First of all, before a person can give a successful speech, he or she needs to be properly prepared. If the person hasn’t thoroughly researched the topic of the speech and doesn’t know much about it, then the public speaking experience could possibly be disastrous. By ensuring that the speech material has been carefully written and prepared, anyone giving a speech will feel a lot more confident Having confidence in oneself during public speaking is imperative to having a positive outcome. If the speaker feels like they will perform well, then their performance will most likely be successful.

Additionally, the old saying ‘practice makes perfect’ applies in many situations, especially public speaking. It is an extremely good idea for anyone planning on giving a speech publicly to practice aloud until they feel comfortable. It could be quite embarrassing for a person to get in front of an audience and start reading a speech that contains unfamiliar material. Even if the speaker wrote the material himself but did not memorize it, it can appear to be foreign material. This is even more possible if a severe case of nervousness sets in. Everyone knows that when someone is nervous, their mind has a good chance of going blank, especially during a public speaking experience.

Practicing will enable the person to memorize the speech so that it will appear less like he or she is reading it. Speeches weren’t meant to be read, but instead they should be memorized and presented with confidence and vigor. The monotone of one’s voice while reading a speech word-for-word is sure to bore any audience. Although the actual written speech can be referred to from time to time, the speaker needs to make eye contact with their audience and this can’t be achieved if their eyes are on the text during the entire affair. Practicing in front of the mirror, or friends and family members, is a good idea. It gives the person the opportunity to experience how it feels to give a speech for an audience, even if it’s only the reflection of the person with the impending public speaking event.

Even those who are veterans at public speaking sometimes experience bouts of anxiety prior to giving a speech. To avoid anxiety during a public speaking event, the speaker needs to prepare thoroughly in advance by carefully writing the speech, practicing it in depth, memorizing it, and finally relaxing before getting behind the podium. If all of these tips are remembered, then the person is sure to give a very successful speech.

Michael Jeffreys is the president of Seminars on DVD, a premiere provider of video based training for businesses and individuals, featuring renowned experts and speakers. Learn more at: http://www.SeminarsOnDVD.com.

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1. Know your audience. This is the single best piece of advice for delivering a presentation that really hits home. What are their interests? Their backgrounds? Why are they coming to hear you speak or present? What ideas do you have to share with them? Approaching your speech as more of a “me-to-you” discussion rather than a full-blown broadcast will make it more manageable (and less stressful) and easier on you.

2. What do you want your audience to do as a result of your speech? What’s really at the heart of your presentation? By concentrating on the end result rather than slogging through the beginning, you can create a powerful punch that drives home your message instead of rambling on and losing your audience’s interest (or missing the point entirely!)

3. Share a story. In public speaking circles, this is called a “hook” �” something that gets your audience’s attention and makes them sit up and listen. Start off by asking questions or sharing an experience you had. People like to be active, rather than passive listeners. By giving them something that they can identify with, you’ll find that these people are, in essence �” just like you! And that makes giving a presentation a whole lot easier. Just be sure your story has a beginning, a point, and an ending. There’s nothing quite as bad as telling a story to an engaged audience and then forgetting why you told it!

4. If you’re selling a product, focus on the benefits instead of the features. People would much rather hear WHAT a product can do for them than HOW it does it. Narrow down your product’s features until you get to the core of how it solves a problem. If you need help with figuring out the difference between a feature and a benefit, ask yourself “So What?” For example, if you’re selling a vacuum cleaner that has a hypoallergenic filter, put yourself in the customer’s shoes and ask yourself “so what?” The answer would be something like, “It picks up dust, mold and pet dander”. Again, so what? Answer, You’ll feel relief from runny nose and sneezing plus itchy, water eyes. Now THATs a benefit!

5. Don’t lean too heavily on media to make your message clear. PowerPoint presentations are great for making specific points, but they can be overwhelming �” or downright boring. Instead, give your audience something to DO by providing them with fill-in-the-blank flip charts or “team activities”. These help reinforce and emphasize your message in ways that a computer presentation simply cannot.

6. Above all, make sure your speech ends in a way that reiterates the beginning. Too often, speakers get carried away with the details and leave their audiences asking, “What was the point of all that?” People naturally digest information in “chunks”, so focus on the big picture rather than all the pieces. If the details are just as important, save it for an after-speech handout that the audience can take with them and read over at their leisure.

