Art Of Great Speaking

Some people are stressed just with the thought of standing up and speaking in public. They avoid public speaking like a plague. It´s hard for them to have all eyes on them. Whether they work alone or with large numbers of people, they would have to speak in public if they want to accomplish certain tasks. Also, one cannot be a leader and achieve meaningful accomplishments if they themselves are afraid to speak in public.

One of the main things to remember in order to figure out a way on how to overcome fear of public speaking is that it does not have to be stressful. Understand what the cause of the stress is and where it is coming from. You would also have to remember the key principles. This will give you the confidence that you need when speaking in public.

So many aspects in life are stressful as they already are. Public speaking does not have to be stressful. If you can´t help but feel stressed with just the idea of speaking in public, then deal with the stress in the same way that you would deal with any of the stress in your life.

So many people have already learned the tips when it comes to speaking in front of people and they managed not to be stressed at all. Voices tremble and knees would shake – these are the most common signs of fear of public speaking.

If these are already happening to you, and you want to overcome your fear, the first thing you should do is to stop these from happening. It´s your body, clearly you can control it.

It does not make you abnormal if you are afraid to speak in public. A way for you on how to overcome fear of public speaking is to have the right plan of action, right understanding, and right guiding principles. It is not hard, in fact, you can do this overnight. You just have to set your approach on the right path when it comes to speaking in public.

Another thing one must remember as a way on how to overcome fear of public speaking is that he does not have to be brilliant nor perfect in order to succeed. The people who are afraid to speak in public watch the people who could and think that they should be as entertaining, smart, witty, polished, and calm as them.

That shouldn´t be the case. First of all, they should stop bringing themselves down. The main key is to just believe in themselves and to just do it. If you want to learn how to overcome your fear of public speaking, i recommend Martin’s Ng surviving speaking disasters guide. Learn how you can get rid of your public speaking phobia easily and be able to give public speeches with confidence.

What is is about great public speakers like Barack Obama that allows them to hold, interest, and arouse a crowd so well? There are probably multiple factors, some of which we don’t fully understand yet, but ‘charisma’ is the label we give some of them. So what is charisma? One definition of charisma is ‘A rare personal quality attributed to leaders who arouse fervent popular devotion and enthusiasm’, but what does that really tell us?

Some people believe that charisma is an undefinable thing, an ‘it’ quality that you either have or don’t. But others are convinced that charisma is actually something that can be broken down and understood, and maybe even replicated by someone who doesn’t naturally have it. The logic is that all inspirational speaker, even Barack Obama, have at their disposal the same basic tools for communicating: tone of voice; cadence; the words themselves; eye contact; posture; dress, and so on.

Research appears to indicate that some factors are more important than others in being a charismatic inspirational speaker. For your consideration, here we present three of them:

#1 Message

Interestingly, it appears that in order for someone to be perceived as very charismatic, they need to first of all be communicating a message that is at least a little controversial. We don’t tend to find people as charismatic when they simply reinforce the status quo, no matter how well the message is delivered.

#2 Posture and gestures

When speaking, a charismatic person will adopt an erect but relaxed posture, with their hands away from their face and their palms pointing either forwards towards their audience or up towards the sky. Their torso will face the audience directly, and not from an angle.

#3 Speech

Keynote motivational speaker will generally speak with an upbeat, positive tone,that slows for emphasis. Also very important is clear, simple language that invokes imagery. A charismatic person will speak fluently and articulately, with no unnecessary pauses, use of ‘filler’ words, or any other distracting speech habits.

The next time you watch a motivational speaker, pay attention to these things and see for yourself if they ring true. If so, you could try adopting them yourself the next time you are called on to give a speech or presentation.

Zander Smith
Site representative
GreatBlackSpeakers
Member of black motivational speaker group

One of the most common complaints I hear from my clients is that they run out of air in public speaking. And, not surprisingly, breathlessness at the lectern often goes hand in hand with nervousness.

Let’s look at the picture in its entirety. Nervousness does not cause breathlessness. It only exaggerates it. Simply put, breathlessness is caused by lack of breathing.

When you stand at the lectern to deliver a speech or a presentation, what is the first thing you do?

1. Open your mouth and speak;

2. Open your mouth, take a breath, and speak;

3. Regard your audience, open your mouth, take a breath, and then begin to speak.

Chances are you do #1; it would be better to do #2; but, it would be ideal to do #3.

Because of nervousness, many people often walk onto that podium or up to that lectern and begin speaking before their legs are even in place with no regard for acknowledging their audience. Not only are they not breathing properly, but at the lectern, most people never even think to breathe. They wait until they are totally out of air and then they audibly inhale, trying to catch up on their air supply. What results is a cat and mouse game of constant catch up.

The problem lies in waiting until you are totally out of air before inhaling. When I work with clients or in my DVD training, I teach people to breathe before they run out of air. It is called supplementing your air supply. Think of your air as a balloon. The secret is to keep replenishing that balloon – keep the balloon inflated and don’t allow it to deflate.

You are allowed to take a breath almost anywhere in your speech. We do this in normal conversation and don’t think twice about it. My advice is to talk to your audience in the same manner.

Look at the following sentence:

I would rather go to the game ● than watch it on television. You can easily take a breath where you see the bullet; however, you could have taken a breath after any of those words if you have any expression in your delivery. Try it. It works.

