How are your gestures when you give a speech? What do they say about you?

Some speakers seem to believe that gesturing is a lot like having red hair or the measles – either you have the capability to gesture or you don’t, and very little may be done about it.
But gesturing is as natural as walking and as easy as counting to 3. The challenge is that people have merely walked and counted to 3 far much more frequently than they have gestured whilst giving a speech. But how well could an individual walk if he had been using a push chair all his life?
Whilst people will gesture as many different ways as they walk there’s a fundamental principle in gesturing which, when practiced, will probably make this activity much more understandable and easier to do.
Each gesture, regardless of whether or not it stresses or describes a concept, has three distinct parts: 1. The approach, 2. Stroke! and 3. The release.
For instance when a girl slaps a boy she draws back her hand, (approach), Wham! (stroke), then she lets her hands fall to her side, (release). Or a baseball pitcher winds up -approach, throws – stroke, then releases his hand.
Whether gestures are made with the hands (in almost any position), the head, face, shoulders, or feet, the principle is the same – approach, stroke, release.
Some speakers simply make a weak approach, leaving their hands hanging in the air without a stroke or release. Some make the approach and stroke but no release. Still other people merely start an approach without finishing it.
Gestures should be produced positively, with reason and confidence. Naturally, weak, uncertain, timid bodily action leads to an audience to feel that a speaker is unclear about his ability, probably not well prepared to speak, and generally ineffective as a persuader.
When gesturing a person’s whole body should work as a unified method of communication. A speaker should “lean into” his gestures instead of throw out his hands like leaves falling from a tree, or as though he had been a mechanical man loosely connected at the wrists. Also he should encourage large curved movements instead of short, angular, jerky ones. Let a speaker reach up and out in all directions, freely using the cubic feet of air about him.
Naturally effective gestures will match with the meaning of speech material. Sometimes a conflict occurs, as the time the priest announced, “When the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there!” As he talked he pointed emphatically straight down! But he didn’t mean that in any way!

What are your gestures like? If you want to be a more confident speaker enter your details in the box to the right and get tips and techniques to speak with confidence and persuasively to any size audience.

Which is better logic or emotion for effective public speaking?

A few would-be speakers are basically emotionally collapsed while they keep hold of a stand or table whilst they mouth uninteresting platitudes that might even make their fond mothers sleepy.
Lots of people, frequently very intellectual ones, fear feeling, conceivably simply because they believe emotion might distort thinking or even exaggerate truth. This also might occur when logical thinking is side-lined whilst uncontrolled emotion takes over the field. How convincing is a real crackbrain screaming his propaganda in bughouse square, or, a quiet-spoken John Casper generating comments which merely reveal his opinionated ego?
Effective emotional speaking isn’t the excessive babbling of a distorted mind or subtle sarcasm from a warped personality. It’s not the worthless antics of a fanatic, but nor is it the stiff-backed pass-me-a-cold-weiner kind of mumbling the intelligentsia so often serves from a speaker’s platform.
Maybe if a devotee of this “dead on their heels” tribe could see himself as he truly is on the stage, or much better still, if he could sit in his own tormented audience and need to endure his
own tortured talk, he may determine to have mercy on his audience and do some thing about his dull speaking personality.
An additional typical attitude is that feeling has departed with the wind, that it belongs with the past, much less learned generations. Cold logic, the scientific technique, is all we require in this atomic age. “The thought will be the factor,” said an emotionally lazy college student lately. “Why, I envision Patrick Henry said ‘Give me liberty or give me death’ about as I’m saying it now.” (In a who-gives-a-hoot manner).
But based on history, “Henry arose with an unearthly fire burning in his eyes. He began somewhat calmly -but the smothered excitement began to play much more and much more upon his face, and thrill within the tones of his voice. The tendons of his neck stood out white and rigid like whipcords.”
And John Roane, a spectator, reported that when Patrick Henry said, “Give me liberty or give me death,” he suited the action to the words by a blow upon the left breast with his right hand, which appeared to drive a dagger to his heart.
This speech was charged with intense feeling, but the whole subject material additionally indicates logical thinking along with a powerful appeal to reason. It discloses the mind and heart of a noble, honest, sincere statesman instead of a low cost politician having emotional fits to attract attention to himself.