If you keep these six tips in mind, you’ll not only have an easier time overcoming your fear of public speaking, but you’ll have a very appreciative audience who will in turn be more receptive and eager to try your product or service. Go get ‘em! All Managers Are Customers Too Whatever business you are in, you will find that there is one key cause of your success.

How your customers experience your business and service.

Many departments and companies have processes in place for assessing their services to their customers. However very often the measures in place don’t reflect what the customer perceives to be important. They don’t reflect the true benefit and often processes which suit the business, are not customer-friendly, however much they suit the internal needs. What has the customer experienced? In addition, the key for an excellent customer experience is in the relationship between person/department/company and their customer. I had a new washing machine delivered recently. It arrived the day and time slot the company stated. Great! If the company measures ‘did they deliver when they stated they would’ they would have a 100% service. The managers will be proud of themselves!! However, what they didn’t measure was my satisfaction. The delivery driver was the most miserable person I had met in ages. He obviously wasn’t passionate about his job. He left muddy footprints on my carpet. So was I happy? No! They may have delivered on the right day/time but my overall experience was poor. Will I be using the same company again? I doubt it. Do the managers of the company know? No! They think they are providing a fantastic service because they are only measuring their processes, which suit them internally. One of the keys to creating an excellent customer relationship is the interface between the customer and their point of contact within the company. One way to avoid this issue is to ask your employees what gets in the way of making the very best of relationships with their customers. What do they need more of (as well as less of) to deliver exemplary customer service?

Another valuable way to approach this is to ask your people what they find works well for them when they themselves are customers, as we all are, elsewhere. What was good about it and what did they think could have been done better. Also, ask the customer! What was the experience like for them? You could ask them to complete a questionnaire. However, a great way would be to ring them a few days later. Finally, experiencing the customer journey through their experience is probably one of the most value-creating actions that can be taken.

For employees to watch, listen and even act out the experience of one of the customers they would normally be serving, is a very enlightening role they can play.

This can be achieved by taking them out of their usual working role, for a while, and getting them to watch or listen to what happens when their customer starts the interaction. They then really share the experience and start to notice how things could be different.

If that can then be brought into a discussion forum where several share their experiences and propose changes, there are the ingredients for continuing progress and change.

Most employees want to do a great job. They want their customers to leave satisfied, thrilled even, wanting to do business again in the future.

Enabling your people to spend time getting all the pieces in place for their customer, really understanding how to meet their needs fully and even exceptionally is a way to get them motivated and excited to be part of your team. It builds team spirit and morale.

Using the capabilities of your own people, to give better service through sharing their thoughts and ideas, is a valuable exercise – and one, which creates untold value in your business for the future. It is easy to establish such a way of working. Be the person to instigate such an activity. Make sure you implement some of the ideas suggested. Track the benefits as a result. You will be seen as the manager who ‘makes things happen’.

Andrew Rondeau transformed himself from a $4 an-hour petrol-pump attendant to a highly successful Senior Manager earning $500k every year. Discover How to Maximize Your Income and Minimize Your Effort by receiving Andrew’s free e-Course and report: http://www.greatmanagement.org/

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• Is public speaking mysterious? Check
• Is public speaking a subjective topic? Check
• Are many people afraid of public speaking? Check
• Is public speaking grossly misunderstood? Check

When you have a subject that manages to be mysterious, subjective, fear inducing, and misunderstood these things tend to happen. Fortunately, I’m here to right those wrongs and put 3 common myths to bed for you.

1 – YOU are the Focus

This statement is a flat out lie. The speech is never about you. If it was there would only be 3 people in attendance:

1. You
2. Your Wife
3. Your retired neighbor

People open their ears and listen to you because you have something of value to offer them. Our world is very selfish, face-paced, winner take all environment. People aren’t going to show (or shut) up to hear you speak if there are no benefits. Many inexperienced speakers make the mistake of scaring themselves silly thinking they must be the focal point of the presentation. In actuality there are only 2 ways for this to happen:

1. You are an incredibly bad speaker (5%)
2. You are an incredible speaker (5%)

If you are part of that other 90% then you honestly have nothing to fear. The odds are in your favor.

