Practice Makes Perfect in Public Speaking and Presentations

Why is it that some speakers captivate our attention and move us to action, while others put us to sleep?  And how can you learn to be one of the good ones?

Contrary to popular opinion, great speakers are not born—they are made.  You don’t have to be extremely extroverted or a student of theater arts in order to get up on a stage in front of dozens or even hundreds of people and knock ‘em dead with your presentation.  All you need is for someone to let you in on the secrets to making a persuasive speech. 

What we found is that dynamic presenters follow a repeatable formula whenever they get up to deliver a winning speech.  They know that there are certain essential elements they’ve got to include if they want to captivate their audience. 

A persuasive speaker is someone who is able to clear away all the chatter and say to the audience, directly and convincingly, “This—what I am "selling" you—is all that you need.  You can forget about those other products.  You can forget about those useless services.  This is it.”

This is true no matter what kinds of speeches you deliver.  Even if you are not a “salesperson” in the literal definition of that word, when you are up on stage in front of an audience, your mission is selling your message.  Whether or not the audience buys that message depends upon how persuasive you are.

Good speakers seem to ooze confidence.  Again, this isn’t because they are naturally confident and brazen people.  It’s because they’ve gained confidence through learning the essentials of persuasive speaking.  They’ve grown sure of themselves over time because of the amazing reactions they get when they follow the very same rules that are outlined in this report.

You, too, can have that wonderful, confident feeling each and every time you take the microphone, as long as you know how to get the audience to move with you—

To your speaking success.

Fran Watson  

P.S.  If you need help to develop your skills, check out a local Toastmasters Club.  There you can practice your talks in front of a supportive audience to build your confidence.

Are They Listening?

Ten Tips to Send Your Audience to Sleep

Have you ever fallen asleep when listening to a speech or presentation? Sometimes a little nap during a presentation can boost your energy for the rest of the day.

Speakers- if you want to be the one to send your audience to sleep, so they will be fully alert for other people’s presentations follow these ten tips.

1. Make sure that your material is dry and boring. Make sure that your material is either highly technical or complex. If at all possible fill your speech with specialized academic content that is not easily understood without prior study and research.

2. Do not include any explanations or illustrations to make the content understandable to the average person in your audience.

3. Schedule your speech to be at the end of a long day or after a big meal. This will give added incentive for drowsiness and lethargy.

4. Speak softly and avoid any expression or vocal variety that might distract or interest your audience.

5. Stand still behind the lectern for the entire speech. Any movement or sudden gestures could wake up your audience.

6. Avoid any variation in style in your presentation. Do not change from talking to using a flip chart, PowerPoint or any other kind of visual aid or prop that will attract attention.

7. Do NOT include any humor or stories in your speech that might illustrate the important points you wish to communicate.

8. Do not keep to the topic of the speech. Spend a large amount of time rambling about subjects or personal experiences that are boring and totally off topic.

9. Speak about a topic that is very familiar to your audience. Keep your content to things that they already know.

10. Provide highly detailed handouts, so that your audience will not miss out on any important information during their snooze. Make sure that you do not say anything that is not included in the hand out. For best results, just read the handout word for word.

Hopefully, by following carefully the ten tips outlined here, you will have the satisfaction of seeing an entire audience snoring quietly and happily throughout your entire presentation.

Remember, if you do not follow these tips you may be alarmed to discover that your audience is alert and interested in what you have to say.

To your speaking success

Fran Watson

Public Speaking and Your Business

When asked, the majority of people would claim that their greatest fear is getting up in front of a crowd and giving a speech. People in business often don't know how to address a group of people who are wanting to learn more about their product or service.

So why are we so afraid of public speaking? Well for one thing not very many of us are good at it and we don’t know how to get better.

Public oration was once a skill highly valued and therefore it was something that was worked on with much effort and time in school. Part of the reason that more people were schooled in speech making in the past was because school was really only for those to whom the skill would be beneficial. Only the “gifted” children were formally trained in such skills (i.e. those who had the money to be able to afford post secondary education).