If you want to be able to be a more effective public speaker, why not enter your details and receive my newsletter for public speaking tips and techniques that help you speak with confidence and persuasiveness to any size audience.

My previous post on stories in public speaking highlighted how important they are. They do need to have real human drama to keep your listeners engaged.

Now getting back to the daily news: McSimpson Elected Fire Chief. So what? It is merely a routine item. Wait until Mac begins chasing after fires. Then maybe he will be fascinating good enough to read about.
But here’s one that may be interesting: Attorney Fined for Shooting Newsboy.
It is morbid, but different. One wonders why it occurred.
Reading the piece, however, revealed that the title is the most interesting part of this story. The attorney said the shooting was an accident. And the boy lived.
That’s all there was to it. There was really no drama, no conflict, little action. No real human interest. Therefore the speaker passed it, realizing a story should be a lot more than strange or unusual to be beneficial.
Here is one a couple of pages over: Hidden Mike’ Found in Auto Trunk.
This does not sound unusually interesting, and the heading does not indicate exactly what the story is about. But it hints mystery. So he read:
Dover, Ohio – Farmers at nearby Newcomerstown were telling a good story today about a “hidden mike.” “Mike,” a coon hound owned by Kenneth Welch, was hidden accidentally for ten days in the trunk of an automobile.
The dog leaped into the trunk when Paul Miller was making a delivery at Welch’s farm, and Miller closed the trunk with out realizing “Mike.”
Welch made several searches for the dog and advertised his loss.
Miller said he used his car daily while Mike was in the trunk and even made one trip returning to the Welch farm. But he never heard a bark.
A bit fragile when found, “Mike” came around rapidly when given water and food.
This is an unusual bit of real life which might be used to reveal that treasures can be unseen right at a individuals feet – the theme of Acres of Diamonds, a speech by Russell Conwell, that audiences paid a total of approximately seven million dollars to listen to.

If you like this brief post on stories for public speaking please let me know by leaving a comment and if you didn’t please let me know how it could be improved. Speak in a few days.

You need to show some caution in the language you use in public speaking to make sure you don’t upset your audience,

Seasoning your speech with a appropriate slang expression or inventing a phrase may add interest and color to your presenting. But avoid the “youse guys” or poolroom style of speaking. That may add color, as well, but the wrong kind of color for an typical audience.
A slight grammatical error or a mispronounced word will not kill a spirited speech. An occasional flaw in speech marks a speaker as being human. A number of mistakes, however, will distract hearers. So studying English grammar is helpful because most people can make sufficient mistakes accidentally to give us the human touch. Comprehending all of the fine points of grammar may not be required, yet everybody should learn to speak without making grammatical errors that stand out just like a black eye on a blonde.
Continuously attempting to express life-like ideas and feelings while reading aloud will make a speaking voice more expressive. Read out loud from the classics or the comics, from the Bible, plays, the news, poetry – anything, constantly making the thoughts live.
An additional way to put effective vocal expression into speaking would be to emphasize the key words in a sentence.
Pay attention to this statement: A child caught ten fish in the city lake. As “child” and “ten” are the most important words and phrases within this sentence they ought to get more vocal force compared to other words.
However look at this sentence: The man threw a bag of gold into the city lake. In this instance the element of interest isn’t who, or how many, but what and where.
A little thought and practice will enable a speaker to form the habit of “punching” or “squeezing” essential words when he speaks. Abraham Lincoln did. When he spoke, the conjunctions and prepositions flowed easily – however when he came to a key phrase he stressed it. This emphasis requires increased spirit along with more vocal force.

Lincoln took the time and effort to season his speeches appropriately. When you are public speaking, don’t think you should. This will help to make you an exceptional presenter and speaker.

