Most
likely, you will have to make a public speech at some point in your career. To
some public speaking comes naturally; but for most, it is a struggle must be
overcome through rigorous preparation and contemplation. Public speeches are
nerve-wracking, however, they are equally as empowering, more so as your
audience gets bigger. When it is your time to give a public speech it is
important you understand that you have been tasked with delivering a message,
and you must do so as effectively as possible. Start by figuring out what
message you want to deliver and then enhance the strength of that message.
There are subtleties that
can both improve your speech/message, or weaken it. Not everyone was born to
deliver a Martin Luther King caliber speech but there are steps you can take to
avoid speech catastrophe and at minimum deliver the message you were tasked to
give.
Verbal
communication is only half the battle when it comes to public speaking. Body
language is key to purvey a message effectually. You wouldn’t slouch and mumble
with your head down when telling someone that you just got engaged, Would you?
Posture promotes poise and you will look much more confidant than you may feel
in the moment. Also move with purpose. Gestures assist with communicating a message
with emphasis and enthusiasm.
The most
obvious tip is the most crucial, Prepare, prepare, and prepare again. Practice
makes perfect is not just a saying, it is the truth. Rarely does someone give a
speech they haven’t read and edited many times over. Read it aloud, read it to
a smaller, more personal, audience, read it until you do not need to read it.
The term is not, public reading, it is public speaking. Reading distracts from
eye contact that you must try to maintain with your audience during your
speech. Also, the more familiar you are with your speech the less you will
utter words like “Umm” and “Like.” Refrain from introducing sentences with “So”
and ending them with “OK?” Instead, replace those words with, other, more
sophisticated sounding transitional phrases.
Tell a
Story. You should personalize your speech with a story that would relate to your
message and describe why you are the most qualified to give that speech. Your
story should evoke emotion with vivid imagery. You should know your audience
well and know what specific emotions to arouse. Your story should also make
people laugh, but not with jokes. Your story should be authentic and assist in
delivering your essential message. People are there to see you, so they should
like to see your personality shine through as well.
Use
Adrenaline to your advantage. Anxiety may cause you to fidget, stutter, quiver,
and get your mind racing. This is just the excess adrenaline coming out. Turn
it into energy to boost your speech. Speak loud and clearly, mind your speed,
and pause when appropriate. Use Gestures to help get out that extra adrenaline
and add emphasis and infliction to your speech. But avoid the typical public
speaking rhetoric. It is boring, unnecessary and forgettable.
Don’t apologetically
intro a topic with, “Just real quick,” “Briefly” or similar phrases, this only
insinuates that the following is insignificant, and if you aren’t brief you
become a liar as well. Your speech should be as brief or as long as is required
of you. Do not exceed your time limit, include questions (if applicable) to
that limit.
PowerPoint
is a nice tool to use but can be easily mishandled. If you do decide to use
PowerPoint, use with caution. For another alternative to PowerPoint, check out
Prezi. It has a much more creative and interesting platform that helps
captivate audiences with visual appeal. Whichever platform you use for your
presentation, keep words to a minimum and replace them with charts, graphs and
images. Expect that your audience can read too, but wont want to. They are
there to listen to you, not read your typed up speech. If you have a laser
pointer, keep use to a minimum, the laser will distract everyone from
everything else like cats. And when answering questions, do not fumble through
your slides in order to find an answer, chances are they aren’t there, and if
it is, you should already know the answer.
Lastly,
relax, and prepare for the worst. Have water nearby to save you from a
nervously dry mouth. Have written notes that will keep you on base with your
message, make sure your equipment is working properly, do a test run if
possible.
For help in communicating your message, please contact us at Spotlight Publicity for a free consultation.