Nowadays people are beginning to do pubic speaking in grade school.  Young children are encouraged to speak in contests as well as in class.  Adults are being asked to give presentations at school and at the office.  However, many of us are not good at it,  and don’t have the natural skills, desires, or regular practice that they need to be good. We may speak too softly, stumble over our words, use filler words with every breath, or simply stare at the screen instead of the audience.

So what do you do if you are in business and have to speak to people on a regular basis?  Do you just hope and pray you don't sound like an idiot, or do you do something more productive like joining a Toastmasters Club. 

Now, before you get all worried about joining such a club, let me reassure you that you do not need to be an excellent orator before joining.  Toastmasters is a place where you learn communication and leadership skills to help you in all areas of your life.  You can learn how to do impromptu speaking well.  Impromptu speaking is something we do everyday, but often we get tongue tied and nervous and use a lot of uhms and ahs.  At Toastmasters you learn to do without these filler words.

Businesses thrive on communication...oral and written.  If you want to improve your business, improve your communication. 

To your business and speaking success

Fran Watson

P.S.  Check out my book Click here

Public Speaking Dilemma: What To Do When You Don't Have Enough Time

Do you have a standard hour-length presentation, but your host can only spare a half hour?  (Been there.)

Are you in the middle of a presentation when you realize that, due to a late start or abundant questions, you are running out of time? (Here too.)

No matter what your topic, it is important to always be flexible and ready to cut short your session (or ready to lengthen, as the case may be). Here are some ways to make sure your presentation always fits the time slot.

Pointer #1: Use a timed outline
When you create your presentation outline, include time estimates next to each section (You might  like to add them in red to make them easier to spot on the page).

A brief, one-page bulleted outline (or two pages double-sided) will be easier to time than a long, rambling novel written in paragraphs.

Practice your presentation and jot down time estimates as you go (two minutes for opening, five minutes for section I, seven minutes for section II, etc.) When you get to the end, add up all the time and determine whether you should add to or subtract from any sections to make it all fit into the allotted time slot.

If you have to edit severely to fit into a different time frame and your presentation will be adversely affected, you might want to develop separate self-contained presentations for short, medium and long time slots.

(If you are a PowerPoint user, see the book "Beyond Bullet Points" for instruction on creating a PowerPoint that serves different timing needs.)

Pointer #2: Shift information depending on its priority
If you notice that you are running out of time while in the middle of a presentation, you may have to shift some of your content around. If you have important points at the end of the presentation, now is the time to bring them forward. As soon as you notice the time crunch, start changing the order of your sections.

When creating and practicing your presentation, it's always a good idea to think ahead about how you would handle this situation. The layout of your bulleted outline should make it easy to see which sections to leave out, move up or move down.

If you have to leave out something that you feel is important, gather business cards from the audience and offer to e-mail them additional content.

Pointer #3: Supplement with handouts
There's usually some information that we want to share, but that we don't necessarily want to include in our live presentation. You might have some relevant articles to supplement your workshop, or you might have charts and graphs that you didn't have time for or the technology to project.

Use handouts wisely. If the material does not need to be reviewed during your presentation, then leave handouts at the back of the room for the audience to pick up on the way out. If you choose to put them on seats before you begin, be aware that your audience may spend half the time reading and not listening to you.

Your handouts should always include your contact information and a link to your website, if you have one. Make sure all resources and references are clear and easy to read; use graphics if appropriate and leave a lot of white space on the page. Don't overload handouts with text; make them concise and relevant to your presentation. Otherwise, they will end up in the recycling bin!

Follow these suggestions, and you will always be prepared, no matter how much (or little) time you have.

To your speaking success

Fran Watson

P.S.  Click here for more info on Public Speaking

Speaking Tips

Any public speaking involves delivering information to people who are, in one way or another, waiting to get some information. This is a key reason why you should pay careful attention as you prepare to make your speech and as you plan to meet your audience.

Some people are naturals at public speaking and getting to audiences, you may think of politicians or a good college professor you took some classes with, the fact of the matter is most people are not good at making speeches and the vast majority of people are terrified of delivering a speech. This should not discourage you in any way, since many experts have studied this and worked hard to help you to deal with these problems in speech making.

