Effective Public Speaking

By Leaders Speakers® Public Speaking and Team Building Workshops

Public speaking is part of our personal and professional life. If you want to establish yourself as a leader, there is no avoiding the path of public speaking. We all have to encounter it at some time or the other. Apart from overcoming fears associated with public speaking,it is also important to know how to do it right. Though some individuals maybe born with great oratory skills, most of us require training and need to follow some basic rules.

Just like most things in life, there are some basic principles behind successful public speaking. Here are a few public speaking tips.

1. Stop trying to be the speaker that you are not. It is important to connect with your audience as a speaker. In order to connect with them, you must try to be your original self. Audiences look for someone they can relate to or find interesting. Your public speaking abilities should have a touch of your day to day casual conversations. The key is to be as direct as possible and focus on what you’re saying rather than the audience.
2. Having the right body language can go a long way in boosting your effectiveness as a speaker. Even if you possess the natural ability to speak confidently, having a bad body language can interfere with the way people perceive you. It won’t matter how knowledgeable you are, if the audience perceives that you are not confident.
3. Stop using filler words such as umm, uh, or ah. This makes you look unprepared and uninformed. It is better to pause between sentences or words without being abrupt. This will provide you with enough time to gather you thoughts and also help you appear more polished in your communication.
4. Rehearse your delivery before the actual speech or presentation. No matter how much of an expert you are, there is bound to be some nervousness while speaking publicly. Rehearsing as often as possible can help you improve your tone and refine your delivery. Once you reach a certain comfort level, you will be able to go about with your speech or presentation with ease.
5. Try to be as personal as possible when you speak. Using a personal experience or story adds credibility. It helps the audience relate to you better and also puts you at comfort, since you are sharing your own experiences.
6. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Mistakes are common with even the most prolific speakers. The key is to continue with your speech uninterrupted, even if you make an error. An apology can be made only if the error is significant like the misinterpretation of a fact or stating wrong numbers from a statistic. Small errors are rarely noticed by an audience, especially if the overall content of your talk is engaging.

Public Speaking Tips Summary

These are just a few of the principles that will help you become a more confident and effective presenter. There are full-fledged public speaking programs that are aimed at improving every aspect of your public speaking ability. If you are interested there are workshops that you search to help you improve your speaking skills.