In public speaking the pace or speed of your speaking is important, especially the variety of it

Read the sentence below silently. Then read it aloud, trying to picture with your tones, face, and body language exactly what took place:
The ancient automobile chugged as though each turn of the wheel could be the last. But slowly, very slowly, it crept up the mountainside.
It reached the top and then began down. Faster, and faster, and faster, it went. On and on it rushed just like a blurred black streak to the turn at the foot of the mountain. Then suddenly the automobile swerved from the road and crashed into a big tree!
While you speak about the trip up the mountain your rate of speaking will certainly be slower than once you talk about the sprint down. This demonstrates an important aspect of variety, change of rate, or variation in speed during a speech.
When an idea calls for a change of rate, vary the speed of your speaking, not robotically, obviously, but in keeping with the natural concept of the idea that is being expressed. When you talk about a fast thrilling game of football, make the players move with your voice and manner. But if you talk about idle sheep in a field, naturally your voice is going to be lazy and slow. It is as fundamental as that, but many speakers totally neglect this important principle of variety and say everything at about the same rate.
When you say, “The car crashed into a tree!” make it sound like a crash, nothing like a kid peeling a banana. This is another essential kind of variation in speaking – force, or lack of it.

I’ll be writing more in my next post about variety in public speaking to capture the audience’s attention. If you want to learn more about speaking with confidence please check out the resource here: speaking with confidence

My final post is a list of exercises to try to help manage and beat public speaking fear.  The more you put into them the more you will get out of them. Don’t hold back to build your confidence and speak with confidence.

The Public Speaking Fear Drills

On your own, or with a couple of other people in front of an audience or group of friends do the following exercises,:
With an imaginary ax, chop wood although calling to the audience, “Timber, timber, timber!” Repeat.

While churning energetically with an old-fashioned churn,shout, “Watch the butter fly! Watch the butter fly Watch the .
butter fly!” Repeat, opening the eyes as wide as achievable whilst you talk

Pretend you are ship-wrecked at sea. Although you are fighting sharks with one
hand, wave to another ship and cry, “Ship ahoy! Ship ahoy! Ship ahoy!”

Wave to a friend a block away. He can’t hear you so start waving and loudly calling, “Hello, there”

With an imaginary swatter move all around the platform saying vigorously, “Swat that fly! Swat that fly!” Swat as you
exclaim, and keep the exercise up for a full half minute.

Imagine honey bees inside your hair. brush them out with your hands as you jump around crying, “Take ‘em away!” Keep this up for twenty seconds. Repeat should you still have the energy.

Deliver a two minute “I Am the Greatest!” speech. Brag about anything you please, but actually brag. In this drill see how obnoxious and egotistical it is possible to be.

Count to fifty with spirit. Again count to fifty , this time as an angry or a happy man would count.Exaggerate this.

Imitate a few of of the following characters (in speech and manner):
a. Loud-mouthed Charlie Bratton.
b. A baseball umpire proud of his position.
c. An angry basketball player.
d. An excited fan at a basketball game.
e. A talkative intoxicated man.
f. A giggling school-girl.
g. A gossiping old woman
h. A grumpy old man

Make a spirited talk for 45 seconds on this topic: Men are far better
drivers than , or, women are much better drivers than men.

Talk for a minute about some of the following terms:
thingamajig
sidewinder
monkey-business
skullduggery
abracadabra
razzle dazzle
white elephant
heebie jeebies
raspberries
snoop
wolves
bigamy
snobbishness
puppy
yo-yos
idiosyncrasy

These drills can help anyone with public speaking fear that is not acute. When you have something more please see a qualified specialist.

Public Speaking Fear Summary

Public speaking fear is a common fear. Many of the confident speakers today have suffered from this fear. With some understanding, application of speech drill like the above or other simple techniques they have built their confidence up. If others have beaten their public speaking fear than you can to. Keep at it, trying different things, practicing and giving speeches and presentations you will beat your public speaking fear to be able to speak with confidence to any size audience

Public speaking fear is a natural fear that is common among many people. Although it is natural it came be overcome and the benefits of being a confident speaker can be enjoyed by anyone who has this natural fear. Performing speech drills is one way to overcome the public speaking fear.

