10½ effective tools for public speaking
This month we thought we would share with you the most successful way to promote yourself… and to top it all, it’s free!!
The ultimate purpose of any speech is to communicate your message to your audience. If delivered effectively it can be a powerful marketing tool for your business.
Here are 10½ valuable ways to ensure that your public speaking is a success.
1. Know your audience
Understanding your audience is a critical ingredient to writing and delivering a successful speech. The type of speech which is acceptable and appeals to one audience may not appeal to another audience made up of different people. By knowing your audience you will be able to decide the best way to deliver your message.
2. Arrive early
Arriving early demonstrates that you have a professional approach. It will give you an opportunity to get familiar with the environment, and to check that any equipment you require is working before you are on stage. Being the early bird will also give you the time to speak to people as they arrive and you can even ask the host to help with introductions.
Bernard always likes to arrive early when he is giving a speech. From experience he has found that you always stumble across some sort of technical error which takes longer to sort out then initially thought. By arriving early these problems are always sorted before he goes on stage.
3. Speak with conviction
Know your subject area. Live, talk and breath it.
Believing in what you are saying has great conviction and will resonate more with an audience. This is a powerful tool as you can effectively persuade your audience without even knowing it.
4. Control your nerves
Do your palms go sweaty and your knees weak? Do you get a dry mouth at the thought of talking in front of an audience?
These symptoms are well known to even the most experienced of presenters. Public speaking is up there with the worst of people’s fears. People will do anything to get out of getting up in front of an audience. The best way to overcome these nerves is to accept them and devise some mechanisms to help you cope.
Learn to control your nerves before they take control of you. It is important that you find time to relax and collect your thoughts beforehand. Try positive visualization and deep breathing to help your nerves fly away.
5. Less is more
It is very important not to tell the audience everything you know, rather, tell the audience what it is they need to know.
You need to be able to select the most relevant and interesting information to use in your speech which will leave the audience wanting to know more. This is an invaluable skill.
A good speech will be clear, engaging and understandable.
6. Variety is the spice of life
A great way to engage and maintain your audience’s attention is by delivering information in a way that they can relate to.
We have all been to a lecture where the presenter has just read from the PowerPoint slides, which has been very dull and boring.
Create theatre and drama using a few anecdotes and practical experiences to illustrate the points you are making. Add props and interact with the audience. By using a variety of communication tools you will be able to keep your audience entertained and interested throughtout your presentation.
7. Body language
Your body language can speak volumes before you have said a word in front of your audience.
How you hold yourself is critically important and you can use this method of communication to your advantage.
Stand straight and have a relaxed posture. Make sure your hands don’t fidget by keeping your arms by your side allowing the freedom to move them if needed. Be at ease with yourself.
Feel happy to use head and arms as part of communicating the message. This can add life and emphasis to your presentation.
8. Eye contact
All eyes will be on you, but where do you look?
Maintaining sincere eye contact with your audience is crucial for a successful presentation. Make direct eye contact with a number of people in the audience, and glance every now and then at the whole audience to keep them engaged.
9. Tone
When delivering a presentation, how you say something can be just as important as what you say.
No matter how interesting your presentation may be, if you speak in a monotone voice your presentation will come across as dull and boring and will send people to sleep.
It is important to add drama, change the pitch and character of your voice so it compliments what you are saying and keeps your audience’s attention from start to finish.
10. Communication is the key
Communication is the key ingredient when presenting. There is no point in knowing everything there is to know about a subject if you don’t know how to communicate it effectively to your audience.
You need to be able to speak to your audience, listen to what the audience has to say, respond to their reactions, adjust and adapt.
If your message is not being received by the audience successfully, have the ability to change your train of thought mid stream. This will take time to master and comes with practice.
10½ Practice makes perfect
Practice, practice, practice!
Practice in front of the mirror, practice in front of friends and family, record your speech and play it back to yourself. By doing this you will be able to get valuable feedback and see where you need to improve in order to be more successful and confident.
This month's famous feet
Kate Winslet has had double success at the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs, picking up the award for best actress.
Kate Winslet, wears a US size 11 shoe.
What our clients say about us
Staff members who went on workshops are certainly more confident about what they need to do to sell the firm’s services.
Martin Rogers, Regional Managing Partner, Mazars Accountants
In a world looking increasingly bleak and in particular working in a sector which has been on the ropes since late 2007, it was extremely useful to get everyone focusing on where new opportunities may lie and the practical steps they need to take to access those opportunities. The sector appraisal exercise certainly stimulated some lively debate. It got the team thinking about which organisations or businesses may be in the market for property based legal services, how we could access those organisations and how we might define our service to give us a real competitive advantage.
Jonathan Cavell, Partner, asb law, Law Firm
Famous feet
Dustin Hoffman
Actor
Shoe size: 5