2 – You Must be the Know it all Expert On Your Topic

Another rookie mistake is thinking that you must be the know it all expert to present. You should speak from a solid knowledge base in order to feel comfortable. Don’t burden yourself with the expectation that you will know everything. You’re setting yourself up for failure if you do.

Last week I was giving a seminar to the Executive Board of the National Action Network. One of the participants was incredibly feisty and argumentative. She jumped down my throat when I mentioned that it wasn’t feasible to know everything about a specific topic. To prove a point I purposefully asked her about a recent disagreement between rapper Lil’ Wayne and Al Sharpton. Her face went blank. She looked around the room as her colleagues screamed out different answers to my question. Before they could blurt out the answer I quieted them and returned to her.

“Do you know the answer to my question?” I asked.

“Honestly, I have no idea who you’re talking about. I thought this Wayne character was a mayor or governor or something” she replied. A look of disappointment drowned out her facial features.

I turned to her and said, “Remember this. The words I don’t know are your friend. It’s smart to admit that you don’t know the answer to a question. It allows you to save face and reply to the question later. If you lie or try and make something up you lose credibility with each passing word.”

Repeat after me…I don’t know but I can find out. Those words will save you much pain.

3 – People Will Ridicule You Afterward

Remember what I said earlier about being the center of attention? It applies to this myth as well. If you’re giving a presentation and its going bad then consider this.Most people would prefer not to stand in front of a crowd so they sympathize with and support you. I’ve seen speakers get a boost from the audience mid speech because they appeared to lose control of the situation. The audience wants you to succeed.

I’ve experienced about 100 speeches in the last few years. I’ve heard 2 or 3 people with extremely negative feedback with regards to a speech. 3 out of 100 (3%) is a number I can live with. The likelihood doesn’t substantiate the myth.

Conclusion

Many myths exist about the wonderful world of public speaking. Those myths are derived from a lack of experience and practice. In today’s article I focused specifically on 3 of them:

1. You are not the focus of the speech.
2. You don’t have to be a know it all expert to make a presentation.
3. People will not ridicule you afterward.

I’ve disproved all of these myths in one fell swoop. Remember, you are NOT the focus of the speech, you do not have to be the know it all, and people will not ridicule you after a presentation. Stop listening to the myths and drink some truth serum. It tastes good.

Marcus Smith is a creative force in the public speaking world who strives to meet the needs of each and every client. His experience as the Toastmasters President at a fortune 15 company will prove invaluable to you.

Visit his site at www.marcusasmith.com for more information

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If we have to become a successful inspirational speaker on professional development, then we must see to that we have some information that has value, the information we convey must motivate others so that other’s benefit from your message. No one is a born a inspirational speaker, it is only some who are lucky to be gifted with this quality can become. Your speech must encourage and revitalize every individual to reach out to success and not holdback anyone from reaching their goal.

Having a special niche to become an inspirational speaker is the next step to ensure success towards becoming successful inspiration speaker. Every one of us are interested towards something that is more exciting to us. Your interest becomes a passion and this passion may be generally by different activities that we do like books that we read, people we meet, conferences or seminars that we attend. There are varieties of topics one can begin with to increase their public speaking but choosing a special niche is important. It is sure that one can become a successful inspirational speaker and reach crossroads in life if he puts all his efforts in the initial stage.

Another way of becoming a successful inspiration speaker on professional development is to make sure that you prepare yourself as preparation is very much necessary especially if you want to make your speech a motivating and inspire others. Don’t forget that Preparation is the key to success to become a inspirational speaker. This will not only build your confidence but also establish you as a successful speaker. Turn your speech into a motivational message by creating an outline of all your ideas.

If you want to be an inspirational speaker on professional development, there are many things that should be kept in mind. The items mentioned in this article are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to your own professional development.

Remember no one who is a successful inspirational speaker was born that way; it’s your turn to become a successful inspirational speaker now just visit the website http://www.newonlinelife.net and become a successful inspirational speaker now!

Dr. Richard Baiz has nearly 34 years experience as educational administrator, governmental lobbyist, official entrepreneur and corporate consultant. He loves to share his comprehensive plan to become a successful inspirational speaker. Do you want to become an Inspirational speaker the visit the website http://www.newonlinelife.net now!

