If a fast or rushed speed of delivery in public speaking can tire an audience. (see my last post)
In contrast a very sluggish, dragging type of delivery will certainly motivate a listeners’ focus to go elsewhere, or the audience may say mentally, “Seriously, speaker, let’s go! I’m way ahead of you.” There is a reasonable medium pace of speaking in keeping with a speaker’s personality and the character of his speech.
A sing-song rhythmical delivery, beginning or closing all sentences on the very same pitch level, or raising the voice at the finish of statements may become monotonous habits. These tendencies can be avoided when a speaker talks as though he were having a lively, interesting chat with his audience.
Recording a lengthy speech and listening thoroughly to the recording will reveal any tedious speaking patterns. A speaker should invite other listeners to discover the monotony, as well. Then he should get active and put more vocal shades into his tone of voice, making certain he speaks in a conversational tone.
Speech that is far too precise or too exacting will destroy the purpose of effective oral communication because this practice calls attention to words and sounds instead of ideas. Such speaking may weary or disgust an audience. A speech trainer, or anyone else, who holds final consonants like he owns them, or who makes an apparent conscious effort to speak carefully may actually cause listeners to desire he’ll trip his tongue sometime.
However, loose, careless talk, or perhaps the use of inappropriate slang in his speech may draw attention to his manner of speaking instead of to the ideas he expresses. This careless speaking habit could also label him as being a lazy individual who would not use very much energy to find fascinating speech material for any audience.
We can have an informal, folksy speaking style, if we wish, without using lazy diction. Or we are able to be formal and “businesslike” without being starchy or “nasty nice.” Either way time invested studying the meaning of words and how to articulate them is worthwhile.
To sound more interesting in public speaking it is about reviewing how you sound and then taking action to improve any areas that may need some attention . It is in this way that we get better. An important element of this is having the information to know what to do. By signing up to my blog on the right you can receive tip information on better public speaking direct to your in-box.
Effective public speaking is about keeping your audience’s attention.
Do you paint pictures with your words or do you leave your listeners in a verbal fog?
An effective speaker puts interesting, picture-making details into his stories. He uses specific, concrete words that create vivid images rather than a blur of mental fog.
Some speakers err by talking about what happened rather than picturing it happening.
A speaker could say, “He was emotionally disturbed when he heard that his mother had passed away.” Or this event could be pictured: “The smile faded from young Bill Day’s face as lie held the telephone receiver to his ear and heard the broken voice of his father calling long distance. His fingers tightened vice-like on the receiver, and blood rushed to his head as he listened breathlessly to the saddest news he had ever heard — a head-on collision on the highway. Now the receiver felt like lead in his limp hand. It seemed all the strength had been suddenly drained from his body. With his free hand he grasped the telephone to keep from sinking to the floor. Tears coursed down the youthful lines of his face because his mother had been driving one of the automobiles in that fatal crash.”
Consider this statement, “An animal crossed the road for a serious purpose.” What kind of mental picture do these words paint? Does the listener see a dog, cat, elephant, horse, or any one of a hundred other animals? How did the animal cross the road, quickly, slowly, cautiously? Was the road a wide highway, a dirt road, a narrow trail? And what really was the serious purpose?
Such speaking blurs the mental film. It is like trying to see a drive-in movie at Hoboken through, a London fog. But when the speaker says what he really means, “A wildcat leaped across the mountain path to pounce upon a lazy jackrabbit,” he paints a verbal masterpiece.
I’ll post more about this in coming weeks about using words for effective pulbic speaking.
Can you can become an exceptional presenter? I believe anyone can that is truly serious can become one. So does Timothy Koegel author of The Exceptional Presenter.
Timothy takes a wider view of presenting than just those situations where you are presenting in a formal occasion such as a keynote speech. His view is that we are always presenting whether we are one to one, small groups, leaving a voice mail. The book is for the average person.
Being able to an effective communicator is one of the skills that organizations are looking for and is the number one skill needed for career advancement in any field.
Below is a video that discusses the first 3 chapters of the book and gives a brief insight to how practical the book is to use.
The book is more than just a good read, it is like a workshop that gives you the information and exercises you can use to implement in becoming an exceptional presenter.
