One of the most valuable skills for a professional in any field is outstanding public speaking ability. The ability to look comfortable and confident when addressing a room full of people will help you standout and advance in any career. Whenever you speaking publicly, make a conscious effort to develop your own memorable speaking style and enhance your own public speaking skills through constructive self-criticism. Here are some other things you can do to improve your public speaking skills.
2. One of the most useful skills for a
professional in any field or as a child in a
classroom is outstanding public
speaking ability. The ability to look and
be comfortable and confident when
addressing a room full of people will
help you standout and advance in any
career. Whenever you speak publicly,
make a conscious effort to develop your
own memorable speaking style and
enhance your own public speaking skills
through constructive self-criticism and
analysis. Here are some things you can
do to improve your public speaking
skills:
3. Plan Your Space
Make sure that the physical appearance
and setup of the room is taken care of so
things keep moving along well during
your speech. If you are a guest speaker
somewhere, contact the host a few days
in advance to tell him or her what you
will need to have your speech run
smoothly. This is the time to request a
certain type of microphone—and to
remember that, if you request a
lavaliere, you will have to wear clothing
that will allow you to clip the transmitter
comfortably on your body—and to
request a computer or projector if
needed. If you are going to use a Power
Point presentation or slideshow, make
sure you are backing up the files in
multiple ways. Make sure you save your
file to, at least, a USB drive and an
online cloud service like Dropbox. Make
your content easily accessible from
many mediums incase a few fail so you
4. can still deliver the presentation you
prepared for.
Audience Analysis
If possible, figure out the kind of people
you will be presenting to. Find out the
age range, if there is a predominate
gender present, their level of experience
and education, even socioeconomic and
geographical background. If you can
figure out some specifics about the
audience you will be speaking to, it will
be easier to create material that will
keep them interested and intrigued.
Remember, in most public speaking
situations, the audience wants the
speaker to succeed and give a relevant
speech on a topic they want to know
more about. The key to success is
preparation.
5. Engage With the Audience
Try and make your audience feel that
they are being talked with instead of
being talked at. Even if your host
introduces you, which will likely happen,
make sure you introduce yourself to the
audience as well. Engage the crowd next
by telling a joke, mentioning a famous
quote, or asking a relevant question
about the subject matter.
Try not to look at your notes. Even the
most prepared speakers can look
unprepared if they are constantly
looking at their notes or—even worse—
reading them, exactly as they were
written, because they're nervous. This
looks bad makes the audience lose
interest. While the audience wants you
to succeed, they also want to be
entertained by your presentation. There
is no such thing as a bad topic, just a
good or bad delivery of a topic. You can
6. always find a way to engage your
audience, and one simple way to do this
is to start by simply looking at them
during your presentation.