My second speech drill (see previous post for the first) is for a speaker to tell and show the way to do any activity “which he is very familiar with, for example, – swimming, golf, volleyball, boxing, fishing, rowing, jumping a rope, playing basketball,etc.
Or he may well pick an object (anything) and rave about its values to an imaginary or real audience. He talks about the item as though it was worth a million dollars, pleads with men and women to get it, tells and shows them why they will need it. He puts his entire heart, body, and soul into the drill – despite the fact that realizing it’s only a drill and far much more exaggerated than any speaking he will genuinely do in public. But such drilling will pay a speaker large dividends by giving him freedom of spirit and fearless force when he does speak in public.
Speech exercises which call for violent, exaggerated physical action will help an individual lose the inhibitions which contribute to fear. They’re somewhat like a strong man lifting heavy weights. Since the strong man has become accustomed to lifting heavy weights he can lift ordinary objects as though they were just feathers. Similarly, when a speaker does heavy drills, successfully appearing in front of any any audience becomes like a walk in the park for him. When he can do ridiculous stunts just before an audience, speaking sensibly for listeners is comparatively simple.

Public Speaking Fear Drills Purpose

The purpose of drills is to assist in control and direct nervous energy as opposed to check or kill it.
Some students appear to have the mistaken idea about controlling public speaking fear. For example, one said, “When I’m up there speaking I wish I could really feel just like a block of wood.”
What type of speech could a block of wood make? Would that young man prefer being a dead mule to being a race horse eager at the bit?
Really, to speak well, we ought to feel a challenge when we face an audience. We maintain all our nervous energy, but we focus it to work positively as opposed to in a confused and distressing way.

Therefore public speaking fear is overcome and used to perform at your best when making a speech.

My next post will have some more speech drills and exercising for defeating your public speaking fear.

Another way to beat public speaking fear is through speech drills.

Public Speaking Fear Drill No. 1

Speech drilling, which requires a person to speak with exaggerated force and big gestures, will help overcome stage fright. For instance, in private practice or with other students, do the following speech laboratory exercises:
Choose a favorite hobby (your most active one.) Tell and show an imaginary audience how to take part in it. Do this with much pep. Put zip, spirit, and sparkle into your tones. Let your feelings show in your face, eyes and body. Overdo it! Feel that people must share your hobby, not tomorrow or next week, but as you talk about it.
Talk with force and pep, much louder and faster than you usually talk, and with an active body from head to toe. This is only a speech drill so don’t be afraid of high pressure or any¬thing else. As you talk nod your head vigorously (when the thought calls for it), shake your fist, or point directly and force¬fully to demonstrate a point. Make any kind of bodily move¬ments that will explain or emphasize. But make all movements big and positive. No little, easy, timid movements.

Speak earnestly with your eyes and face. Plead with them. Plead wih your whole being for your audience to believe and act upon your ideas. Be so much in earnest an audience must believe.
-Please don’t get tired or dismiss this practice as nonsense. Do the drill again and again — today, tomorrow, next week, next month. Give this exercise a few vigorous minutes often. No soft peddling, please. It is work. Sweat at it. Hit it hard, and then forget it until next time. The purpose of this drill is to cause a speaker to become so excited about his subject he forgets to be afraid. He should talk with intense excitement, like a kid with a new toy — wild with joy. Such practice – will help a speaker break the stiff shell which reserved habits have built abound him.

Try this out and see how your confidence builds and your public speaking fear starts to recede. I’ll have another drill you can use for victory over public speaking fear.

Being able to speak with confidence in public speaking is a challenge for a great number of people. But it doesn’t have to be you. Many of today’s confident speakers did not have the ability to speak with confidence when they started out. They have gone from nervous speakers to where they can now deliver a speech confidently and fluently.

Why Speak With Confidence

Having the ability to speak with confidence has a number of benefits for the individual. Some of the benefits are; performing better at job interviews, getting noticed by your boss, getting promoted, demonstrating leadership qualities, better team meetings, winning more business, being able to influence others.

Speak With Confidence Techniques

It is quite normal to have nerves before you start to speak, it shows you care about what you are about to present.  This is normally at its worst just before you start to speak. Take a few deep breaths to relax yourself. Smile a genuine smile as this not only makes you feel better but conveys confidence to your audience.  Look out your audience and you will find they are not too bad. Don’t focus on your nerves but on what you are to present.

