12 Ways to be a Confident Public Speaker
Speak from your heart. If you believe in what you say, than others need to hear it. All confident speakers fall in the P2 (passion plus persistence). Be sure your speech contains your most fundamental beliefs and comes from authenticity.
1. Prepare, prepare, prepare!
2. Practice in front of a full-length mirror, for small groups. Join Toastmasters. www.toastmasters.org
3. Be positive. “I am a good speaker/trainer.”
4. Expect to be nervous. [deep breathe, exercise by walking, stretch, visualize your success, meditate] Make anxiety your ally. Increase your energy; heighten your awareness.
5. Focus on your audience. [It is NOT about you. You are there to help your audience]
6. Simplify. Use your time wisely and keep your presentation clear and simple so that your audience can understand what you are saying.
7. Connect with your audience. Look people in the eye, one at a time, as you speak to them. The audience wants you to succeed.
8. Act confident. Smile. Hold your chin up. Stick your chest out. When you do this, you will feel confident. Remember, YOU are the authority on the subject and they want to hear what you have to say.
9. Use humor wherever possible.
10. Offer the right message mix (inform, persuade, entertain, interact)
11. Establish credibility by the use of facts, statistics, and stories.
12. Learn from your mistakes. Making mistakes is part of your learning process. Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, said, “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.”
Hi all, The first time I gave a public speech was to 40 people with two hecklers in the back and I almost passed out from blood draining from my head.
Right after the speech I told my good friend Joe (A professional public speaker) what happened to me, gave me some wonderful advice, he told me that I should only talk about a subject that I knew well. Secondly he said, “that I was doing something that most of the people in the audience couldn’t do and they would be more nervous then you.” Thirdly he said. “If looking at the people is distracting then look just over their heads and scan back and forth slowly.”
It’s now many years later and I love to give lectures, I now feel I own the audience when I am before them.
Comment by Charlie — July 23, 2007 @ 4:47 am
As a speaker, lecturer, and Distinguished Toastmaster, I offer two more suggestions:
1) Do not memorize your speech. Use note cards to remind you of the key points.
2) Make sure your speech is well organized with an introduction, body and conclusion. “Tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, tell them what you told them.” Many speeches flop if they have weak introductions and/or conclusions.
Comment by The Duke — July 25, 2007 @ 6:30 am