Public Speaking Tips: How To Captivate Your Audience!
This post is all about public speaking, and how to be a better speaker. It covers a lot of ground, but highlights the following topics:
-The Golden Rule for Public Speakers
-Public Speaking Anxiety
-Developing an Outline for Your Speech
-Getting Feedback on Your Presentation
-How to Memorize Your Speech
and much more. We also included a list of resources with links to some great tips. Enjoy!
-Ben & James
THE GOLDEN RULE FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS
The best way to become a better public speaker is to speak publicly. The more you speak in public, the more comfortable you will become on stage. Also, try to think of the audience as people who are interested in what you have to say. There is nothing worse than a speaker who looks at their notes most of the time. It is better to look out at the audience when you address them and try to maintain eye contact. You will look more confident and will appear to have a better connection with your audience. THE GOLDEN RULE FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS
Public Speaking Anxiety
One of the most important things for public speakers is to remember that a majority of people feel some level of anxiety before they speak publicly. If you are like most people, this anxiety can create a feeling of dread. It is important to remember that anxiety is a normal reaction to public speaking. When you are conscious of this fact, you will be able to more easily make your audience feel at ease. We highly recommend public speaking kits for people who suffer from public speaking anxiety. They are available online and in stores.
DEVELOPING AN OUTLINE FOR YOUR SPEECH
It is very important to develop a "road map" for your speech. This can be as simple as making a list of bullet points on a sheet of paper. (You can do this by listing down the main points that you want to make during your speech. This will help you to organize your speech.) Just make sure this outline is in front of you as a reference point.
GETTING FEEDBACK ON YOUR PRESENTATION
Once you are comfortable delivering your speech, it's time to ask the audience for feedback. We recommend using a flip chart or dry erase board so that you can get feedback from your audience without leaving the podium. Ask for their thoughts on what they enjoyed in particular, and what they would change if they could.
HOW TO MEMORIZE YOUR SPEECH
Memorizing your speech is a huge step that is often overlooked by speakers. The key to memorizing your speech is to understand the main facts of your speech, then incorporate them into different forms of memory. You can include these facts in other places, such as newspaper articles or information on television. You can also use flash cards to assist you in memorizing the speech.
A LIST OF RESOURCES
While this article does not have a lot of resources, we decided to include a list of some great tips for speakers. It is entirely possible that you will find this useful in your future speeches:
http://www.publicspeaking-course-online.com/tips/public-speaking-tips
http://www.betterworldschools.co.uk/services/elstree.htm
http://www.learn-to-speak-publicly.co.uk/home.html (article is below)
http://www.freespeechkits.com/speaking-tips-1 (article is below)
http://www.learningenglishcenter.com/public-speaking/classes/
http://www.spekeasy.com/resources.htm (article is below)
http://www.voxpops.com (article is below)
http://www.spreaker.com (the basic site, but has a cool function where you can record your own voice narration to your video speech)
http://www.speakandspells.com/index.php?a=1 (article is below)
http://www.speaking-corp.com/tips-for-public-speakers/ (article is below)
http://www.mdgcommunications.com/speaking-tips (article is below)
http://www.slideshare.net/tonguecheekstudio/public-speaking-tips (speech tips are below the photo collage) https://www.youtube.
Conclusion
The key to becoming a better public speaker is to just do it! Give your speech to different audiences, even if they are small. The more you public speak, the more comfortable you will become with your ability. Also, don't forget to drink water before, during and after your speech. This will help to eliminate some of the nerves that can occur beforehand. If you have additional questions about public speaking tips feel free to ask us in our comments section.