If you are at a point that you are going to deliver a speech, you are probably at a stage in your life where your thoughts are worth something to other people. This means that in principle, people want to get into your head and they appreciate your talent or skill in some particular field. The people that will listen to you have something to learn from you. But you are not thinking of these people, are you? You are thinking of the few people that probably know more than you and will be in the crowd. This is a big mistake, first because you should think of the person that will profit from your knowledge and get to him, and secondly because you have something in you that will benefit even the people that you fear.

The key to all this is simple, it's preparation. It’s the most basic, banal and trivial thing, but it is the base of any success in any field. Lets think about speech making preparation. First think about your audience. Who is the average person coming to your speech, what does he know, what does he need to know, what will inspire him and make him listen carefully to what you have to say, and how will you get him to appreciate your speech?

It is not that difficult, its actually good to start at this point, remember – people want to know what you are thinking, you just need to keep them interested, and I am sure you have many interesting thoughts.

Rehearse, this seems clear to me, practice the speech again, and again, and again. Obviously I know that you don’t have all the time in the world to perfect it, but, there is a value to this. Timing your speech and pre setting spots in which you know you need to change your tone, your speed and rhythm, will make you a better speaker and a better speech planner. So rehearse your speech and listen to yourself while doing it.

Start strong, confident, talk about things you know no one can beat you or undermine you. Let the confidence and the experience shine through, people feel that, and if you do this right, you will own your audience.

Think about your entrance and the first 3 minutes of the speech. Pay attention to the way you walk in, project confidence and calm, do not rush into anything. Even if you are late or under a tight schedule, do everything slowly and thoughtfully. Show the room that you are entering your speech zone and that no one is allowed in. They can sit and wait for a few seconds (which seem like hours) – its only a few seconds.

Make sure you got the attention of the crowd, and start strong. Pick the words of your opening carefully, and trust yourself.

Good luck.

Fran

P.S. Click here for more tips

Avoid Developing Bad Habits

AVOID DEVELOPING BAD HABITS DURING PRACTICE
by J.A. Gamache
Third place Champion at the 2001 Toastmasters International
World Championship of Public Speaking

When practicing a speech, don't pause after you make a
mistake. If you stop and start again, you might develop a
reflex that will manifest itself on the day of your
performance.

I'll always remember one of my first English speech contests.
As a native French speaker, I was inexperienced with the
English language and was really nervous at the idea of
mispronouncing words. Back then, my accent was so thick that
I couldn't always make myself understood.

During rehearsals, I would stop myself each time I
mispronounced something and then would repeat the word, using
the correct pronunciation. I improved a lot this way and was
correcting my imperfections.

On the day of the contest, I continued the same pattern and
would stop to repeat a word whenever I mispronounced it. It
would have been better had I ignored these errors, but I
couldn't help myself because my habit of self-correction had
turned into a conditioned reflex. As I stumbled repeatedly
during my speech, I gave the judges the impression that I was
ill prepared, which made me lose the contest.

I learned a great lesson from that defeat. When you prepare a
speech, it's better to practice as through you're really
facing an audience, for the following reasons:

1- YOU'LL AVOID DEVELOPING UNDESIRABLE REFLEXES.
You won't instil bad habits in yourself, such as constantly
correcting yourself when speaking in front of a group.

2- YOU'LL DEVELOP THE HABIT OF DEALING WITH CONTINGENCIES.
Here's a partial list of contingencies you could encounter
during rehearsals (and also on the day of your speech):
- Stammering or mispronouncing something
- Forgetting your text
- Inverting parts of your speech
- Mishandling a prop
- Experiencing computer problems
- Being distracted by an interruption

3- YOU'LL GAIN SELF-CONFIDENCE.
On the day of your presentation, you won't be dreading any
unpleasant surprises. You'll know what to do because you've
encountered them during rehearsals.

Practice your speech as if you were really in front of an
audience, and you'll avoid bad habits. You'll also develop
strategies to get yourself out of predicaments and you'll be
less stressed when faced with an unforeseen event.

Happy speech!