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Tip No. 6: Delivering visuals

So now you have a nice, clearly designed visual. How do you mechanically deal with that visual? What do you do physically to present it to the audience? Should you look at the visual? Should you talk to the screen? Should you not talk to the screen?

We suggest that you keep the following things in mind when it comes to delivery with visuals: As soon as your visual is presented on the screen, whether it be from a laptop, or from a slide projector, or even from an overhead projector, your audience will immediately focus one hundred per cent of their attention on the screen.

So you effectively disappear from the room. You vaporize. You could drop your pants, you can blow your nose – it doesn’t matter, because until everyone in the audience has figured out for themselves exactly what all that information means, you’re effectively not there.

Tip No. 7: Effects

Keep in mind: if there are too many bells and whistles, if there is too much movement, if there are too many sounds, if there are too many things going on, people will be more interested in figuring out how to do that with their own presentations then they will be in the actual knowledge you are presenting.

And that’s if your dramatic appliqués are good. Most of the time, effects just add confusion, or worse yet, disconnection. Make sure that your message is more important and of value to the audience than the design features of your presentation.

Tip No. 8: Pointers

We still see some people using the old wooden pointer. We have seen people actually snap that wooden pointer in half. We have also seen people play collapsible pointers like an accordion. The point is, you don’t need a pointer.

An effectively designed and delivered presentation eliminates the need for pointers of any kind. Your data should call attention to themselves. Laser pointers seem to be very popular these days, but very rarely does anybody in the audience like them. In fact, they are pretty annoying to most people and even a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon can’t hold those things still.

Tip No. 9: Hardware

One of the things that you definitely want to make sure is that you show up early to your presentation. Make sure all of the equipment is in working order, the overhead projector, the laptop whatever it is you are using. Check everything out yourself. Just because the banquet manager came in ten minutes ago and told you everything was working last night doesn’t mean it is actually going to work.

We can’t tell you how many times, and we’ve traveled everywhere from India to Indiana teaching seminars, somebody told us something was working, and it did not.

So for that reason you have to show up early and make sure everything is working. Make sure that you can actually work it. Make sure that you actually see it working. It is up to you and it is your responsibility because when you start your presentation you can’t say say, “Well you know, somebody in the banquet department told me just a few minutes ago that this was working.” Don’t be embarrassed. Don’t be caught off guard.

Tip No. 10: The Q&A process

This process can be very, very difficult because when you are making a presentation, you are in essence in control. You have designed that presentation. You have created some excellent visuals. You know your presentation well enough to know what’s coming next.

The problem with Q&A is that it is the unknown. You don’t know what is going to happen. Somebody can throw you a question out of left field. Perhaps someone can make you look bad. There is so many unknowns that we need a system to be able to deal with that unknown, and be sure that you look good in the process.

One of the first things you need to know is what to do when somebody asks you a negative question. Many of us were taught to repeat the question back to the questioner. Do you suppose there might be something else we could do other then repeat a negative question? If you repeat that negative question, what are you doing? You are in essence confirming that it might be true.

Now actually repeating a question is not always a bad idea. It gives you time to think. It gives the rest of the audience a chance to hear what the question is. But if the question imparts a negative, there is another way.

Instead of repeating the question verbatim, try this: Listen closely to the question so that you are hearing not just the words, but the essence of the question. Ask yourself what is at the kernel of the question when all the negative, inaccurate, untrue or personal agenda items are stripped away. Then rephrase the question around that kernel, signaling to the audience that you are actually searching deeper into the topic that the questioner did!

Because Q&A typically is the last thing that happens in a presentation, it is so important and vital you end on a positive note. We can’t tell you how many times a presentation which started off well didn’t end that way, because it all fell apart in Q&A.

About the Author

J. Douglas Jefferys is a principal at PublicSpeakingSkills.com, an international consulting firm specializing in training businesses of all sizes to communicate for maximum efficiency. The firm spreads its unique knowledge through on-site classes, public seminars, and high-impact videos, and can be reached through the Internet or at 888-663-7711.

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In a survey from the Book of Lists, people were asked, “What are you most afraid of?” Public speaking was the number one answer. In fact, fear of death was sixth on the list. In other words, you are not alone.

