Public Speaking – 10 Tips to Make Your Speech More Interesting
Monday, May 11th, 2009
An audience will seldom stay attentive to your speech of its own accord. It needs help to stay attentive. When the audience’s interest does wander attention arrestors are required to bring it back.
To keep the audience’s attention takes effort but the rewards are great. Adding “seasoning” to your speech makes it more interesting for your audience and increases its effectiveness.
1. Use Humor
Using humor in public speaking is a very powerful way to get your listener’s attention. It let’s light into your speech. For best effect weave the humor around your speech’s theme. Practice and rehearse humorous anecdotes etc, so that the delivery is natural and effortless. If your listeners don’t laugh, don’t worry; move swiftly along as if you didn’t expect a laugh.
2. Tell Stories
People love to hear stories, especially human interest stories. As with humor, tell stories that are relevant to your speech. A good story involves conflict, dramatic action and suspense.
3. Ask Rhetorical Questions
A rhetorical question will arrest your audience’s attention. However, be prepared for someone in the audience to answer the question. If it is right, give thanks and move on. If the answer is wrong you have an excuse to run through the highlights of your talk.
4. Get the audience to help out
Ask a member of the audience to come out to the front to help you demonstrate a point. The rest of the audience is now interested to see what will happen to one of their own and they are wondering if they will be asked up next.
5. Objects
Listener’s like to see things, because of the variety they bring from just listening. The objects that are displayed should be able to be seen by all the audience to be truly effective. Use objects that relate and illuminate your speech.
6. Get Moving
A speaker that stays still behind the lectern can bore their audience. Use your natural gestures and movement to emphasize points as you would in everyday conversation. Rehearsed gestures can look forced and false.
7. Stop Speaking
When you pause, the audience takes stock and wonders why you stopped. The pause will emphasize what you have just said. It is the public speaking equivalent of saying “do you see what I mean?” in conversation.
8. Facts – Don’t be boring
Facts will add weight to presentation but they are cold and are often boring. Present your facts in an interesting way. For example you could describe the fact that there are billions of insects as follows – If all the insects below, on and above the earth and in water were piled on one another they would cover the earth 3 feet deep.
9. Be Enthusiastic
Enthusiasm is infectious. When you are genuinely enthusiastic about something it shows in your manner and voice. An audience will reflect the same feeling. You can get the feeling of enthusiasm for something by acting enthusiastically.
10. Don’t overdo it
As with all good things, you can over use these techniques. If you use too many of these techniques the audience will become distracted and your message may lose its’ clarity and effectiveness.
By adding one or more of these techniques you will see a change in your audience’s enjoyment and the effectiveness of your speech.
