The Art of Public Speaking

“Public Speaking is the art of influencing thousands at a time with your experience, thoughts, knowledge and skills.”

COMMUNICATION AND INTERACTION IS THE BACKBONE OF OUR SOCIETY AND PUBLIC SPEAKING IS A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF COMMUNICATION.

Public speaking is the act of presenting an idea to the public, using your own experience, thoughts and knowledge. The 'public' can range from a few acquaintances to a huge audience of unknown people. For most people, a bigger audience equates to more fear, but some people are just as terrified as presenting to a small group.

PUBLIC SPEAKING IS THE WAY PEOPLE DO BUSINESS NOW A DAYS AND SO PUBLIC SPEAKING IS A SKILL THAT AN INDIVIDUAL MUST POSSESS FOR CAREER ADVANCEMENT AS WELL AS PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT.

THIS FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING CAN BE OVERCOME USING THE RIGHT STRATEGIES, SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES

Some strategies and skills that you can use to improve the impact of your public speaking, overcome your fear and shyness and become more at ease when interacting and communicating with people:

● BEING NERVOUS IS TOTALLY NORMAL

Getting nervous before and during your presentations is totally common and you don’t have to let it affect your presentation. Even the most seasoned public speaker can feel nervous on stage, you just have to focus on your presentation and give your best with self-confidence.

● DO NOT RAMBLE

Make concise and organized notes. Don’t make lengthy notes instead keep them short and use points so that they are easy to read. Making detailed and lengthy notes will make you even more confused and the audience will start losing interest watching you read everything from your notes.

● KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

“ITS ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE NOT YOU”

It is important to know about your audience so that you can form a connect with them, which will make conveying your message to them much easier. Before you start preparing your presentation consider who it is intended for. Learn as much as you can about your listener, this will help you determine your choice of words, content and your main message.

● HAVE CONFIDENT POSTURE AND GESTURES

Don’t fidget with your hands, it can be a distraction for you and your audience. Some gestures and hand movement are a great way to emphasize certain key points, but too much is just a distraction. Maintain a good posture, this way you will look more confident. Be calm and composed, it will help your brain in focusing which will help you in giving a better presentation.

● DO NOT PACE

Move Around Some, But Not Too Much. People move around when they are nervous, it is common and moving around a bit is completely normal. But being all over the place is a bit too much. You can move around some and interact with the audience to make a better connection.

● HAVE A CLEAR AND LOUD VOICE

Don’t speak too softly, be loud and clear. Be confident and have a loud voice with a nice and clear volume which can be heard till the back of the room. Being audible to all the people in the audience is very important. A dull and low-pitched voice can make the audience loose interest and can also cause difficulty in understanding for some.

● ADD HUMOR AND EMOTIONS

Giving a presentation stating just the facts and information about the subject can be extremely boring. It is very important that your audience takes interest in your presentation. You can grab your audience’s attention by adding funny anecdote in your presentation or by telling a story. Adding a personal touch in your presentation will help you in making a better connection with your audience.

● DON’T USE FILLERS

Using fillers like “uh” or “um” is a big NO as it can make audience lose the interest and can be a huge distraction. You can take a break while speaking but it should be at the right time. Taking a well-timed PAUSE can make the point more effective to the audience. Taking a pause while making the main statement is important as it makes the message sink in, it becomes much more effective and it also gives the audience the time to think about the main message.

● PRACTICE LIKE CRAZY……

Practice properly and do proper research on your topic. Being fully prepared will make you more confident and more knowledge will help you understand the insights which will help you in giving a better presentation. Having a proper knowledge of the will also help in answering audience’s queries and questions. By Practicing your speech often, you will become more comfortable and less nervous.

● MAIN MESSAGE

The final message should be powerful. The main message of your presentation should be clear to each and every person sitting in the audience. Don’t drag the message make it concise and effective. Our entire presentation is based on this main message and so it is very important to make it effective and clear to everyone.

● EYE CONTACT

Making eye contact is very important. Make eye contact with as many people as possible in the audience. Making eye contact helps in forming a better connect and it also makes the people in the audience feel that you are directly talking to them.

● GET FEEDBACK

Getting feedback from the audience can be useful in working on your limitations. Keep your focus on audience and keep a watch on their reactions, adjust your message and be flexible.

● GRAB ATTENTION IN THE BEGINNING AND END WITH A BRIEF PREVIEW

Grab the attention of audience in beginning by asking a question or by telling a startling fact or a brief story or by using a quotation with a message. In the end you can conclude your speech with a summary highlighting the main points of the presentation.

“THE WORST SPEECH YOU'LL EVER GIVE WILL BE FAR BETTER THAN THE ONE YOU NEVER GIVE.” - Fred E. Miller

EVERY PERSON HAS A DIFFERENT WAY OF PUBLIC SPEAKING AND IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE PERFECT, YOU JUST NEED TO BE CONFIDENT AND WELL PREPARED. PRACTICE OFTEN AND TRY GIVING YOUR BEST.