To input your speech all you need to do is sit down in a quiet room, free from disturbances, and read your notes to yourself. This aides in memorizing your speech so you can make eye contact with your audience as opposed to just reading from your notes. You may also spot small mistakes at this stage that you can correct before moving to the outputting process. There are no real keys or tricks to this method, only constant repetition.

There any many different tricks you can use to improve your outputting your speech. To perform at your best on the day of your speech you should aim to replicate the conditions you will be giving your speech in during practice.

Variables you need to consider when outputting your speech include whether you’ll be stood up or sat down, if you’ll have a microphone to speak into, if you have technology such as a laptop and projector at your disposal and what type of clothes you’ll be wearing. The more accurately you can simulate the conditions in which you are giving your speech the better prepared you will be.

With practice you can perfect your delivery and timing and really get to grips with what it is you are saying. However even after much practise you will probably want to write down some key notes on a piece of paper or a number of small cards. Well written notes/bullet points will help keep you on track and provide a reminder of the details you want to get across.

As one last little tip I would recommend practising your speech in front of a mirror. This will help you get used to making eye contact with an audience and quell any nerves you have about speaking in public. Just remember practice makes perfect! Jake Rhodes is the author of many self-help articles and currently runs top hypnosis site http://www.hypnobusters.com along with professional hypnotherapist, Jon Rhodes.

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Whether you just have one speech to deliver as a best man or matron of honour, or you’re a businessperson who wants to make confident presentations to enhance your position in the company then ask yourself the following questions to fully prepare for your speaking duties.

Who Will The Audience Be?

Before you give a presentation or a speech you should carefully consider exactly who the audience will comprise of. This includes how many people you will be speaking to and the relationship between yourself and the audience. The more you learn about your prospective audience the easier it will be to prepare your speech.

What Do Your Audience Want To Hear?

If you’ve been asked to give a presentation to upper management types then they’ll want to hear a lot of stats, facts and ideas for the future. On the other hand a best man’s speech will be a lot more humour based with a couple of stories and is generally best kept to a short length of time so that the festivities can continue.

How Long Do You Need To Speak For?

Always ask how long you need to speak for. “Just get up and say a few words” isn’t specific enough, push for an exact length of time. The vast majority of public speaking doesn’t last much more than five or ten minutes.

What Should The Tone Be?

Depending on who the audience are and the purpose of the speech you should be able to grasp what the tone should be. If you’re making a short speech at a close friend’s birthday party then you can afford to be a little more risqué than you could giving a eulogy at a funeral. Similarly when you’re giving a business presentation there are circumstances where you can be more informal than usual depending on who the audience are.

Where Will You Be Speaking?

Always consider where it is you’ll be speaking as it makes a big difference. If you have access to a laptop and a projector then you have the option to use visual aids which makes public speaking easier as you no longer have to worry about the audience visually focusing on you. If you’re making a wedding/party speech then there’s a good chance you’ll have a lot of background noise to contend with. Will you have a microphone or will you just have the power of your voice?

The more information you have the better. With clear guidelines you are much more likely to make a speech that stays on point and serves the purpose it was intended Jake Rhodes is the author of many self-help articles and currently runs top hypnosis site http://www.hypnobusters.com along with professional hypnotherapist, Jon Rhodes.

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For years I struggled with stage fright and fear of public speaking. My struggles led me to develop ways to manage my tension and eventually to create a method that transforms the tension of stage fright. One of the greatest things I have learned is how to consciously generate connective presence before I start to talk. As a result, I now feel at home and comfortable from the very first minute of a talk. There is no waiting to get comfortable or hoping to get relaxed since I have learned to be present with audiences. There is just a stepping into being with my audience from the first moment. All my efforts can then be put into building deeper and deeper rapport with listeners and on sharing myself fully with them.

Here is how you can create connective presence at your next opportunity to speak up or to speak in front of a group. The following steps will help you to manage your tension, intention and attention so that comfortable connection is a natural outcome of your presence.

First, get yourself into a state of presence by focusing your awareness on being in your body. Simply place your attention in each part of your body, one part at a time. Start by focusing your attention inside your head for 5 or 10 seconds. Be aware of being in your head. Then focus in your neck, then your chest, etc, working your attention all the way down to your feet. You will notice that energy flows where ever you put your attention. By the time you get to your feet, you will be grounded in your body, feeling connected to yourself, filled with energy and present to the moment.

Next, set your intention to care about your listeners. Decide to love them rather than worrying about whether they will like you or not. Decide to be there for them to share your ideas, insights, expertise and talents.

