole point of the speech is for people to listen to your words, not be aroused by your looks.
9. Speak well
This must be emphasized; speak in a gentle and respectful matter. You have to avoid using bad words or phrases, such as the notorious f word.
10. Your ending
Try to make your ending summarize your whole speech, be innovative and make sure you don’t neglect this part. A good ending compensates a bad introduction
Abderisak Adam is a young study coach who resides in Sweden.
6 + 6 = Everything You Need To Know (About Public Speaking)
Just finish hearing a 5 mins audio lesson by David Brooks on public speaking. For those of you who do not know him, he is the 1990 World Champion Speaker. In this week’s audio lesson, he talked about two sets of six words that can essentially cover all you need to know about public speaking. Sound too good to be true? I thought so initially but after hearing it, it does make sense. Let me give you a quick recap.
In Bill Gove’s golden gavel speech, he summarized the essence of public speaking into six words – “Tell a story, make a point”. The story does not have to be a BIG story like how you fought cancer or conquered Mount Everest. It is the everyday story that happen to you and anyone else. Not only do stories help connect with your audience instantly, it also invoked one or more of the six emotions that people can have. Namely – happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, disgust and fear (the other set of six words). If you feel these emotions in your story, it will also invoke these emotions in your audience.
Three things to note however.
1. Every story that you tell must make a point, else it would just be plain chatting.
2. Use your own stories! (No one can tell your story as well as you do)
3. Everything that you encounter can become a story with a lesson.
So my friends, it is really impossible NOT to have any stories to tell. Even for loners who stay home all day long, they have a story to tell like what goes on in their mind for example! So the issue isn’t really with your stories, it is more about the point that you can make with the story. Some speech coaches (even me!) suggest that you write down all interesting stories that happen to you and save them in your computer. You can even categorize them if you want to. And when you need to prepare a speech (with a ready message), you can browse through the collection of stories and pick the most appropriate one. Not only does it make your speech more interesting and personalized, it is also unique!
Take yesterday’s lecture for example. It was a really long lecture, three hours to be exact. And it was impossible to remember everything the lecturer has to say. And those that I remember, are either in the form of stories or visuals! At one point, he was explaining about the concept of red flags (i.e. all recruiters and investors nit pick so that they can select the best). And he shared with us this story. There’s this recruiting company that has a very interesting way of filtering resumes. They will shuffle all the 200 over resumes and throw away the first 50 resumes… coz they don’t want to hire unlucky people!
It was a really simple story. Not only did he made a point (on the red flags and the unfairness of the world), it was also funny. And we really appreciate it especially after sitting through almost three hours of lecture!
So…as you are preparing your next speech or even presentation, see if you can incorporate a personal story in it. Stop giving speeches. Start telling stories!
Eric Feng is one of the youngest international certified coach and an Advanced Bronze Toastmaster with too many awards in public speaking to be listed here. Sign in to Eric’s subscriber list to receive daily insightful tips on public speaking and receive a complimentary copy of “Unleash The Speaker In You : 8 Ways To Become A Better Speaker” worth $50 for FREE. Visit www.ericfeng.com .
Public Speaking Tips
Speaking to others is a natural, human experience. When we speak to one another, or one person speaks to a group, what we are doing is really communicating. Communicating involves getting the point of the spoken idea across to your listeners so they understand your topic or subject matter. In the basic sense, communication is essential for survival, since we have to communicate properly to get the things we want and need in life. Therefore, good communication skills are necessary.
Today, there are many people that work in a public setting that involves communication among peers. Many employers like banks, schools, sales and marketing companies and the like may have certain requirements for you to be considered for employment. In an office setting that you may find at employers like these is an environment where humans are supposed to interact, relate and communicate with one another to complete a task or to convey an idea or a series of ideas.
This is where public speaking comes into play. Although you can take a speaking course in high school and college, public speaking skills are best developed by speaking to others at an office meeting or presentation where you, as the speaker, communicate your ideas to the extent your listeners understand them. More often than not however, is that most people feel uncomfortable speaking in front of 20 or so people or co-workers. Some end up speaking with a lack of self confidence, thus hindering the communication effectiveness and also how you are perceived professionally in the workplace environment.
So, how do you develop the skills required to speak publicly and to speak with confidence? It is a very important skill to have after all, since a good speech with effective communication delivered with confidence can carry the day. What follows are some tactics and techniques that you can employ to help optimize your public speaking and to hone your skills.
