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.
Like it or not, public speaking is part of the entertainment industry – and even if your message is a serious one – audiences still want to be entertained. If you’ve been hired by an organization or a service club to stand up and deliver a message, you need to be able to do just that – or you won’t be invited back. Nor will you receive any recommendations to address any other group they might be connected with.
Vary your presentation - use audio visual props such as flipcharts, PowerPoint presentations, pass out handouts for your audience to read, use different intonations of voice - speak louder or softer - don’t make the mistake of using a monotone. Move around the stage (within reason - you’re not up there to give a Chorus Line review.)
That doesn’t mean your presentation has to be a “laff-riot” – in fact, your subject matter may not be appropriate for large doses of humor. For example, if you’re addressing cancer survivors, you’d want to tone down the ratio of jokes and one-liners, but if you were speaking to a group of salespeople, you could be a little more free-wheeling. You’ll be the best judge of content, knowing your own message and audiences. Just don’t toss out the humor entirely.
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.
The word “props” actually derives from an old theatrical term – “property.” In public speaking terms it means any object or item that the speaker uses to help get their message across to the audience. That could mean anything from a podium to a laser pointer, a flipchart to a PowerPoint projector, handouts to a DVD player. Virtually anything can be used as a prop.
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.
One sure-fire way of keeping your audience attentive and interested is by using humor throughout your speech. Your ultimate goal as a speaker is to get your message across in an effective manner – but does that mean you need to turn into a comedian just so the audience hears you?
Some speakers find it easy to use props to help keep them on track with what they want to say during their presentation. For example, I know one man who wears a different hat for each segment of his speech – he changes the hat and replaces it with another when he goes to the next segment. The hats remind him of key points to cover in each portion of his speech.
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.
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.
Using humor in your presentation is another effective tool, but be very careful to tailor your use of humor or jokes to your audience. How many times have you gone to watch or listen to someone giving a speech and been bored to tears? The speaker obviously hasn’t polished their public speaking skills – they speak in a monotone, their stories are lame – and they apparently have no sense of humor. Even if the message they’re trying to deliver is an important one – they’ve lost their audience.
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.
Next, have a “hook” at the very beginning of your presentation - a joke, a one-liner, a poignant story - something that instantly draws your audience into your presentation. Make it funny, make it serious - it doesn’t matter as long as it compliments your presentation - but make it interesting enough to make your audience listen to you.
Humor can benefit your presentation in so many ways – it can overcome an overly complimentary introduction and tell your audience you don’t take yourself too seriously. It can also make you seem more down-to-earth and less intimidating – helping you form a bond with your audience. And, perhaps most importantly, it will keep attention focused on you – they’ll be waiting for the next punch line, and you can use that opportunity to hit them with your key message. It’s also a good way to illustrate main points or concepts without creating hostility.