If you search for “public speaking tips” with Google, you’ll find more than two and a half million results. It seems that there is a nearly unlimited number of resources online which offer to help you overcome your fear of public speaking; but if you need to give a speech soon, the last thing you need is to spend all of your time looking for tips to successfully make it through your own upcoming speech.
Most of the fears people have about speaking in public come from within themselves, rather than having any sort of basis in how their audience may react to them. The people who will listen to your speech are far more concerned with the information you’re presenting them than with how you give your speech. You may be anxious about speaking, but this anxiety comes from yourself – and the five tips which follow can help you to overcome this and feel comfortable with giving a speech in front of an audience.
Public Speaking Tip #1
You need to know your topic backwards and forwards. Not only do you have to know your speech by heart, but you should be very well versed in the subject matter so you’re prepared to answer any questions which audience members may have. Make sure to research your topic very thoroughly while writing your speech.
Public Speaking Tip #2
Greet as many of the attendees prior to your speech as possible. Familiarity promotes confidence. Besides, think of the benefit you provide the topic you are to speak on when you take the time to meet people before you go on.
This strategy also prevents you from pacing back and forth and worrying yourself to death until you go on. There is no point in cramming now, if you don’t know it, you wont, and it will show.
Public Speaking Tip #3
You may have heard the old saw about picturing your audience naked – don’t do this. Instead of putting you at ease, you’ll find it distracting and will actually hurt your efforts at public speaking.
Public Speaking Tip # 4
When you find yourself with only a mouthful of uhs and ums, stop yourself, repeat the sentence as if to add importance, and replace the uhs and ums with silence to allow your points to hit home.
Public Speaking Tip # 5
Use body language. A lot of people think that giving a speech is all about what you’re saying. That’s only half of the picture. You need to use gestures and other body language to add emphasis and energy to your speech if you want to be a truly effective speaker.
These tips can help you to become comfortable with public speaking. It’s an important skill to master and one which can take you far in life; there are many who even pass up promotions at work because they fear the obligations to speak publicly that these better positions entail.
There are many who fear speaking in public more than anything else. It is a very real fear which can be crippling in many ways. However, you can overcome your fear of giving a speech to an audience with these tips. While you may not ever come to enjoy the experience, you can at least learn to successfully speak in public and convey your points with your nerves none the worse for wear. The most important thing is to know your subject well so that you know what you’ll be saying in your speech and prepared for the questions that your audience is the most likely to ask. Once you do this, the battle is more than half won – all you need to do is to step up to the front of the room and give your speech with confidence.