©MMXII J.A. Gamache www.jagamache.com. All rights reserved.


---------------------------------
PERMISSION IS GRANTED TO REPRODUCE THIS ARTICLE
in whole or in part if a copy of the reproduced text is sent
to J.A. Gamache at info@jagamache.com after publication and
also provided that the following bylineappears along with the
reproduced text:

This article was reproduced from "Speaking in Public with
J.A.", a FREE electronic magazine authored by J.A. Gamache,
International Inspirational Speaker. To subscribe to his FREE
e-zine or to find out more about his presentations, visit:
http://www.jagamache.com.

For more tips on public speaking click here

Speech Contests

Speech contests present opportunities that allow you to hone your abilities, learn by observation, meet other Toastmasters and have fun.

Not everyone becomes enthusiastic when they hear the word “contest.”  For many, the idea of measuring one’s skills against those of other Toastmasters may at first seem rather daunting!  But while competition against other Toastmasters is a prominent feature at these events, the most important competition is always against one’s own abilities.  Speech contests give you that opportunity – and they also provide occasions to meet other Toastmasters and learn more about local Toastmasters events.

Recently members of one of my clubs participated in a club contest and I wrote up an article for the local newspaper.  We got a full page spread:  Click here

This is what can happen when you challenge yourself.  You learn and grow and that is the purpose of Toastmasters.  Learning about leadership and communication, learning how to handle yourself in various roles, learning how to speak "off the cuff" in Table Topics, learning the essential interpersonal skills that will make you successful at work and in the community.

Have a wonderful day...week...year...life.

Fran

P.S.  If you would like a list of 800 speech topics, leave me a message with your email address

P.P.S.  Click here to Master Public Speaking

Public Speaking Tips

Any public speaking involves delivering information to people who are, in one way or another, waiting to get some information. This is a key reason why you should pay careful attention as you prepare to make your speech and as you plan to meet your audience.

Some people are naturals at public speaking and getting to audiences; (you may think of politicians or a good college professor you took some classes with), the fact of the matter is most people are not good at making speeches and the vast majority of people are terrified of delivering a speech. This should not discourage you in any way, since many experts have studied this and worked hard to help you to deal with these problems in speech making.

If you are at a point that you are going to deliver a speech, you probably are at a stage in your life where your thoughts are worth something to other people.  This means that people want to get into your head and they appreciate your talent or skill in some particular field.  The people that will listen to you have something to learn from you.

But you are not thinking of these people, are you? You are thinking of the few people that probably know more than you and will be in the crowd. This is a big mistake, first because you should think of the person that will profit from your knowledge and get to him, and second because you probably have something in you that will benefit even the ones that you fear.

The key to all this is simple--it is preparation! Yes, it is the most basic, banal and trivial thing, but it is the base of success in any field. Lets think about speech making preparation.

First think about your audience:
who is the average person coming to your speech?
what does he know?
what does he need to know?
what will inspire him and make him listen carefully to what you have to say?
and how will you get him to appreciate your speech?
It is not that difficult, it is actually good to start at this point, remember – people want to know what you are thinking, you just need to keep them interested.

Rehearse, practice the speech again, and again, and again. Obviously you don’t have all the time in the world to perfect it, but there is a value to this.  Timing your speech, and pre setting spots in which you will change your tone, your speed and rhythm, will make you a better speaker and a better speech planner. So rehearse your speech and listen to yourself while doing it.

Start strong and confident.  Talk about things you know so that no one can beat you or undermine you.  Let the confidence and the experience shine through.  People feel that, and if you do this right, you will own your audience.

Think about your entrance and the first 3 minutes of the speech.  Pay attention to the way you walk in.  Project confidence and calm, do not rush into anything, even if you are late or under a tight schedule.  Do everything slowly and thoughtfully.  Show the room that you are entering your speech zone and that no one is allowed in, they can sit and wait for a few seconds (which seem like hours) – its only a few seconds. Make sure you got the attention of the crowd, and start strong. Pick the words of your opening carefully, and trust yourself.

Good luck.