Finally, open yourself to receiving their attention. As you step into the center of attention, be intentional about taking in their attention as support. You will literally sense their energy coming towards you. When you can take their energy in, there is no need to defend, protect or deflect their attention. It simply comes into you, filling you up with a bodily-felt sense of support. You are now in a state of connective presence, being with your listeners and ready to share your ideas.

Managing tension is about consciously focusing human energy through intention and attention. It is what athletes do to get into the ideal performance state so they can play their best game. If athletes can learn this skill, then so can you. Try it and report back to me. If you need some help with grounding in your body, try my Grounding Meditation to support the process of developing your own connective presence.

Sandra Zimmer works with high achievers who are struggling with communication and who may be uncomfortable speaking in groups. She helps them transform the way they express who they are so they feel confident to share their ideas, insights and expertise. Sandra has developed the Zimmer Method for Authentic Communication. Her method guides people through an experiential process that connects them to their natural abilities to express themselves

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The key question is – what is the purpose of your presentation? What do you want to achieve?

Do you want to inform, persuade, inspire, entertain?

Make the context crystal clear. Spend a long time considering your subject and gathering appropriate material that will punch your key messages home. How long will you be speaking for? What is your place on the speaking programme? Do you have to tie in with someone else’s contribution? The auditorium and number of guests present can have a big impact on you and your speech. Find out who’ll be there? Could they have an impact on your speaking career?

What visual aids equipment will be there? (or do you want to be there)? Know how to use it properly – and carry spares! Ensure that you know the requirments of the auditorium. Agree them up front with the organizers.

Get the sequence of your talk right. Would an agenda help? You will need a logical and ’signposted’ structure with a definite conclusion (do not leave it in the air!). Have a strong opening with impact, something that the audience will remember long after. Similarly, the ending should be memorable. Research shows that your audience will probably remember the beginning and the ending if they are delivered convincingly.

Establish your audience’s level of knowledge by research before the event. The army has an interesting saying: ‘Good reconnaissance is never wasted.’ Ensure you adapt your presentation to their level of knowledge and interest.

Check for rapport with your audience. Are they nodding with agreement. Win them over. Smile, talk of ‘we/us’, and never talk down or patronize your audience.

Keep them awake. It’s better without a written script (unless you have to). Aim for variety of voice – word pictures can be highlighted within a long talk – visual aids, maybe (with pie charts rather than tables) or break it up with a 2-man act.

If you have any briefing materials, distribute them before the event. Or tell them at the start if they’ll get notes at the end. Be prepared for questions. Note and remember who asked the question. With Q&A sessions, always repeat the question.

If you don’t know the answer – never flannel – it will show!

There are three keys to success: preparation – preparation – preparation.

Explore all three in great detail and you will probably succeed in your assignment.

There is no substitution for preparation. Plan your structure. Don’t waste people’s time – get into it. Time is money – deliver your messages confidently http://www.collegeofpublicspeaking.co.uk

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Public speaking is an art form, when you deliver a presentation or a speech in front of an audience. In a survey, it is the greatest fear of the people who were polled, so you are definitely not alone if the thought of public speaking makes your knees tremble. Whilst public speaking can be taught and trained, the one key factor that you must possess is self confidence. With it, you will be able to trust in your own ability to cope with accidental hiccups, or unexpected questions shot your way.

The first thing to realize is that whilst training can help to prepare you, speaking with confidence is something that comes with exposure. The more often you speak in front of an audience, the more you will realize that there is not much to be afraid of, and that most people are not as critical as you think they might be. This will help you to build your confidence naturally.

The reason why so many people are afraid of public speaking is because they are unable to overcome their nervousness. The cause of this feeling of anxiety can differ from each person, with most people being afraid of coming across as incompetent. No matter how much you have trained, or rationalized the reasons why you should not be nervous, it is normal to still feel this way. Try to take the focus away from your fear, as the more you dwell on it the worse it will seem and you will soon find yourself paralyzed by your fear. Look for something to distract you, or engage in relaxation techniques.

This is a perfectly normal feeling to experience, and only someone who does not care about the presentation is able to feel a total lack of nervousness. The feeling of intense nervousness is especially strong right before you step up to speak, and you should take deep breathes to calm yourself down. Make eye contact with the audience and smile at them, especially if you know them personally. This will help you feel as though you are speaking to friends. Smile, and it will help your body to relax as smiling is an expression associated with having fun. At the end of it, the most important thing you should do is tell yourself not to be nervous. You have put in the effort and the preparation for this speech, and you should place your faith in yourself.

Before you embark on your presentation, it is a good idea to find out more about the audience demographics. If it is an open event which does not have a specific target crowd, scan the audience to find out their general age and experiences. This will help you to build rapport and form a connection with them in the first 3 minutes of your speech. How do you do this? Try to identify possible reasons why your presentation will be beneficial to them, and why they should pay attention. Capture their interest in the most important few minutes of your opening speech, and let them know what you will be covering.