If you work at an employer or in an environment where you may have to give a speech or speak publicly, you should thoroughly research what you are going to be discussing. The research should be done at such a level, that when you have completed it, you know the subject matter backwards and forwards, inside and out. This will give you confidence when your speech is delivered. Writing your speech out on paper is good a good idea too as this helps you learn and memorize specific things you may want to point out when you deliver your speech.
It is also a good idea to do a dry run of your speech to family members or friends so that they can give you some constructive criticism for improvement. When they give you suggestions for improvement, implement them in your speech material if you think they are sound and will actually improve your speech. Ask your dry run listeners to ask questions about the subject you are presenting so you can get feedback on the level of confidence you have in your answers and explanations. Also, remember to present your dry run speech using the tools and resources you will have available when you deliver your actual speech.
If you are speaking to children make sure to work on the tone of your voice. Children are more likely to pay attention to your speech if you sound enthused and knowledgeable. Try to involve your young listeners in your speech by asking their opinions of things you are discussing with them. When speaking to children or teens, make sure you dress casually and make your eye contact to show your interest in how they think and feel about your subject. It is also a good idea to make small jokes to fill a pause or to break your speech up a little. This also shows them that you are relaxed and comfortable speaking to them.
Public speaking is a very important skill you must have to achieve your goals, especially in a working environment that caters to well developed communication skills. It is necessary for survival in obtaining employment, encouraging others and social interaction and development. Public speaking is best perfected with practice and as you get better, your peers will motivate you to even higher levels of achievement.
For a great range of other tips check out Lifestyle Tips
Fear of Public Speaking – Get Rid of the Fear
The chances are fairly high that most of you already know that public speaking or giving a presentation in front of a group is the Number One fear in the US.
Your presentation skills are an important part of you career path.
To take you career to the next level, you need to overcome that fear. You need to master the art and skill of speaking to others.
I’m a “Whys Guy.”
Let me tell you “why” so many people fear speaking in front of a group.
I believe this fear started at a very early age. What do parents tell their children?
“Children should be seen and …”
“Speak when …”
“If I want your opinion, …”
From an early age we’ve been taught that, “… is golden.”
Then, when we entered the school system, we met classmates who make fun of us if we gave wrong answers.
Even worse, we faced teachers who chided us for not answering fast enough and ridiculed us for wrong answers.
All this negativity added up to a reluctance to offer answers or become involved in class discussions. This traveled with us through our formal education and became a handicap in the business world.
Do you offer comments or questions in meetings? For years, I kept my mouth shut in business meetings for fear I might “make a fool of myself.”
Then I started to realize that what I was thinking or the questions I wanted to ask could have proven valuable in the discussion.
So, I started to contribute my thoughts and feelings at meetings.
Guess what? They were welcomed and sometimes actually acted upon. Not always. But if I never spoke up, none of my ideas would become known.
If you have ever experienced similar feelings, you are not alone. You are good people with good ideas. Let your ideas or questions be known.
And, lose your fear of speaking in front of a group or giving a presentation.
My friend, Mike McKinley’s father used to tell him, “Nobody knows your script.”
That’s true. No one is going to know you made a “mistake” except you.
Think about it this way.
If your are giving a presentation, the chances are very high the people that attend your presentation are there because they are interested in you or your topic.
So, get rid of your fear. Welcome and even look for opportunities to speak in public or at meeting.
Watch your confidence and career grow.
Al Borowski, MEd, CSP, PP, is a communications skills image consultant. He helps business professionals protect or improve their images when they speak, write, or listen. He is an author, speaker, trainer, and coach.
Al has been a popular seminar leader for The American Management Association, Dun & Bradstreet, and several top universities. He also speaks at conventions, conferences, and meetings.
His website, http://www.connectallthedots.com offers free audio, video, and written tips as well as a bi-weekly UseLetter, to help you take your career to the next level.
Al Borowski, MEd, CSP, PP, is a communications skills image consultant. He helps business professionals protect or improve their images when they speak, write, or listen. He is an author, speaker, trainer, and coach.
Al has been a popular seminar leader for The American Management Association, Dun & Bradstreet, and several top universities. He also speaks at conventions, conferences, and meetings.
His website, http://www.connectallthedots.