Public Speaking Tips and Techniques

Knowing how to speak well before a crowd is one of the best professional development skills a person in any career, including management and executive corporate positions, can learn.

Facing a crowd can be a serious jittery experience for some but others find it fun and exciting to express themselves. One of the most effective ways to become a better public speaker is to focus on preparation!

Preparing yourself for a talk is not that easy. You always have to put your best foot forward. The best way to get your audience attention is to start your speech with conviction and end it with a thought provoking ending hoping to lead to positive action.

Some helpful tips are listed below to guide you in your speech.

Content of your Speech:

* A good speech summary is very important to wrap up your talk and get the message across effectively. Focus on the purpose of your speech: is it to persuade, inform or entertain?

* The body of your speech should be driven to one focal point meaning a message.

* Know the objectives of the event where you are invited to talk. Your speech should be tailored to your kind of audience.

* Be sure that your talk is meaty with facts, if necessary figures, but which you can explain easily during your talk and make it in layman's terms. Facts should be accurate, objective and should be from credible resources.

* Have nice, catchy titles to draw more attention to your speech.

Acceptable Physical Appearance during Public Speaking

* Gestures, movements, facial and bodily expressions are very important because they reveal so much about you as a speaker and a person on how well-versed you are on the topic.

* Public speakers should exude pleasantness, enthusiasm and confidence.

* Do not read from your notes, instead maintain eye contact with your audience. Remember, you should speak and not read.

* Dress for the occasion.

Giving Your Speech

* Speaking with conviction is very important in public speaking to gain credibility and respect.

* If you are to give a speech, train and prepare yourself to speak slowly, enunciate words clearly, pause and show the right emotions while sharing your topic. Most of all, talk to all members of the audience as a whole.

* Communicate with your audience - speak, listen, respond, adjust and adapt - if they have questions or reactions.

* Add-ons to speeches include: humor, handouts and audio-visual aids.

* Learn when to stop talking.

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The physical symptoms of public speaking anxiety include cold and clammy hands, halting speech and unwanted facial and body movements.

Many people are afraid of offending someone, forgetting their lines and losing their train of thought.

But fear can be seen in a positive aspect as well. It can be a motivating force for the public speaker that adds strength, energy and conviction to otherwise lifeless ideas. Your courage is the ability to see fear in a realistic perspective.

One way to curb your fear pf public speaking is to prepare thoroughly. Fear cannot be eliminated fully but you can minimize it.

In any public speaking experience, stage fright and anxiety are hindrances to building your self-confidence. Stage fright is an emotional state that affects people the minute they stand before an audience. Having positive thoughts greatly help in managing stage fright.

Believing that you are going to succeed, that you are effective as a speaker and that your audience will trust you and gain respect for you are sure winners to combat fear.

Furthermore, being aware that nobody is perfect and everybody is prone to mistakes are effective thoughts to calm you down so that you can deliver a winning presentation. Best of all, think about the audience is your friend. They want you to succeed!

If you need to know more on how to build your self-confidence, here are some practical tips:

1. Share your personal experience to begin your talk. Why? Because no one knows better than you do.

2. The most effective way out, if fear attacks you, is to do it. Conquer your fear. Do not hesitate just because you think that someone can do better that you do.

3. Accept that you know. Be confident to share about it.

4. As a public speaker, you ought to assume the delivery man role and that you carry an important message that you need to get across.

5. Apologizing in public speaking is a sin. Do not apologize for your material or even your lack of experience.

6. Be yourself and be confident. Do not imitate government officials in the way they speak. Speak in your own "official capacity".

7. Prepare for the occasion by dressing appropriately and then forget how you look.

Confidence is a key element in achieving success. But remember, be on guard against overconfidence.

An effective public speaker should be able to utilize devices that will be able to capture the attention of the audience.

One effective means for them to give you that much needed interest is this: get them to go on stage. Make them participate.

When someone is on stage and he or she happens to be a member of the audience, the rest will almost always stay attentive. Why? Because they would like to see what you will be doing to one of them.

Also, because they are thinking they could be up there themselves and so to save their precious egos from embarrassment they at least need to know what is going on.

No matter how good or excellent you are as a presenter or as a public speaker, nothing beats the excitement of getting someone to be on stage who really should not be there in the first place.