The following two ideas will give you logical reasons to speak with confidence.

Being thoroughly prepared for your speech helps you to build your confidence.  This involves knowing your audience, planning what you are going to say, how you are going to say it, researching your topic and knowing what your purpose for delivering the speech is.

An Important Speak With Confidence Idea

The activity that does the most to develop the ability to speak with confidence is practice.  It is by practicing and doing that builds your confidence. There are two types of practice that will help.

The first is to use every opportunity to speak up. Start small, a couple of minutes are all you need and if possible do this in situations where you are comfortable, such as with people you know. As your confidence grows start speaking for longer and to larger groups.

The second type of practice that helps to speak with confidence is to practice your speech before you have to deliver it. Practice in front of a mirror, in front of friends until you are comfortable in delivering your speech.

Nervousness and fear of public speaking will not be overcome overnight but with more speeches given you will quickly develop the ability to speak with confidence.  Anyone can develop the skill to speak with confidence and in time become an exceptional presenter.

Here is a video from the movie Facing The Giants. Not about public speaking today but illustrates the illusions of self imposed limitations that most of us put on ourselves.

Do you have any limitations you’ve put on yourself? Most of us have a self image of our capabilities that is well inside what we can actually be. Public speaking is one of those areas where many people have these limitations but if only we pushed ourselves a little bit we could actually be an effective public speaker.

The thing with good public speaking or giving a good presentation at work it can help our careers or business more than years of hard work. It is a highly regarded skill that is much in demand in most organizations today.  Step by step, bit by bit you can make it.

Check out the Art of Great Conversation for more information on speaking confidently to audiences of any size.

And remember Don’t Quit. Don’t Quit,

There are many myths around public speaking anxiety.  One of these is that public speaking anxiety is bad for you. It can in fact increase your level of performance and make you come across better to the audience. In fact it is normal for an audience to rate the speaker’s performance much higher than the speaker themselves.

Here is a great video that discusses the myths of public speaking anxiety and provides information on public speaking. The sound quality isn’t great but it is worth persevering with.

The Confident Speaker by Larina Kase and Harrison Monarth is well written and will help people to speak confidently in front of groups of any size. It is great for beginners and people finding advancement in their careers been held back by their fear of public speaking.

You can find the The Confident Speaker: Beat Your Nerves and Communicate at Your Best in Any Situation here

In the previous post Jack had seen a man in a tree and was thinking about how he could start his speech about humor.  On with the story……

What shall it be? A Pat and Mike joke? No. Chances are most of the students would have heard it already. They’re pretty sharp.
“I know! A personal experience. That’ll be different. Or will it? Depends upon what it is, I suppose. Shall I tell about how much I always laugh at all the professors’ thrice-told jokes and still get C’s in their courses? No. That might get a laugh on me, but it is not directly related to my subject. Besides I think I can find a more interesting beginning.”
Risking the wear and tear on his brain, Jack kept thinking of the few personal experiences he had had in relation to humor. Finally he came up with this true story:
One day last summer when I was riding on a city bus the driver had to stop suddenly to keep from smashing a loose taxi.
Scr-r-r-eech went the brakes. And before you could say “Blue goose!” an old man with thin white hair was sitting in-my lap as squarely as if you’d placed him there. He had been standing, but the sudden stop had swept him completely off his feet.
“Oh, young man’ he whined. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too, that you couldn’t have been a gorgeous blonde,” I said. “But it’s all right. You’re not hurt are you?”
“Oh, no.” By that time he was off my lap.
Nobody was hurt, and the incident struck me as being so ridiculous it was funny. So I gave the old man a big popsicle grin.
But other people on the bus looked as if they had swallowed their popsicles — especially one slender red haired woman of uncertain age who stood near the front. She looked down at the driver as though she could gladly chew up his chauffeur’s license and spit it out at his feet. But the poor driver couldn’t help what had happened.
About two blocks later Miss Redhead left the bus, but as she did so she glared back at the driver and said, “You ought to be a cowboy instead of a bus driver!”
Do you know what Red needed? A little oil on her funny bone.

