Make a name for yourself – Everyone starts off small. Speak for free at service clubs like Rotary or Lion’s clubs; find a community event like a Chamber of Commerce mixer where you can make an appearance. The more often you give speeches in public, the better a speaker you’ll be.
Some simple preparation and advance planning will get you past that overwhelming fear you feel about public speaking. There are relaxation methods you can practice prior to giving your speech, not to mention going over the actual material in your presentation until you know it backwards and forwards. In fact, that’s the place you need to start - knowing your material.
But props can also be a big disadvantage if you use them incorrectly. For example, if you use a pointer in your presentation, don’t stand up there and wave it around in mid-air aimlessly, because your audience may feel that they’re watching a swordfight with only one participant, and become so engrossed in that display that they stop listening to your words. Or if you plan a slide show or a PowerPoint presentation, don’t mix very bright slides with very dark ones, or else you may leave your audience unable to see either one.
A key point many public speakers forget is that they don’t have to be perfect to be an effective public speaker. You can get tongue-tied, forget whole sections of your speech, go off on a tangent, and not recall your best joke – and the audience may still love you. In fact, they may relate to you better if you’re imperfect than if you got up in front of them and delivered a polished and flawless speech. You’re less intimidating – more like them.
The single best way to avoid all that public speaking terror is to know your material. Be familiar with your subject, and you’ll relax. If you know your subject, if you’re the expert in the room - why on earth would your audience scare you? What is there to be frightened of if you know your topic more thoroughly than they do? You’re there to teach them what you know about a particular subject or topic.
A little pre-planning and practice can go a long way toward alleviating that paralyzing fear of getting up in front of a crowd – the more knowledgeable you are about your subject, the more confident you’ll be in your presentation, and the more effective a speaker you’ll be. Keep in mind that almost all audiences – from the guests at a wedding to a political fundraiser – want you to do well, so the chances of tomatoes being tossed in your direction are slight.
When practicing your presentation and polishing the material – keep an eye out for jokes or one-liners that you can use. Try to find material that integrates with your style – don’t try to steal someone else’s delivery. The audience will respond to you if you just be yourself.
Good public speakers follow many of the same procedures and protocols when giving a speech; the basics are the same, just the delivery and style change with the individual speaker. Here are a few common tips that will help you succeed as a public speaker.
Hone your speaking skills – someone needs to critique your presentation – a friend, colleague or spouse. Have you tried having someone coach you or received instruction on how to be a better speaker?
Used correctly, props can add a tremendous amount of significance and variety to any presentation and help ensure that your message is received and understood. And that’s what public speaking is all about.
How well do you know your message? You need to be able to answer any question your audience asks. If you can’t do that, you haven’t prepared enough. Read about your subject, study it from every angle – you need to feel, look and sound like an expert.
Think about how you feel when you have to listen to a boring speaker. Make it interesting for your audience. Not only will they have more fun, but your message will get through, because they’ll be listening to you.
The dislike or loathing of public speaking stems from fear - the single biggest fear people seem to have is that they’re going to make complete idiots of themselves in front of a live audience. Or maybe that they’ll forget their lines. Or the audience will start throwing rotten tomatoes at them. Or perhaps they’ll pass out in front of all those people. I’ve seen many public speakers forget their lines, or lose their place in their speech, but I’ve never seen anyone pass out.