So we congratulate you on taking the first step to improving yourself in this area. Let’s talk about the Ten Tips and how they can begin to help you right away.

Tip No. 1: Eye contact.

When the majority of people are up in front of a group they start their physical activity by rapidly scanning the room with their eyes. They spray the audience with their vision. Look: adrenaline is already shooting through your body, you’re anxious and nervous. Spraying the room with your “aerosol eyes” simply compounds the problem. It makes it worse. Very quickly your brain becomes overwhelmed with all of this visual input: different faces, different colors, different clothes, different countenances.

What you need to do is find an anchor and to lock in on one individuals eyes. You need to slow down, get your bearings. You will then have a chance to channel your nervous energy.

In other words: look at just one person, look at their eyes, speak to one person at a time. Then pause, and find the next individual. Instead of speaking to a group… have a series of one-on-one conversations with the individual members of the audience. And if your eyes aren’t locked, your jaw must be!

Tip No. 2: Gesturing:

What do you do with your arms, your hands or your feet and the rest of you body? Typically men put their hands in their pockets. We often see the fig leaf position, or the ‘phone booth’, in which presenters hug themselves with both arms.

You will also see people do all kinds of nervous fidgeting with their hands, with their arms. They really don’t know what to do. What we suggest is that you do use your arms and hands, but that you use gestures to specifically emphasize the things that you are talking about.

If you are speaking about a big opportunity, let’s see how big that opportunity is. If you are speaking about an increase, let’s make sure that your gesture reflects that specific increase by its altitude from the floor.

Use emphatic gestures and use gestures to describe things. Then when you are not using your arms or there is no need to, simply allow them to drop naturally to the side into what we term the neutral position.

Tip No. 3: Inflection and volume

Have you ever been to presentation where the presenter spoke in a monotone, “It’s- great-to-see-everybody-Thank-you-very-much-for-coming-today-I-have-some-exciting-news-for-you.” BOOOORING!

You want to increase your volume, and increase your voice inflection, which means the variance in the pitch or the tone of your voice. It is more interesting, more exciting to listen to a presenter that has passion and feeling in their voice. Speak to your audience with belief and you will soon see they will share that belief.

Tip No. 4: Humor and jokes

We receive a lot of questions about this. “Should I start with a joke?” Should I loosen things up with some humor in the beginning?”

Let me ask you…How many people do you know who can actually come into a room full of strangers and pull off a joke? It is what we call a Break Even / Lose proposition. If it works you haven’t gained much: if it doesn’t work you can lose your audience for the entire presentation. It’s risky business.

It’s a high stakes gamble. We suggest if you like using humor, feel out your audience first. If you feel humor might be appropriate, use humor. But using humor up front can be very, very difficult. You are at your highest state of nervousness, your audience is sizing you up and remember first impressions last forever. Many audiences feel that using humor or jokes in business signals you are not taking them seriously.

The type of humor that is most effective is self deprecation. Make fun of yourself. We are not suggesting you call yourself an idiot or the audience may say to themselves “He sure is” and you’ve lost them. Just don’t take yourself so seriously. A lot of times we will joke about the fact that our writing isn’t that good or my ability to draw is awful. Typically if people have been with us in a two day seminar, they already know that. So go ahead and make fun of yourself. It is a safe form of humor to use.

Tip No. 5: Designing visuals

How many times have you been to a presentation where the presenter is literally confused by her own visual? They look up at the screen and they say, “Well what you have here is, well, gee, I’m not sure, well what I meant is…” – what is that presenter doing? They are essentially saying that they haven’t taken the time to simplify and become familiar with their own visuals and now they expect you to look at it and understand it.

The point is to keep your visuals simple in design. You don’t want an unsolved mystery up on the screen. Make sure that it is very clear and keep in mind that people read from top to bottom and left to right. Design your visuals to be read that way.

Make those visuals easy to understand. Your talk doesn’t need to be simple, but the visuals you use to cue your audience to hear what you’re saying do.

About the Author

J. Douglas Jefferys is a principal at PublicSpeakingSkills.com, an international consulting firm specializing in training businesses of all sizes to communicate for maximum efficiency. The firm spreads its unique knowledge through on-site classes, public seminars, and high-impact videos, and can be reached through the Internet or at 888-663-7711.

