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Speak in Public with Confidence and Enjoyment
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* Sample Article * Speak in Public with Confidence and Enjoyment |
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Speak in Public with Confidence and Enjoyment
However, if we are well prepared, well equipped and well supported, you will find that speaking in public really can be quite enjoyable – honest! Here are some ways to make public speaking an enjoyable experience both for yourself, as well as for your audience.
1. Be well prepared. Rehearse several times Being prepared means that you are in control. Unless anyone asks any questions you know what the presentation or talk is about and you know ALL of the content – not anyone else! Go through what you are going to say several times either on your own or in front of friends or family. After a couple of run throughs, you’ll be ready to rock n’ roll!
Relaxation is vital for feeling confident. Don’t stay up to all hours the night before – chill out!
Pick clothes that make you feel good when you wear them. You know the ones! That favourite shirt or special tie, your best shoes or new earrings. Anything to make you look the part – it really does give a MASSIVE boost to your confidence.
If your heart is pounding, don’t worry this is natural – it still happens to me every single time I speak in front of people. It is a natural body reaction! Just take a couple of deep breathes and get that oxygen pumping through your lungs to slow your heart rate down.
Make sure that what you have prepared is relevant. Pick out a couple of key messages that you want to get across to your audience. For example, if you are talking about the performance of your sales department, you could talk about a million and one topics. Instead, think about the top three or four messages you want to get across. These could be:
6. Move around and release your nervous energy. Emotion is created by motion. When you move around you naturally have more energy as your blood pumps around your body. With energy, comes confidence! Bags of it! If you are ever feeling low in confidence, look to how you are moving your body and move it!
Take 5 minutes out, relax, close your eyes and visualise yourself doing well. Pretend that you are one of the attendees watching you perform your presentation or talk. Notice how confident you look and all of the movements that you are making. Notice the environment around yourself, how the room is laid out, who is there. Make your visualisation as real as it can be even down to the sounds of you talking and any room noise. Then put yourself in your own body and complete the visualisation exercise once more from your own perspective. Your brain cannot determine what thoughts are real or imagined so you can actually trick your brain to believe that you have ALREADY performed the presentation once…and it was successful! This is probably one of the techniques that I use the most for everything in my life. And do you know why? Because it works!
All of the attendees are not there hoping that you goof up. They want you to do well and they want to learn. Remember,
they have taken time out of their busy schedules to come and listen
to you so they want you to do well. 9. Think of a similar occasion in the past when you did it before and did it well. Think about it for a moment. Remember a time when you have done something similar. Flood your emotions with the feelings that you had when you completed it and were successful. You’ve done it in the past and you’ll do it again!
If you say this to yourself or to others you are pre-conditioning yourself for a fall. Ask your brain a stupid question or comment and it will give you a stupid answer! “I’m so nervous” will make your subconscious answer with “You bet buddy! And guess what? I’m going to prove it!” Your first impression with the audience will not be a favourable one either if that statement is your opening gambit.
Remember that there are more important things in life than presentations and public speaking. Think of loved ones, family, war, poverty or those less fortunate than yourself and it soon makes you realise that your 15 minute presentation is no great shake. At the end of the day no one will remember it next week!
Don’t forget – emotion is created by motion! Feel nervous? Then move around! Don’t feel nervous? Still move around! Moving around will enable your mind to generate new ideas, increase your energy and zap those nerves. If you forget what you were going to say as you move around I can guarantee you that you will think of something to say!
Do you know anyone in the audience? If so, latch onto them! Whilst giving your presentation look out for those that keep nodding and keep addressing your points to them. It will make you feel good.
I have made hundreds of mistakes when I speak in public! I make a joke out of it and I usually get a laugh – it helps to settle everyone down! If I forget my lines I come in with: “That’s easy for you to say Sean!” or “Do you know what? I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to say next!” --------------------------------------------------------------------------- What to think, say and do during the presentation/talk The more you do it the better you will become. Practise makes perfect. The following are some ways YOU can make speaking in public an enjoyable experience: 1. As much as possible/appropriate, include your audience You don’t always have to be the talking head at a meeting. Prepare questions in advance that will encourage the audience to participate. Consider your audience in advance—Who are they? What might their histories and/or interests be? Prepare opportunities in your presentation/speech for audience participation. 2. Inject appropriate humour in your delivery It will do you good, enabling you to lighten up and release any tension. It will also enable the audience to loosen up, pay more attention, and receive you in a much more favorable way. 3. Share a little known fact Most audiences are especially grateful to hear something they haven’t already heard before. One
single piece of new information can make the time spent listening completely
worth their while. If you can find one little known, yet especially relevant fact, you will have a captive audience. 4. Smile and the world smiles with you It’s true! Others can sense your discomfort, and despite any earth shattering information you have to share, your audience is apt to discount your brilliance if the delivery of your key messages isn’t clear and assertive. Instead remember to smile, make eye contact and believe your own words—and they will too. 5. Keep it relevant To the extent possible, make sure your audience is the right audience for the information you are presenting. In other words, don’t lecture on retirement options to a newly graduating class. Know before hand what you want to say and practice until it comes naturally. This will enable you to spend more time relating to your audience, than trying to remember what comes next in your delivery. 6. Create fun visuals (as appropriate) Some individuals will retain more if they are able to see graphic representations of the information you plan to deliver. Consider which parts of your message can be presented visually, and remember to keep visuals simple, attractive, and large enough so everyone can see them. Any fun, relevant clipart or comic can also be a nice perk.
Don’t forget your non-verbal action signals! You will want to look confident even though you may not be on the inside. Don’t just stand there, with your arms by the side of you! ACT CONFIDENTLY and you will FEEL CONFIDENT! Try it, it really works. So, how do you act confidently?
Speak with confidence as well. People will believe what they see more than what they hear, but once you look confident, you have to sound the part too!
So, what are the qualities of a good speaker? Here are a list of the qualities and characteristics of a good public speaker/presenter. Make sure you include these points when you have to speak in public 1. They talk to us as though we are having a conversation 2. They speak our language 3. They look as though they are enjoying themselves. 4. They inspire us to find out more about the subject 5. They tell stories/use the human-interest angle 6. Someone who conjures up pictures in our mind 7. They don’t talk for hours 8. They let us know where we are going 9. They look at us-not their notes 10. They stress important points and pause to allow ideas to sink in 11. The talk appears well prepared but has an air of spontaneity
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This article is one of 200 that can be found in ConfidenceWorld GOLD ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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