Exceptional Presenter Characteristics
To help Timothy Koegel uses an acronym – OPEN UP to provide the 6 steps to be an exceptional presenter
O – Organized,
P – Passionate,
E – Engaging
N- Natural
U – Understand
P – Practice
In summary, I think this is a book for anyone who is anxious when presenting and wants to calm those fears and improve their communications skills so they can give winning presentations whatever the occasion from public speaking to one to one situations such as asking for a pay rise.
One of the best tools for improving your presentation skills is to video-record yourself as a means of practice. While you may think this is a bit extreme, it really isn’t: you will learn so much by watching yourself on video. A lot of people are recorded during their presentation, but imagine the advantage if you record yourself beforehand so that you can correct your mistakes as well as the ‘tics’, the ums, ahs & uhs, and any other mannerisms you may not like.
The first step, however, is to practice your material out loud. I tell this to my clients and my students over and over; and still, I have people that don’t practice their material. My question is why?
If you were to give a piano recital, you would practice; if you were to enter a golf tournament, you would practice; if you were to take a driver’s test, you would practice. What makes you think you can give a presentation or deliver a speech without practicing? Going over it in your mind is not practice…saying it OUT LOUD is!
After practicing your material, do it again with your camcorder on. [As an aid for my clients, I place a huge stuffed gorilla on the sofa and 'Goofy' on an adjacent chair so that my presenters feel like they are talking to an audience. Dolls and mannequins will also work.] Go through your entire presentation and then play it back and study it. Decide what you like and what you don’t like.
Then ask yourself an important question. Overall, did you enjoy your presentation? Forget the mistakes, just look at the entire piece and judge it in its entirety. Mistakes are not important at this particular time. Was your delivery good? Did you convey what you wanted to say in an entertaining, enjoyable, interesting manner? Feeling good about your presentation skills is an important acknowledgement because if you enjoyed it, so too will your audience.
If, on the other hand, you didn’t like it, ask yourself why.
Did you acknowledge your ‘audience’ or were your eyes glued to your notes or your script? Did you show any emotion in speaking or was your face frozen in fear? Did you move during your delivery or were you standing perfectly still? Did you read to your audience or were you able to sound conversational? (Remember: this is not a reading at the library or Barnes & Noble!) Were there a lot of ums and ahs or was your speech smooth flowing?
These are just a few of the questions you need to ask yourself about your style of delivery; but, more importantly, ask yourself if you are able to correct these faults on your own or could use some training.
Just as all musicians and athletes have had training so too should those involved in public speaking. Most people are not born natural speakers; it takes practice; it takes constructive criticism; and, it all begins by recording yourself on a camcorder first.
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
It’s not surprising that if you’ve ever attended a presentation held by a brilliant presenter to feel a kind of charm and magnetism in the conference room. This is not magic at all, but a set of techniques used by the presenter to impact his audience. These skills are not hidden or whatsoever, but rarely used by people. The reason why I’m writing this is to share some of these skills and how you can use them to a maximum impact.
-The first thing to focus on is your entrance. This is the most important stage within your presentation and the most remembered one as you give them a first impression about you, so it should be very strong and impressive one.
-Your stance is the second most important one. Stand tall with a straight back; keep your shoulders level and relaxed.
-Keeping an eye contact with the audience can certainly create a great rapport between you and them, so make sure to give them a strong and impressive eye contact so that they feel that you are talking to them personally, and this reinforces your messages to be easily understood and believed.
-The speed also plays a vital role. Make it easy for them to follow what you say by making your voice and pitch go in a consistent manner with the arguments that you convey. Let your voice flow smoothly to support your speech.
-Don’t make it escape your notice the importance of appearing very comfortable and relaxed by taking as much space as you can. Show them that you are not afraid to stand up there and speak. Don’t keep your arms close by your sides.Instead, make the gesture wide, upward and outward.Such appearance will give you much credibility.
You need to keep your enthusiasm and energy high throughout the presentation. Don’t be hasty to start or to finish, rather, take your entire time. If you stick to the above advices, be sure that you are having the charisma formula. Do it in your next presentation and enjoy your applause. SIMON GARMAH is an executive Communications Consultant and Coach. He is president of Lifestyles Communications, Inc. which helps individuals communicate in the new global and virtual world. His fear public speaking blog.So take the first step toward conquering your fear of public speaking