Technorati Tags: presentation tips, public speaking tips

Public speaking is the number one fear in most people, the number two would be fear of dying for most people. So many people get stressed out at the thought of speaking in public that many of us would like to avoid this problem entirely, but this is hard to do. If you are a small business owner, or as part of your current job you are expected to provide presentations to others, then you need to get over your fear of public speaking. If we want to be leaders or achieve anything meaningful in our lives, we will often need to speak to groups, large and small, to be successful.

The big secret behind the truth about public speaking is is IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE STRESSFUL! If you keep just a few key principles in mind, speaking in public will soon become an invigorating and satisfying experience for you.

So here are my five key tips for great public speaking:

1. Relax - remember the audience are there to hear what you have to say. They are looking forward to what it is you are going to deliver. They want you to succeed, therefore they are behind you.

2. Realise it is not about you – Remember, the essence of public speaking is to give your audience something of value. The audience are there to hear the message you are going to deliver. The purpose of public speaking is not for you to get something out of it from your audience. It is about YOU giving useful information to your audience.

3. Speak in simple terms – you don’t have to make it overly complicate,just get your message across in terms that are appropriate to the audiences needs. All you need are two or three main points to convey to your audience.

4. Don’t preach to your audience, instead try to engage with them, they will warm to you and interact in a positive way.

5. Inject a little Humour or tell a story (your story if appropriate). If being funny feels comfortable to you go for it, it usually works and breaks the ice letting the audience warm to you. Or if humour is not appropriate then tell a story that is relevant to the topic at hand.People tend to engage well with stories of meaning and if they have some personal bearing to you, the audience get a feel of what you are like as a person,therefore you are engaging.

Hope the top tips help you out when you next have a presentation or talk you have to do publicly. You will have noted that I did not mention ‘practice’ normally when you practice too often it tends to come out worse,instead carefully look at what message you are going to deliver and write down your key points that you want to get across. If the subject is something you are well versed on you should have no problem delivering your message, so go out there and DO IT!

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

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1. Outline your speech Write out what you are going to talk about. Your outline should cover all the points you want to make in your speech. Ideally in a reasonably logical order.

2. Make notes One of the easiest ways is to use old-fashioned 3×5 index cards. Each one should have a bullet point on it that you can expand on. If you’re using a PowerPoint slide show then this should give you the basis for your notes.

3. Practice your presentation Stand in front of a mirror and practice your speech. If you’re likely to be embarrassed, do this while no-one else is at home. Speaking out loud is a necessary part of this practice. Sure, it may be uncomfortable the first few times you try it but you’ll get better as you go along. Note where you stumble – this gives you pointers for where you need to change your speech slightly.

4. Talk to one person It doesn’t matter whether you’re talking in a business meeting with one other person or addressing hundreds or even thousands of people. Talk as though you are talking face to face with one person. Apart from anything else, you’ve done this all your life so it should be easier. If you’ve got a large audience, focus on one person and talk to them.

5. Stay away from humor Unless you’re a renowned after dinner speaker, humor is best left out of your speech. Not everyone shares the same sense of humor – otherwise Friends and South Park wouldn’t both still be on air – so keep it out of your presentation.

6. Don’t fidget If you’ve got a podium then there’s a natural place to put your hands. If you haven’t, be aware of what your doing with your hands and don’t fidget with them or gesture too much. Fidgeting makes you look nervous!

7. If you stumble, carry on Most of your audience will be relieved that it’s not them giving the speech. If you stumble, recover as fast as you can. Do your best not to get flustered and make sure you keep your place in your speech so you can recover from any glitches quickly.

8. Keep it short Unless you’ve been told that you absolutely have to speak for a set amount of time, stick to the idea that less is more. Don’t bore your audience. Ideally they should be wanting more when you’ve finished your set speech.

9. Don’t resort to alcohol Tempting as it may be to have a shot of something before you take to the stage, it’s better to be 100% sober and in control.

10. Ignore distractions Unless the fire alarm has just sounded and you all need to leave the building, keep going! Keep your speech going as planned. Don’t panic if one or two of your audience walk out – they may just have had an urgent message or need to answer a call of nature. And make sure your cell phone is turned off as well!