Stories and anecdotes are a great way to start any form of speaking especially personal stories  and are relevant to the topic of your speech. Let me know what you thought.

Once you have written a speech or presentation then it is important to practise your delivery. There are basically two ways to practise a speech, inputting and outputting. Inputting is reading your speech to yourself whereas outputting is actually delivering your speech out loud. You should practise using both methods but there are ways to maximize your results.

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.

Whenever a survey is published on biggest fears you can always guarantee that public speaking will be towards the top of the list. It’s easy to why this is the case – you’re stood up in front of a group of your peers purveying your thoughts and ideas. The nerves and anxiety felt by many just thinking about being in this situation is enough to put them off public speaking for life. However with correct preparation public speaking can actually be very easy and create an adrenaline rush unequalled by anything else.

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.

Confidence does play a big part in effective public speaking and that is why I have posted on this many times in the past. Being thoroughly prepared and well practiced contribute greatly to developing self confidence to being able to present confidently.

 Further to these 2 areas, are 3 factors that support confidence in yourself and in your ability to deliver your speech effectively;-

1.       Appearance. When you are dressed for the occasion you feel better about yourself. And this is the same in public speaking.  Usually if you are smartly dressed and neatly groomed you will be appropriately dressed. You, not only feel better and your audience will appreciate you more. This contributes to your sense of well-being and confidence.

2.       Well rested. Tiredness can make cowards of us all. It takes away our resolve and reduces our energy levels. We can come across ill prepared and not caring when too tired. So getting enough sleep and being relaxed increases our courage and helps us to be calm. We appear more in control and confident to our audience.

3.       Fitness. When we are fit and healthy we generally feel better about ourselves and look better also. It also helps us to handle stressful situations.  The better we feel about ourselves and the easier we can handle stress the more we can speak with ease and confidence to groups of people.

These factors do not replace preparation and practice in developing self confidence but will help in improving how we feel about ourselves and make it easier to speak up with confidence in public speaking or presenting.

A resource that I have found useful in improving my health and fitness is called Truth About Abs. It covers many aspects of health and fitness.  Click here to find out more information on Truth About Abs.

I am looking for some resources to recommend on relaxation and appearance but have not yet found any I like enough.     In the meantime check out Truth About Abs and let me know what you think. 

In business, there’s no time to lose. Grab the audience’s attention and make sure that you retain it.

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

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

The preparation of your material not only must be thorough, but also must be personal, because to discuss a subject effectively at a management meeting or to present it to a group convincingly and speak with confidence it is important to project your own self into your talk.

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.

Being able to speak with confidence is a highly respected skill, but it is usually the opposite to this that people focus on when they asked to speak – they look for what could go wrong, not how to make it go right. Outlined here is a method that can help all speaker to speak with confidence and deliver a more effective speech.
When a person agrees to give a speech, his first problem is to determine how to go about preparing and delivering the speech. Although each speech situation is different in many respects from every other speech situation, the over-all task is the same: to give a speech that is worth while in purpose, acceptable to the audience, and to some degree skillful. The way in which a speaker goes about accomplishing this task, like the task itself, is nearly the same in all speech situations. This way of going about one’s task is best described as method. Intelligence, it is said, is knowing what can be done in a given situation. Wisdom is knowing how to go about it. Wisdom is the prac¬tical aspect of knowledge. In this respect, the practical aspect of speech training is the method used to prepare and deliver a speech.
If a person is faced with a problem which he does not know how to solve and if leaving this problem unsolved leads to dire consequences, the person will usually have a sinking feeling and become panicky. This is exactly what may happen to us when we are asked to give a speech. If we do not know how to go about preparing or delivering an acceptable speech, we anticipate embarrassment and loss of prestige. In another situation, in which we know how to go about solving our problem, our fear subsides and we lose ourselves in the process of solving the problem. The more sure we are that our solution will work, the less we are afraid. So when we are asked to give a speech, if we are sure we know how to go about preparing and delivering one, our fear will subside and we can lose ourselves in the preparation of our remarks. Good preparation will allow us to   speak with confidence and often with pleasure.