To your speaking success

Fran Watson

P.S.  For more free speaking tips, click here

Three Easy Steps To Be Good In Public Speaking

 

Throughout the history of human civilization, people have been expressing their confidence and strength, not only by force, but also by the noble art of public speaking. The orators of ancient Greece were highly respected and valued in the community. Likewise, today’s world leaders are admired and esteemed when they have the power to address the public with poise and conviction.

 

The average person cringes at the idea of talking in front of an audience no matter how big or small the size. Whether giving a toast at a wedding or delivering a speech to a large assembly, most people make a big deal about public speaking and try to avoid it as much as possible.

 

 

But public speaking should not cause such a big fuss. Challenging as it may be, public speaking can be done with a few simple guidelines.

Before Making The Speech: Preparation

Like any other endeavor, public speaking requires careful preparation to be successful. Many people dream of having those “inspired” spontaneous speeches seen in movies; however, such scenes rarely happen in real life. Even the world’s most famous leaders prepare for public addresses, and most even have teams to work on those plans.

In order to properly prepare for a speech, one should know what the occasion the speech is for. The Gettysburg address would definitely not be appropriate for a wedding; thus, a speech has to fit the event it will be delivered to.

 

Second, one understand and know about the audience who will witness the speech. An assembly of academics might not take a perky speaker seriously; one should choose a suitable public speaking style  and subject based on the audience. A farmer’s association would probably not be interested on a speech about the intricacies of beadwork.

Making The Speech: Writing

Again, dazzling spontaneous speeches rarely happen in real life. Most good speeches have been written before their delivery. While many noted public figures have speech-writing committees, one can create a good speech even without the help of a team of ghostwriters.

When writing for public speaking, one should carefully organize the contents of the speech.

 

Begin with a very strong introduction. It is important to catch the audience’s attention early to prevent them from being bored easily.

 

Next, the body should be purposeful. The contents of the speech should relate well and support each other.  Choose only 2 or 3 points and expand on them.

 

Lastly, one should make a conclusion that sticks to the mind. No matter how stirring a speech is, it is useless if the people forget it the instant they leave the gathering. Conclusions should give a concise but memorable recap of the body of the speech.

The Actual Public Speaking: Delivery

This is the part most people are afraid of; but when proper planning and writing is done well, the delivery should follow easily.

One must decide whether to speak from memory or to use notes. Beginners often benefit from a script or a guide, but when one becomes more comfortable speaking in public, one can speak without notes.

 

Reading directly from a script can be quite boring for the audience; thus, it is important to keep constant contact with them, raising your head and making eye contact.

 

Speaking from memory is quite impressive, but if you are concerned about  missing some parts of the speech, using notes can be a good compromise so long as one is able to expound on the points well. 

Learning More About Public Speaking

Several books and articles about the topic have been published and they can well be accessed through the library or the bookstore. Many companies offer public speaking training, and such services provide in-depth courses that could help one speak well in public. There are also several articles and courses available through the internet, some of them are even posted for free.

 

Another option is Toastmasters, which is an organization designed to help you overcome your fears about public speaking by moving through a specially designed program manual.  You also have an opportunity to develop Leadership skills by taking on roles within a meeting. 

 

For more information on Toastmasters and to find a club near you, click here.

 
Public speaking is challenging, but can be a very worthwhile skill.

To your public speaking success

Fran Watson

P.S.  Click here for some free public speaking tips

Assertive Communication

Communication is fundamental in our lives. We communicate our thoughts and our feelings to family, friends, co-workers and strangers every day. Effective communication allows us to build healthy relationships in our private lives and healthy partnerships in our business lives. Ineffective interaction leads to frustration, dysfunctional personal relationships, stagnant organizations, and even war between countries.

 

Assertive communication requires the effective use of all aspects of communication from body language and symbols to persuasion and listening.  Assertiveness is being able to state your viewpoint without provoking another person.

Think about assertive communication as a two-way flow, an exchange of information.  It is open, honest, direct, shows mutual respect, values the thoughts, ideas, opinions and feelings of the other person(s) and strives for a winning outcome for everyone involved.

