Public Speaking: Plan Your Timing For Maximum Impact!
Public speaking can be a nightmare to prepare for but having a little bit of preparation time and knowing the best timing to speak will help you deliver your talk with confidence.
See, when the speaker is just getting their "things together", they start off in the middle of their talk, which might make them look indecisive. On the flip side, if they start far too early they will quickly run out of things to say and may have similar results as when starting too late.
The best time to speak is when the audience is rapture over what they have heard and are eagerly waiting for more. That is when they retain the most information and are most likely to be convinced of your point.
This can be a tricky skill to master but once mastered it will give you an advantage over your competition.
Use these guidelines to help you choose the best time to speak:
1. Use the in-between times
When giving a speech, try to find the part of your speech where you can pause, ask a question or say something that lets the audience know that you are going to soon speak again. Those pauses give the audience time to review or digest what they have heard before you continue your speech with another part.
2. Use silence effectively
An effective way to use silence is to wait for 15 seconds during your talk and then say "Hmmm", "Hmm" or "Oops". If a person has missed something you have said, they will be quiet and listen for the next part of your speech. Those few seconds of listening will give you time to continue your speech with confidence knowing that you have already caught their attention and that they are waiting for the next part.
3. Be brief
Each person's mind processes different amounts of information at once so try to make sure that you only choose the amount of information that each person can take in from one listening period. If you are going to speak for longer than 15 minutes try and keep the flow of your speech smooth for the entire time.
4. Cross your hands
When addressing a group, it is not only the speaker where our attention goes but also to the audience. When people are listening to you, they will be paying attention to you and also looking around them at their own group. This makes an efficient use of "brainpower". Therefore, it is useful to use the gesture known as crossing your hands in order to draw attention of the audience.
5. Walk up and down the aisles
If you are going to speak at a large stage then this might be a good idea if you are going to talk about something very technical or complicated but for other types of speeches it can be distracting for some people if you do not have enough time to speak.
6. Use body language
Smiling, nodding and looking at the audience can help enable the audience to know that you are happy that they are there and can also concentrate on what you will be saying. It has been shown that a speaker who uses more gestures and who smiles and makes eye contact are always more persuasive than those who do not use any of these things. Make sure not to go overboard, though!
7. Make it a habit
The main reason why people do not practice their speeches is because they are too busy and they think: "I can just wing it, I know my subject so why bother practicing?". However, if you keep on trying to practice your speech and keep on changing the way you say things, you will be more likely to forget some part of your speech during the actual talk. Always keep in mind that the more you practice, the better you will get. The best way is to "practice again tomorrow".
8. Leave time for Q&A
If you have a big group of people then it is very likely that you will have the chance to answer some questions after the speech. The best way to do this is to leave 5 minutes at the end of your talk so that they can ask their questions. Save some "time savers" for those last minutes.
9. Be consistant
Consistency is the ability to deliver on time and in the same way every day. Keep a routine and stick a schedule to your preparation so that you will be able to go through the same routine everyday. From this habit, other things will follow such as having enough time for your preparation, giving yourself a break to go for a coffee, etc.
10. Look at your notes
Keep on looking at your notes if you pause for a short period of time, as long as it does not disrupt the flow of the speech. This is a good way to make eye contact with the audience, who will know that you are not just blankly staring at them.
11.
Conclusion
To sum it up, here are a few tips on how to be more persuasive when giving a speech:
- Show that you are happy and enthusiastic about the things you will be talking about.
- Show that you care.
- Keep things simple.
- Tell a story. This is one of the most effective ways of convincing someone of something. It engages their emotions and makes them feel like they are there with you, in your story element by element as it was happening to you.