Whether it is in school or in the workplace, or even in other areas of life. Public speaking is something that most people have to do at some point. The dread of public speaking is well noted but it does not have to be such a dreaded experience. The tips below can help you build your confidence.
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.
The way you look can determine how well you do at public speaking. If you are not well-groomed or dressed at your best, you are not going to feel very confident with yourself. This lack of confidence may cause you more fear and could mess up your whole speech. So, be sure to look your best!
Know the room before you speak in public. Find out if there is a microphone. Try out any equipment you will be using. Make use of visual aids. Know what the eye contact range is and what you need to do to perfect it.
If you are nervous when you first stand up to speak, there are a couple of things you can do. Either choose a person toward the center of the audience to focus on or focus on a point at the back of the room. An EXIT sign is a good choice. This will help calm your nerves.
Take the time to research other important speeches. The internet has a wealth of recorded speeches so that you can observe how they do it. Focus on the qualities that you liked in their speech and emulate them. Look for qualities such as their ease in speaking, their humor and how they capture the attention of the audience.
Use YouTube to watch and view the masters of public speaking. Watch not only for their content, but also for their styles and habits. Pay close attention to famous moments and replicate such mannerisms sparingly for specific effect. Watch speeches of your favorite presidents or other national leaders, as you can find videos going back decades.
When you know ahead of time that you will be speaking in public, dress appropriately. You can dress down if you are speaking to a group of children at a summer camp, but dress more formally if you are making remarks at a business luncheon. Avoid flashy colors and distracting accessories. You want the audience to pay attention to your message rather than to your clothing or jewelry.
Make use of note cards. While it it good to memorize your speech, a hard copy can come in handy. You may not necessarily have the whole thing written out, but having your important points notated can help.
Do not try to impress your audience by using overly complicated vocabulary. Some people do this because they want to show off how smart they are. The only thing that this will do is confuse a lot of people since they will have no idea what it is you are trying to say.
Always leave your audience wanting more. Nothing is worse than a speaker who drones on and on for what seems like hours. Instead, get your information delivered in a timely fashion. Keep the speech within the requested time parameters. However, do not keep your speech so short that you do not give your audience the information that they desire.
Videotape a couple of practice sessions of your public speaking engagements. When you can see yourself in action this way, you can easily see what you can improve upon. It may be the way you move your hands or the expression on your face. Seeing this on film gives you a more objective perspective.
Include examples and stories into your speech as illustrations. This will make your audience more interested in the information you are presenting. By including information about your family through stories and illustrations, the audience will see you as a person instead of another guest speaker. Limit the stories to one or two for best results.
Use quotes to your advantage when speaking in public. A good quotation can form the basis of your remarks, or you can intersperse quotes throughout your speech. When using quotes, be sure to give credit to the source. Practice delivering the quote in an effective tone of voice and with the proper inflections for best results.
Carefully choose the words you use when presenting your speech. Technical jargon and other difficult to understand words should be avoided. If you must use a technical word, make sure that your audience understands what that word means by giving them a concise definition of the word. This will help ensure that your audience knows what you are talking about.
Prepare to be a good public speaker by studying people who are good at it. You will learn a lot about mannerisms and techniques this way. What is it about them that draws people in? Carefully study their particular habits. Learn more about them personally and what methods of conversation they employ.
Once you finish the speech, prepare yourself for questions from listeners. 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. In order to allow enough time for all questions, keep your answers as concise as you can.
Be sure you have the most important words of your speech memorized. You don’t have to memorize everything, just the most important parts. This can boost your confidence when speaking about these sections. It can really help.