When you communicate assertively, you are expressing both positive and negative feelings – honestly and directly.  You are acknowledging that you have the right to be listened to and taken seriously, to say no without feeling guilty, to ask for what you want, and to make mistakes.  You also recognize and acknowledge that the other person has identical rights.  The result is that your relationships will become much more genuine, because you are communicating honestly and openly. 

What holds many people back from communicating assertively is the fear of displeasing others and of not being liked.  By not speaking up for yourself, you may avoid some immediate unpleasantness, however, you could also jeopardize the relationship in the long run if you refuse to assert yourself and then feel taken advantage of over and over again.  When this happens you become frustrated and unhappy with yourself, which reinforces a poor self-image and makes it difficult to command respect from others.

Awareness of yourself is a key part of learning to be assertive.  You can start by asking yourself questions such as:  “What do I want to change?” and “How do I tell the other person without blaming or attacking him or her?”

Assertive communication uses a special technique known as “I-message”s to say how it is for you. When you use an “I-message”, you state what you need clearly, directly and specifically.  You let others know what you feel and think while being polite and firm. 

For example, “I would like to discuss the options in detail” instead of “Maybe there should be some discussion about the options.” Or “I understand the Tuesday deadline is really important.  However, as a result of the computer problems we’ve had today, I won’t have it completed on schedule unless I have some help.  Which other staff would be able to work on it with me?”  It is helpful if you can plan what you want to say before you say it.  That way, you can avoid saying something you might regret later.

Tips for Positive Communication

The key to communicating assertively is to express yourself clearly, without blaming or judging the other person.  One of the ways to learn how to do this is to sign up with a local Toastmasters Club. As a club member you will learn how to make your messages clear, complete and specific.  You will learn how to plan what you want to say before you say it.  You will learn how to ask the questions that will gain you the answers you need to make effective decisions.  You will learn how to listen so that you can become genuinely interested in discussions and give listeners or speakers your full attention without interrupting them.  You will learn how to give effective evaluations to demonstrate your comprehension of what has been said. 

You will learn how to give feedback, by being tactful, firm, and sensitive.  You will learn to focus on the behaviour or the specific task rather than on the person. You will point out what worked well, suggest alternatives, and give any additional feedback in private.

You will learn to invite feedback about your own work and regard it as an opportunity to improve the quality of your work and not as a personal attack.  You will learn to believe in yourself and value what you have to say.  Your insights could benefit others.

 Respect yourself, communicate assertively with those around you, and they will respect you too!

 

To your communication success

 

Fran Watson

 

P.S. For more information click here

 

Face Your Fears

"All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you're not good enough or strong enough or talented enough; they will say you're the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. THEY WILL TELL YOU NO, a thousand times no, until all the no's become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no, quite firmly and very quickly. AND YOU WILL TELL THEM YES." -, Nike ad

 

Do you "feel the fear" when asked to do some Public Speaking?

 

Public Speaking is still one of our greatest fears and it turns grown men and women into nervous wrecks. The mere thought of it turns our tongue to cotton wool, causes our internal plumbing to act up and turns our knees to jelly.

 

Well, there's no need for all of this because help is at hand. All you need to remember are your P's and Q's.

 

Let's start with the P's

 

Preparation -

When you sit down to write what you're going to say, bear in mind who you'll be speaking to. Will they understand what you're talking about; will they understand the technical stuff and the jargon? If in doubt remember the old saying - "Keep It Simple Stupid".  

 

Make sure that what you say has a beginning, middle and a conclusion. Think of some anecdotes that help reinforce your story. People think visually so paint verbal pictures for your audience. And always remember, people want to know what's in it for them - so make sure you tell them!

 

Place -

Have a look at the venue before the event if you can. It's not always possible, however, even if you get there half an hour before, you can check out where you'll be speaking.  Stand at the point where you will deliver from, imagine where the audience will be and check that they can see and hear you. You may even wish to place a glass of water where you'll be able to find it.

 

Personal Preparation -

Before any Public Speaking event, think about what you are going to wear; when in doubt dress up rather than down. You can always take things off for a more casual look. Men could remove their jacket and their tie. Women could remove items of jewellery.

