Art Of Great Speaking

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

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.

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 .

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

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.