Always play to your strengths. If you have a naturally serious face, you can attempt to soften the speech by adding in a hint of humor. Similarly if you have a reputation for being a clown, try to keep to the facts and figures and make your presentation a formal but interesting one. Whilst numbers and data is often crucial information, it does not do well to either focus too much or to gloss over them. Make sure you time yourself before your presentation, as a speech that drags on for too long no matter how interesting, will become boring and you will lose the audiences’ attention.

When delivering a presentation, it is a good idea to smile, but take care not to do this throughout the entire speech. It is also preferable to pick a topic that you are familiar with, or one that you have personal experience in. Public speaking is never easy, and you should not be afraid to ask for help. It is perfectly acceptable to inject humor or the unexpected into your presentation and personal anecdotes adds a touch to your speech and will keep your audience attentive.

Ultimately, stage fright and nerves is something that cannot be overcome with a snap of your fingers. With increased performances, you will find it easier to overcome your fear of public speaking, as speaking with confidence is something that needs to be developed and honed over time.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Greg_Frost

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Nobody likes to listen to a ghost-written address read with the zest of a secretary reviewing last month’s minutes; such an impersonal speaker wastes his listeners’ as well as his own time.

Ghost-writing is practiced by public characters that either have little or nothing to say—or who do not know how to express their own ideas. These people simply hire better informed or more articulate characters to provide them with language and also ideas.

When a ghost-written composition appears in print or is passed off as oratory, the public is deceived into believing that it is an authentic discourse which originated in the mind of its putative author who, in fact, is nothing more than a literary microphone or megaphone.

Many individuals are full of good words—so they become ghost-writers—but a good speech requires not only superb language but also a thorough knowledge of the subject. The subject may be foreign to the ghost-writer, and to cover any deficiency he may resort to pious platitudes, but fancy phrases are no substitute for lack of knowledge of the sub¬ject. That knowledge a speaker must possess personally in order to present his ideas interestingly and convincingly.

An audience wants a speaker to speak with confidence, conviction and sincerity.  Perfect English is not required for effective public speaking or presentations. The audience want the presenters to know their topic and deliver a speech that is worth while to them.

Ghost-written speeches do have their place, but to enable the presenter to speak with confidence they must have input into the writing so that it reflects their knowledge and personality. In this way they will develop into a confident public speaker.

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Two areas that will benefit are the ability to speak expressively and being more enthusiastic. Conversation is usually “safer” than public speaking and will give you the opportunity to be more confident in these skills before trying them out in public.

Vivid Speech

Each day there are  numerous opportunities to engage in public speaking because every conversation is, in a way, a speech. Why not make your everyday conversations vital, vivid, and realistic? When you speak with one person or to groups of people color your words and ideas so they will appeal to hearers’ natural senses. Make your word pictures so vivid an audience can feel, hear, and see them as clearly as a talking picture on the wall and you’ll be an interesting, persuasive speaker.

Enthusiasm

When you speak show enthusiasm for it is highly contagious and if you enjoy your subject and your audience, the audience will reflect the same feeling toward you and your subject. So in daily conversations,  or in any human relationship, give yourself completely, and you will find that the enthusiasm you give to others will be reflected back to you many fold.

The emotion of enthusiam will help any speaker be more convincing. Developing a more expressive way of speaking both in the words and how you use your voice will help you to be a more interesting speaker. Practicing during private conversation gives a more “secure” environment to develop the ability to speak with confidence and persuasiveness by trying out new things to expand the”comfort zone.”

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One of the keys to confident speaking is to talk or present on a topic that you are interested and are knowledgeable about. By mastering your topic you can master your audience.

Proficient public speaking requires a thorough knowledge of your subject matter. Your perfectly pitched voice may be pleasing to the ear; you may be a master of delivery and have a fine command of the English language. Despite all these attributes your performance still might be a flop if you are not thoroughly conversant with your subject.

This lack of thorough subject knowledge is the rock that wrecks more public speakers’ ambitions than any other. Veterans of the hard roll and fruit cup circuit frequently pop up with a talk at the sight of a breadcrumb, but often their urge to be heard is hardly worthwhile because they don’t know what they’re talking about.

Audiences are quick to sense it when your knowledge of your subject is superficial and your speech goes over like a lead balloon. Contrariwise, a person may not be considered a first-rate speaker and yet be much in popular demand because he is a recognized leader in his field and knows his subject thoroughly.

By knowing about your topic it is easier to speak with confidence. The knowledge you have on the topic gives you a rational reason to be confident. And in many cases you are merely expanding the private conversations you have had on the subject. Knowledge is power and it is that power that makes it easier to confidently speak.

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