 

Part of your personal preparation should include some mouth and breathing exercises. Practise saying some tongue twisters to give your speaking muscles a good work out. Take a deep breath and expand your diaphragm. Then breathe out, counting at the same time; try and get up to fifty and not pass out.

 

As part of your personal preparation, write your own introduction. Write out exactly what you want someone to say about you, large font, double-spaced and ask the person introducing you to read it. Believe me they won't object and will probably be pleased and impressed.

 

Poise and Posture -

Whenever you're called to speak, stand up or walk to the front quickly and purposefully. Pull yourself up to your full height, stand tall and look like you own the place. Before you start to speak, pause, look round your audience and smile. You may even have to wait until the applause dies down.  Remember, you want the audience to like you, so look likeable.

 

Pretend -

I'm suggesting you pretend you're not nervous because no doubt you will be. Nervousness is vital for speaking in public, it boosts your adrenaline, which makes your mind sharper and gives you energy.  The trick is to keep your nerves to yourself. On no account tell your audience your nervous; you'll only scare the living daylights out of them if they think you're going to faint.

 

Some tricks for dealing with nerves are: Before you're called to speak, get lots of oxygen into your system, run on the spot and wave your arms about like a lunatic. It burns off the stress chemicals.  Speak to members of your audience as they come in or at some time before you stand up. That tricks your brain into thinking you're talking to some friends.

 

Have a glass of water handy for that dry mouth. One word of warning - do not drink alcohol. It might give you "Dutch courage" but your audience will end up thinking you're speaking Dutch.

 

The Presentation -

Right from the start your delivery needs to grab their attention. Don't start by saying - "Good morning, my name is Fred Smith and I'm from Smith Associates." Even if your name is Smith, it's a real boring way to start a presentation.  Far better to start with some interesting facts or an anecdote that's relevant to your presentation. 

 

Look at the audience as individuals; it grabs their attention if they think you're talking to them personally and talk louder than you would normally do, it keeps the people in the front row awake and makes sure those at the back get the message. Funnily enough, it's also good for your nerves.

 

PowerPoint -

And for those of you who haven't heard of it, it's a software programme that's used to design stunning graphics and text for projection onto a screen. As a professional speaker, I'm not that struck on PowerPoint. I feel that too many speakers rely on it and it takes over the presentation.  After all, you're the important factor here. If an audience is going to accept what you say then they need to see the whites of your eyes. There needs to be a big focus on you, not on the technology.

 

Use PowerPoint if you want but keep it to a minimum and make sure you're not just the person pushing the buttons.  Why not get a bit clever at using the faithful old Flip Chart, lots of professionals do.

 

Passion -

This is what stops the audience in their tracks. This is what makes them want to employ you or to accept what you're proposing. Couple this with some energy, enthusiasm and emotion and you have the makings of a great public speaker.

 

Give your presentation a bit of oomph and don't start telling me - "I'm not that kind of person." There's no need to go over the top but you're doing a presentation to move people to action, not having a cosy little chat in your front room.

 

That's the P's finished, so let's look at the Q's.

 

Questions -

Decide when you're going to take them and tell people at the start. In a short speech it's best to take questions at the end. If you take them as you go then you may get waylaid and your timing will get knocked out.

 

Never - never - never finish with questions; far better to ask for questions five or ten minutes before the end. Deal with the questions and then summarise for a strong finish. Too many presentations finish on questions and the whole thing goes a bit flat.

 

When you're asked a question, repeat it to the whole audience and thank the questioner. It keeps everyone involved, it gives you time to think and it makes you look so clever and in control.

 

Quit -
Quit when you're ahead. Stick to the agreed time; if you're asked to speak for twenty minutes, speak for nineteen and the audience will love you for it. Remember, quality is not quantity. One of the most famous speeches ever - "The Gettysburg Address", by President Lincoln, was just over two minutes long.

 

Right, that's my cue to quit when I'm ahead. Now that you're armed with this information you too can minimise your fear of Public Speaking.

 

To your public speaking success

 

Fran Watson

P.S.  For more tips on public speaking, Click here