Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Get a free Mini ecourse in Public Speaking

Many of us are interested in mastering the art of being and becoming a master of public speaking or speaking in public at a variety of formal and social events. This interest is increasing in recent years and people hone, harness and refine their skills. Engaging, shaping and influencing audiences all around is what is at stake. Sounding confident, convincing and speaking with energized speech is paramount, regardless of the context. For business, social and public life, it is a core skill and almost an entry-level pre-requisite these days to be deemed 'successful'.

If you have an interest in improving your public speaking skills, then this is the ultimate practical guide for you. Simply send an email to receive a FREE, five-part mini e-course, which is taken straight from this recently released ebook. Enjoy a preliminary taste of things you will find in this comprehensive public speaking reference guide!

Yours to improved speaking success

Fran Watson

Saturday, May 15, 2010

5 Surefire Tips To Better Public Speaking

Public Speaking Tip #1
KNOW YOUR TOPIC! I don’t mean know your topic, I mean inside and out, upside down, what ever question someone could throw at you, you know the answer.

If you search in Google for the term “public speaking tips” you get roughly 2.6 million responses. That seems like a lot, but when you have to be the one standing in front of the group there isn’t enough information in the world that could get you over that fear.

Believe it or not, most of those fears are self imposed. What do I mean? The people listening to you don’t really care how the information is disseminated, they just want the information. It’s the speaker who puts themselves through the ringer weeks before the event. Here are some tips that may seem obvious, but once completed, will really put your mind at ease, trust me.

Public Speaking Tip #1

KNOW YOUR TOPIC! I don’t mean know your topic, I mean inside and out, upside down, what ever question someone could throw at you, you know the answer. You really need to be prepared to reach this level. You need to know your speech almost by heart; you need to know the products you will be discussing. Do your homework, you will know you have reached public speaking Nirvana when you get that “feeling”, it will come with knowledge. Believe!

Public Speaking Tip #2

Greet as many of the attendees prior to your speech as possible. Familiarity promotes confidence. Besides, think of the benefit you provide about the topic you are to speak on when you take the time to meet people before you go on.
This strategy also prevents you from pacing back and forth and worrying yourself to death until you go on. There is no point in cramming now, if you don’t know it, you wont, and it will show.

Public Speaking Tip #3

DON’T think of everyone in the audience as naked or in their underwear. This can be very disconcerting and will, in fact, hurt your chances of a successful public speaking outing.

Public Speaking Tip # 4

When you find yourself with only a mouthful of uhs and ums, stop yourself, repeat the sentence as if to add importance, and replace the uhs and ums with silence to allow your points to hit home.

Public Speaking Tip # 5

Animate your speech. Most people think that good communication is mouth-centric. Nothing could be farther from the truth! To be a powerful communicator, you have to use your entire body. Gestures and body language add energy and enthusiasm to your speech. However, they should be natural and just flow from the words you are speaking. You should not have to think about making a particular gesture.

These are tips can really help you take your next step in public speaking. Do you realize that people pass up promotions because they will be required to speak publicly?

Do you realize people fear speaking in public more than they fear dying? Maybe because dying is abstract and appears far away while the podium or lectern is right in front of them. Either way, you really can come to grips with your fear and maybe you won’t enjoy it, but you’ll be able to get through it easier. I can’t emphasize enough that half of your battle will be just knowing what you are going to say, and anticipating what others are going to ask. It can be easy!

Remember, you are there to share your knowledge or experience with your audience - they are the most important part of your speaking experience.

To your successful speaking experience!!

Fran

P.S. If you can't think of a topic for your next speech, go here for 800+ speech topics. http://www.franwatson.ca/publicspeaker.html