About the Author

Get more public speaking tips and lots of useful public speaking strategies to make your next speech memorable.

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We all have to speak in public one time or another, and according to some (somewhat doubtful) research, public speaking is the number one fear of most people. However, with some preparation, mostly anyone can do a pretty good job at it. There isn’t as much magic to public speaking as some make it seem. By implementing the following 7 Tips anyone can come across as a pretty good speaker. You don’t believe me??? Try it!

1. Dress for success! While this might seem an obvious one, I regularly encounter speakers who majorly underdress or (some) overdress. The thumb of rule is, of course, better be overdressed than underdressed. Your audience wants to look up to you and good “packaging” will enhance your image tremendously. When unsure, contact the event organizer and find out what is the expected attire for speakers.

2. Develop a great intro and closing and practice them till you can say them forward and backward even in your dreams! There are only few things screaming “I’m not a professional” than someone starting their presentation with excuses or some weak mumbo-jumbo. Start your presentation with a quote, an intriguing question, humor, or a short story, or even magic; then link your intro to the topic of the day. Close your presentation by bringing up elements of your intro and build to a strong finish to elicit your well-deserved applause. One of my favorite techniques is the short suspense story that captivates the audience, then without finishing it, link it to the topic of the day. Then as a closing of the presentation, bring up again the suspense story, make a comparison to the topic again, and this time finish it.

3. Notice your tendency to use “Ah’s,” Mmm’s” and other fillers in your presentation! It can become really annoying when a speaker is uncomfortable with pauses in between sentences or while thinking, and fills those gaps with “Ahhh..,” “Mmm.,” or other sounds. Another, almost equally, annoying fillers are the constantly repeated “You know what I mean,” “You see what I’m saying,” and other constantly repeated fillers. There are two good ways to raise your awareness about these fillers: a) record one (or more) of your presentation(s) and listen with an ear for filers; b) Join your local Toastmasters International club – they are really good about helping you break your filler habits. (I had around 60 “Ahh’s” and “Mmmm’s” in my first speech I delivered at Toastmasters. By the time I gave my 7th or 8th speech I had zero fillers.) Once you are aware of your tendencies of using certain fillers, you can consciously take steps to eliminating them.

4. Don’t overwhelm your audience with too much information! Do you want your audiences to leave with a sense of “This was great! Today I learned something?” Then narrow down the information you want to present in a way that will not overwhelm your audience. Ask yourself “What is it that the audience really needs to know about this topic?” Then break down that info into chunks that will fit the length of your presentation. At the end of your presentation give your audience information on how they can learn more about the topic – hopefully, by buying your book(s), tapes, CD, extended course, etc.

5. Build your presentation in an easy to follow format! Whether you are using PowerPoint, flip chart, or other methods to stay on track and to keep your audiences on track, make sure that you tell them in the introduction what points you will cover, then stick to the “plan” as close as possible. An easy way to accomplish this is by giving out handouts where participants can follow your train of thought. One of the most effective ways would be to have the main points spelled out on the handout, then have some fill-in-the-blanks fragments relating to each particular point.

6. Time yourself! When you practice, time each segment of your presentation and prepare a little cheat sheet (a 2 X 4 card, for example) that you will keep in your sight while you speak, right near a timer or watch. With this little “tool” you’ll always know whether you are on track. If you are running out of time, speed up or skip parts of your presentation and conclude with your rehearsed closing.

7. Keep eye contact! One of the biggest difficulties of novice public speakers is keeping eye contact with the audience. However, this is a very crucial element to come across as a great speaker. When a speaker keeps looking above the audiences head, the ceiling, the floor, etc., after a while the audience starts wandering “Who the heck is this guy talking to?” The easiest method to keeping good eye contact with your audience is by finding one smiling or friendly face and keep eye contact most of the time with that person… Then as the presentation moves on, start making eye contact (for a second or two) with some other audience members, but always returning to your smiling/friendly face. Then once you find another encouraging audience member, start keeping eye contact for some time period with this second person, while also wandering away to make eye contact with other audience members for a second or two. By following this method, usually one finds themselves more and more encouraged and the confidence gained that way will result in an easier flow of the message and more and more audience members will become engaged and be transformed into “friendly and smiling” faces.

