If you speak well in public, it generally leads to greater self-confidence and self-esteem. No matter what you do in life career wise, it is definitely a great skill to have. Use the tips below to help you with public speaking skills.
Know the audience that you will be speaking to. To help you get to know the audience, greet people as they enter and engage them in some conversation. By doing this, you will feel more comfortable when you go to the podium. It is much easier to speak to people you know.
Make sure you wear a supportive pair of shoes when you do public speaking. You want your posture to be tall and confident, with open and relaxed shoulders so you portray confidence. If you get tense on stage from feet, knee or low back pain, it will affect your speech greatly.
Find one person in the crowd who looks trustworthy and focus on them. Pretend like the two of you are the only people in the room. A major reason why people are scared of speaking in public is because of the amount of people in the room. If you just focus on one person, you will forget anyone else is there.
When making a speech, know the concepts of your topics to start with. Research your topic completely. Then, narrow in on individual points, and back them up with carefully crafted remarks. This kind of preparation is bound to pay off handsomely as your audience asks questions.
Do not use a laser pointer to run over words as you read them from a screen. This gives your audience the idea that you think they are incapable of reading for themselves. Once they begin to feel insulted, it will be much harder for you to convince them to listen to you.
Never assume that you are going in front of a hostile audience. They are giving you their time and attention. They want to be informed, captivated, entertained and moved. Visualize them clapping for you, because they probably hope you give them reason to do just that at some point.
Always wear comfortable clothes for a speaking engagement. Even if you must wear a suit or formal dress, be sure your clothing fits properly and does not make you feel too hot. Choose modest clothing for speaking in public, and make sure all fasteners and buttons hold securely so that you do not experience wardrobe malfunction.
Do not be afraid to let your audience know that you have no idea of the answer to some of their questions. People will respect your honesty and understand that you are human. This is much better than rambling on trying to convince them you know what is going on when you don't.
Try using note cards if you can. While memorizing a speech can help, a hard copy isn't a terrible idea. You may simply use notes to highlight the key points of your speech.
Do not make apologies. Apologizing for being nervous, repeating yourself, stuttering or making any other kind of mistake only draws attention to it. It also makes you and your audience unnecessarily uncomfortable. Keep speaking and try to recover from any mistakes to keep your audience at ease and interested.
To effectively communicate key data points, supplement your oral presentation with visuals. Reciting numbers and figures is more difficult than conveying words and concepts. Many audience members have trouble visualizing statistics and appreciate simple infographics, such as charts, tables, and graphs. You can also print this data and distribute copies to audience members beforehand.
Try watching professional public speakers. You can learn a lot from people that are famous for their public speaking abilities. Take note of how they speak and how they engage the audience. Figure out what it is that makes them successful. Try incorporating some of their habits and styles in your own speeches.
Consider using a friendly story at the beginning of your speech so you can connect with the crowd. This can either be about a relevant news story, hypothetical situation or even a personal experience. Putting a human touch on the story will have the audience members relate to what your saying, and have their attention. Steer clear of offensive remarks or commentary that drags on too long.
Know who you will be delivering the speech to and prepare accordingly. Different audiences will expect different speeches. For instance, professional colleagues might want to personally learn something new. Family members might look for a little entertainment from your speech. No matter who is in your audience, make sure to cater to their interests.
To become a more skilled public speaker, you must omit certain words and phrases from your vocabulary. Starting a sentence with the word "actually" conveys surprise or submissiveness. Never use the phrase "I just think" in your speeches. This expression communicates weak authority, and audience members will perceive that you lack conviction.
Visualize yourself giving a terrific public speech. The more you visualize success, the more likely you'll be to making it a reality come the big day. Mentally, you prepare yourself for success, and that's a big thing. A lot of people aren't quite sure how to deal with succeeding.
If you are so nervous during speeches that you cannot look at your audience, try the following trick. Instead of looking into the faces of the people you are speaking to, look at the tops of their heads. Keep looking at different head-tops and your audience will think you are looking right at them as you speak.
Open your speech up for questions at the end. Make sure that you give time for audience member questions, so you will want to cut short your speech to ensure there is plenty of time for this. To permit the audience to ask as many questions as possible, keep your responses short and to the point.
Learning to present a speech with confidence will help you in all aspects of your life. You need to be able to get ideas across to others in an effective way. Work on your speaking skills, and you will be happy with the results.
Orignal From: Find Out All About Public Speaking Here
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