So the next time you stand to give a speech or make a presentation, acknowledge your audience first, take a breath, begin speaking and then supplement that balloon so that your air supply is never depleted.

The Voice Lady Nancy Daniels offers private, corporate and group workshops in voice and presentation skills as well as Voicing It!, the only video training program on voice improvement. Visit Voice DynamicYour Least Developed Tool! and watch Nancy as she describes

Think of the last really memorable talk or presentation that you attended. Now, was that easy to do, or did you really have to rack your brains to remember one? Sadly, too many presentations are easy to forget. And that’s a big problem because the only reason the presenter gave the talk was to communicate something to you.

However, there are four basic things that you can do to ensure that your verbal messages are understood – and remembered – time and time again.

Although somewhat obvious and deceptively simple, these are:

* Understand the purpose of the presentation
* Keep the message clear and concise
* Be prepared
* Be vivid when delivering the message

Understand what you want to achieve:
Before you start working on your talk or presentation, it’s essential that you really understand what you want to say, who you want to tell and why they might want to listen. To do this, ask yourself: Who? What? How? When? Where? Why?

Who are you speaking to? What are their interests, beliefs and values? What do they share in common with others; how are they unique?

What message do you wish to convey? One way of answering this question is to ask yourself about the ‘success criteria’. How do you know if and when you have successfully communicated what you have in mind?

How can you best put across your message? Language is most important here, as are non verbal cues such as body language and expressions. Choose your words and non verbal cues while keeping your audience in mind. Plan a beginning, middle and end. If time and place allow, consider and prepare audio-visual aids.

When? Timing is important here. Develop a sense of timing, so that your contributions are seen and heard as relevant to the issue or matter at hand. There is a time to speak and a time to be silent.

Where? What is the physical context of the communication in mind? You may have time to visit the venue, for example, and rearrange the furniture. Check for availability and visibility if you are using audio or visual aids.

Why? In order to convert hearers into listeners, you need to know why they should listen to you – and tell them if necessary.

The Importance of Simplicity:
When it comes to wording your message, less is more. You’re giving your audience headlines, too much information will overload and bore your listeners. They are not expecting to become experts on the subject as a result of hearing your presentation, therefore simplicity is best.

If you’re using slides, limit the content of each one to a few bullet points, a single statement or a very simple diagram.

Preparation:
Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. In fact, it is the most important factor in determining your communication successes. When possible, set meeting times and speaking and presentation times well in advance, thus allowing yourself the time you need to prepare your communications. Each minute of a presentation deserves thirty minutes preparation.

Of course, not all communications can be scheduled. In this case, preparation may mean having a good, thorough understanding of the office goings-on, enabling you to communicate with the knowledge you need to be effective, both through verbal and written communications.

Successful Delivery:
The manner in which you deliver your speech or presentation has a lasting impact on your audience. Again, preparation is paramount here, in order to hold the listeners attention. Some useful tips for keeping your presentation vivid include:

* Use examples to bring your points to life.
* Keep your body language up-beat – don’t stay stuck behind a rostrum.
* Don’t talk to fast. Less is more here too. Pauses are effective.
* Use a variety of tones of voice.
* Use visual aids.

Presentations and public speaking, although daunting, can be a very enjoyable, rewarding experience, once adequate time is taken to prepare and rehearse them. An enthusiastic speaker who is confident with their material will make a lasting memorable impression on their audience.

The author Chris Williams manages the free Nigerian newspapers Online website which offers quick and easy access to all reputable online Nigerian newspapers plus facts about Nigeria online

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Public speaking training programs are very useful to many people. The fear of public speaking, also known as glossophobia, is thought to affect as much as 75% of the population. Symptoms include intense anxiety, physical distress, nausea, or even panic. Oftentimes people would rather excuse themselves from the event than be forced to speak in public. When the speaking engagement is unavoidable, people tend to become extremely nervous and inject the words “umm” or “ahh” into their sentences, and speak with a quivering voice or stutter.

Despite this, public speaking is widely regarded as one of the tools necessary for success. Public speaking books are bestsellers in the self-help category, but public speaking training programs are more helpful in teaching people to overcome their fear of addressing a crowd. Effective public speakers employ oratory, emphatic gestures, voice control techniques, and sometimes humor to impart a message onto the audience and influence the way they feel and think. President Obama is a perfect example of how influential a good public speaker can be.

Training programs usually focus on presentation and communication skills, both verbal and non-verbal. They analyze how the person moves and talks, as well as the aura he/she is projecting. Confidence is a key to effective public speaking, as well as the ability to articulate the message concisely. By improving on their public speaking skills, people are one step closer to professional and personal success. Public speaking training programs help people get the message across, whether it’s to a small group of five people or a crowd of 5,000.

For more on public speaking training go to http://www.SelfConfidentSpeaking.com

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RZC Impact is a communication firm that aims to provide communications, public relations, media, and messaging services to help clients with their media requirements. They believe that public speaking training programs will be effective in helping individuals and their organizations convey their message articulately. For more information about their products or to avail of their services, please call 973-362-1082 or visit www.RZCImpact.com. Jeff Paul is a writer and copy editor who likes to share information on many different topics.