What is going through their minds at that moment when you pull an unsuspecting someone from their complacency is that, "Oh my god, what if the speaker selects me to go up there next? What am I going to do?" Then later, "I need to pay attention to this."

A little bit later as you go through your presentation, the audience will then most probably think, "What point is he/she making?" And then as you take your point across, the audience will then get to think, "Now I get it."

Because you made them pay attention, you have forced them to listen and respond to your statement in the privacy of their minds.

However, there are those extremely shy and very sensitive members of the audience who might withdraw from going through the rest of your presentation if they hear you will be calling on them up on the stage.

The objective is to gain an audience and not to lose any of them.

Make it clear prior to your asking someone to come up on stage with you that you are asking for a volunteer and that no one will be forced if they do not want to.

Notice that if the majority of your audience are shy, once you finally get someone to be on stage, all of them will almost always heave a sigh of relief that you would actually feel a breeze pass you by, really.

Another way to get the audience to participate as well as pay attention is by giving them due recognition. Try to acknowledge a single member of the audience for a specific achievement or a moment of a good performance, or also acknowledge a group of the audience.

Everyone who's in the business of public speaking understands the feeling of standing in front of the crowd and delivering your speech.

There has been no more dreadful experience as compared to speaking in front of a huge crowd. In fact, in more than 1,000 people surveyed in a certain study, they would rather jokingly prefer to die instead of participating in a public speaking engagement.

This provides evidence that more than 86% of people object to the idea of delivering speeches and conducting talks, which in turn exposes themselves to possible ridicule should mistakes arise.

Symptoms of Stage Fright
Let's face it; nobody is perfect. Famous orators, statesmen, leaders of nations, and even the most well-read scholars become nervous and panicky before and during speeches.

Among the symptoms of the above conditions are the following:

* Excessive perspiration (sweat)
* Unexplained nervousness
* Sudden drop in body temperature
* Abrupt onset of sore throat
* Dry lips and mouth
* Skin starts to look pale
* Trembling knees, lips and voice
* Increased palpitations
* Nauseating feeling
* Irregular breathing pattern

Overpowering Stage Fright
Before devising plans to minimize the effects of social phobia, it is best to identify the source of nervousness, why it occurs and how you could possibly lessen, if not ultimately abate such physical anxiety.

Just as experts in the field suffer from such feelings, ordinary people need not be overly concerned that they are alone. Fear of public speaking is a fact of life.

Swart, Margolis, and Den Boer, three authorities in public speaking, articulated on their views about speech and oration and the reason for the characterized physiological responses of people undergoing such processes.

They commented on the truth that people expecting humiliation and fear of public inspection and examination become overly saturating to the point where one is no longer able to deliver a quality talk.

Perchance, as long as you are alive and you are able to respond to the many things happening in your environment, the feeling of anxiety, nervousness, and fear arising from such a situation prevails.

Tips for Overcoming Stage Fright

Below are tips on how to get better with the dangers of public speaking. They are not meant to take away the feeling of panic during your speech but will, in a way, help you manage the stress associated with the situation.

You don't have to follow all the recommendations listed below but choosing one or two or a combination of any of the ones which you think will work best for you is one road map to making your speech as perfect as you want it to be.

Don't let the situation control you. Use that nerve to your advantage and walk with confidence with your speech as your effective tool in controlling others with your convincing remarks.

Take a Deep Breath - relax and focus on your breathing. This will ease up your stressed muscles and will help you concentrate on your speech.

Resist Intimidation - Forget speaking in front of people who are smarter than you. A university study shows that more often than not, more than 80% of your audience at a time does not have a complete background on your topic. This gives you a leading edge and puts you on a higher level of intellectual advantage.

Be Prepared - Nothing beats a well-prepared speech plan. Get enough practice and repeat it as many times as you can.

Ward Off Physical Distractions - Eliminate details which can cause confusion and distract you from your main business. Uncomfortable clothing and accessories that are irritating to the skin causes skin rashes. Wear light clothing or something which you are comfortable with.

Establish Eye Contact - Making eye to eye contact with your audience is the best way to deliver sincere and convincing oral discourse. It allows your audience to keep their attention on you and concentrate on what you have to say.

Choose the Right Food at the Right Time - Eat at least 3 hours before your actual speech. Food taken long enough before you do your talk perks your body up and provides you with the necessary energy to carry on the task of speaking.