Public Speaking - Is this your Fear?

Hi Friends

Speaking in public takes many forms. You could be on a TV or radio chatshow, running a webinar online or seminar offline, it might be a speech at a wedding, work event like a presentation or when a colleague retires, it could be just in a

group at the pub where you want to make an announcement. making videos for an online course is another situation which isn't actually speaking in public but does feel like that when you start.  We have probably all had to make a public speech at sometime or another, usually with some time to prepare but occasionally on the spur of the moment. 

Public speaking is an art that you have to learn. An art that is vital in some jobs. An essential as an entrepreneur.  Public speaking can take you to the heights you need to be successful.  But you need to work on this skill. And you must bear in mind that your first time will be a real learning experience, and you will think you were terrible. BUT . . if you ask anyone you trust that was in the audience then you might be pleasantly surprised. They won't have picked up on your nervousness. They won’t have noticed the mistakes or that big chunk you missed out completely because they didn’t know. But listen to what they say and if you think they have valid criticism then try to correct what you did. 

And you’ll learn yourself from the speech. Maybe you couldn’t read what you wrote. Perhaps you didn’t talk up or show enough emotion. So you weren’t prepared for the questions at the end. So let’s look at some good practices.

Research

When I first started running an online TV channel I commissioned an experienced presenter to run a couple of interviews for me. I met her at the railway station and we went for a coffee to talk about the day’s schedule. Then we went to the first interview that we did in a quiet hotel lounge. She sat down with the interviewee who was a local song-writer singer and just spoke with him for a few minutes to put him at ease.

Then she started. It was a positive interview about his career and forthcoming show. As she asked questions it became apparent that she had found out so much about the guy. And she was able to lead him through a really informative 20 minutes.

The same thing happened with the second interview which was with the local Top Cop. She knew about his career and a family outline, so she was able to talk about him as a family man, making it more intimate.

Research is so important and so easy today. Google anyone

who is anyone, and lots of people who aren’t!  Companies, places corporations are all here. And you will come up with enough background to strengthen your speech. You won’t need to use everything but it is useful to know and substantiates your speech. If you have a question and answer session after it will give you rock steady answers. So research.

Tell Them

Remember the old adage. Tell them what you are going to tell them! Tell them! Tell them what you’ve told them!

So at the beginning introduce yourself and tell them what you are going to cover. This sets the tone and is like the forward and table of contents.

Then tell them by giving your speech.

Then conclude by giving a brief overview of what you have covered. This sequence will help them understand, know where you are throughout the talk, and keep you on topic.

Rehearse

I cannot tell you how important this is. You aren’t rehearsing to be word perfect because you will sound wrong. You are rehearsing to feel comfortable, to get the order and words right and to look good. You’ll probably use notes with bullet points to keep you on track. Look at great speakers and see how passionate they are, how the words can spill out or be controlled. It’s because they have rehearsed. Can you imagine an actor learning the script but not attending rehearsals. Or worse thinking they can carry the script during the performance.

Suit the length to the subject content

A speech doesn’t have to be short to be interesting. On YouTube most people get distracted after a couple of minutes because there are distractions, just keep surfing!! But being in an audience listening to an interesting speech is different. There are no distractions.

Don’t overstay your welcome. Make sure the content is relevant and not to fill a time slot. It’s like writing a sales letter. A very long sales letter will be more successful than a short one if every word is important. A long speech will hold the audience if every phrase means something to them.

Voice Inflections and Body Language

Write your speech out and speak it. You will find that some doesn’t sound right, it doesn’t have rhythm. Writing and speaking are different, use different phrases and language. Speaking is generally less formal.

 

Try to alter the pace and volume of your words. You can slow down and almost whisper or shout to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Often when you do lower your voice the audience leans forward and breath quieter. This can have a real impact. Don’t hurry your words. The listeners often don’t know you so they aren’t used to your voice, and when

people are taking in information they need more time.

Likewise do pause. You will be amazed the effect you have on people when you pause for a few seconds. As an aside try this is conversation, particularly when you ask a question. Wait for the answer and don’t rush in. It always works that you get more than you expected. So pause. It gives the audience time to think, makes them expectant and keeps them interested.

Use Eye Contact

You have your notes but just try not to look at them continuously. Look at the audience. I’d suggest that you don’t let your eyes wonder across the whole audience. 

Concentrate on one or two people, then when you move to the next topic or thought, then concentrate on someone else in another part of the audience. And smile.

You may have a white-board or screen presentation, don’t turn your back. You may have to sometimes but avoid where you can. IF you have a presentation use bullet points, don’t have every word on screen and just read. Likewise keep is simple, no fancy PowerPoint animations because it will distract. If you need this then your speech lacks interest.

Be Humorous

A joke right at the beginning is a great ice-breaker and will build up empathy. Not political, religious or sexual. A joke against yourself is a winner.

You can add in a couple more jokes along the way to keep everyone focussed but don’t spoil your speech by making it a funny throughout, unless it’s intentional and each joke works with your audience.

Being too intense throughout is as bad as too many jokes. Keep the tone light and in tune. Don’t talk down because you are the expert. Remember the definition of an expert. The “Ex” is a deadbeat has been. Whilst the “Spert” is a drip under pressure. Think about that.

Your Learning Experience

Mistakes are good. If nobody else realises you’ve gone wrong, as is normally the case, then you can be pleased. Just learn from your flaws and try to correct them. The only one who doesn’t make mistakes is up there somewhere looking down.

More importantly is list out all the things you did right and build on that. And every time you manage to put a mistake right then add this to your list. Of course it’s important to correct these problems. But the right things will give you a firm base to work from. Like a building, firm foundations keep the house standing, even when there are floods or hurricanes. So work on these points and follow them each time.

Oh. And practise a few situations you may run into. The more you practice in front of a mirror, or friends if anyone is willing, then the better you will become. 

Good luck with any public speaking