……

Public speaking can be one of the most rewarding experiences. When applying the above 7 tips should make it more enjoyable for anyone, including your audiences who definitely do not want to see a speaker fail, mumble, talk to the walls, etc. People listen to a speaker to learn something or to get entertained; so follow the above tips and give your audience the great presentation they deserve.

————————————————————————————— © Copyright E.G. Sebastian, 2007. All rights reserved.

To hire E.G. to provide Public Speaking/Presentation Skills training – for groups or for individuals – call him toll-free at 877.379.3793, or contact him by E-mail at info@egsebastian.com.

E.G. Sebastian is an international speaker (speaks 6 languages), Certified DiSC Behavioral System trainer, and is an Authorized Inscape Distributor.

Technorati Tags: presentation tips, public speaking tips

Pointer 1: Vary your pitch, tone, volume and pace

The pitch of your voice is its “highness” or “lowness.” Varying your pitch is a way to add color, excitement, and emphasis to your speech. Nervous speakers sometimes have tension in their vocal chords, resulting in an unintentionally higher pitch. Relaxation and breathing exercises can help with this (see below).

The tone or quality of your voice says a lot to your audience that words can never convey. Does your voice sound warm or cold? Does it sound conversational or formal? Do you sound friendly, happy, angry, or nervous?

You’ve heard the word “monotone,” right? That’s what you sound like when you don’t vary the tone of your voice. When you adjust your tone to match the ideas and emotions in your presentation, your audience receives a deeper level of understanding as well as a deeper connection with you.

Volume is the loudness of your voice. Use varying volume for emphasis, and remember to adjust your volume to the size of the venue you’re speaking in.

One way to really grab your audience’s attention is to drop the volume when you want to make an important point. Lowering your volume forces the audience to give extra concentration to what you’re saying.

Use silence and pauses to maximize your message and to create drama. Silence gives you and your audience a nice break – it allows them to process what you’ve been saying, because it’s hard for our brains to hold too much information at one time. It also gives them a break from your voice. A pause can be used to emphasize a point, to really let something sink in.

One more thing to mention about volume: keep your sentences strong from start to finish. Some people’s voices fade out at the end of a sentence or idea, leaving the audience grasping to hear the final few words. Make sure to punch the beginnings and endings of sentences so they don’t disappear and leave your audience in confusion. Pace is the speed at which you speak. You can speed up or slow down for emphasis. Sometimes nervous speakers will race through their talk, finishing too early, and leaving the audience out of breath and lost, because they missed half of what was said. Breathing and relaxation can help you control and moderate your pace. Slow down your pace when you have something particularly important to say – you don’t want to race through your critical points.

Pointer 2: Practice relaxation and breathing

Have I mentioned relaxation and breathing enough times? Relaxation and proper breathing allow oxygen to circulate and your muscles to relax, rather than building tension around the shoulders and chest, which can compress your lungs and make your voice sound weak from lack of breath support. Take some deep breaths before your presentation. Practice breathing deeply using your diaphragm; you know you’re doing it right when your stomach puffs out but your shoulders do not rise. Search the Web for articles and books about “diaphragmatic breathing” or “belly breathing.”

Do some warm-ups and stretches beforehand, especially stretches that involve your face, jaw, neck, chest, and upper body. And don’t forget to breathe during the presentation. Pausing to breathe while you’re speaking keeps you from speeding through the presentation – and the audience doesn’t even notice.

Pointer 3: Repeat back questions so your audience can also be heard

In a large room, repeat back your audience’s questions. Unless there is someone in the auditorium delivering a microphone to audience members, it’s likely that some people in the audience won’t hear the questions posed to you. Repeating back the questions keeps everyone on the same page and keeps the audience from feeling left out.

One way to practice the tips in this article is to read aloud from a book or newspaper. Even better: read aloud from a children’s book! Children’s books are meant to be read with a variety of vocal inflections, and this will allow you to try out all of the tips mentioned above.

Your voice is your most powerful public speaking tool. When your voice matches the emotion and concepts in your presentation, you deliver to your audience deeper understanding of and connection with your message.

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 my newsletter and find out about my free consultation by visiting www.coachlisab.com.

Technorati Tags: presentation tips, public speaking tips