Table of Contents
Introduction To Effective Public Speaking
Can you think of any memorable talk or presentation you have ever attended? It is sad to know that most of the presentations are easy to forget, especially when the main reason behind the presentation was to communicate something to you.
But if you remember these four basic things, then be assured that your verbal messages will be understood and remembered for a long time. Though these things may sound somewhat obvious and deceptively simple, they are of immense importance.
- You should understand your presentation’s purpose.
- Don’t confuse things; keep your message clear and exact.
- Be prepared to face the audience and their questions.
- Don’t be monotonous; instead, be vivid while giving the speech.
Always be clear about what you want to achieve. It is essential for you to know and understand, before you start working on your presentation or speech, what you want to say, whom you want to approach as your audience and why is it important for them to listen. Ask basic questions to yourself such as who you want to speak to, what are their interests, their beliefs, and principles, what is common between them and others and how do they differ.
What is the message you want to convey to your audience? You can answer this question by asking yourself about the ‘success criteria’. How will you come to know whether and when your message has been successfully communicated?
Which is the best way to put across your message? Here, nonverbal cues such as your expressions and body language play a vital role along with the language. But keep your audience in mind while deciding your words and non-verbal cues. Plan your presentation from its start to the end. If you can add, then prepare audio-visuals to grab the audience’s attention.
The timing is also very important. Your contributions are seen and heard as relevant to the issue only if you develop a sense of timing. You should know when the time to speak is and when is it the time to be silent.
The next important question is ‘where?’ You should bear in mind the physical context of the communication. In case you are using audio or visual aids, then check for availability and the visibility. Visit the venue if you can.
To ensure that your audience listens to you and not just hears, you must know why they should be listening and tell them so if it is necessary.
Maintain simplicity. When you are conveying your message, use less but powerful words to leave a better impact. When you start giving too much information to the audience, they get overloaded and thus, tend to get bored.
In case you are using slides, use a simple single statement or a diagram to convey your message, limit your content.
Be thoroughly prepared. If you fail to prepare, then you are prepared to fail. It is indeed an important aspect that decides your success as a speaker. To give yourself time to prepare your speech, set timing for meeting, speaking and presentation well in advance.
Since all communications cannot be scheduled, preparation may lead to good and thorough understanding.
How to achieve successful delivery of speech? How you represent yourself, your speech and the presentation leave a long-lasting impression up on the audience.
The only way to achieve success here is by practicing hard. Here are some tips to hold your audience’s attention:
- Associate your speech to real life by stating instances and citing examples.
- Don’t just stand and give your speech, bring in some animation, use your body language.
- Give pauses wherever you can. Don’t talk too fast or else the audience won’t be able to understand you.
- Use voice modulation. Stress on main points and use various tones of voice.
- If possible, use audio and visual aids. People retain more through multiple forms of stimulation.
Though public speaking and presentations appear to be a daunting task, but they can be turned into an enjoyable and a rewarding experience once you have practiced and rehearsed well. Always be a confident and an enthusiastic speaker.
Getting Started
If you ‘have’ to or if you ‘want’ to make a eulogy speech to express your inner feelings you have, in public, for your near and dear one who has just left the world, then read this article.
It is very much understandable that such a time is very tough to compose a eulogy speech or maybe anything else. It is a hard time, and you find it difficult to focus as you are distressed. But it is fine. Here are a few simple and easy tips which can help you write a nice eulogy speech:
Adding a story or a communication that you have shared with the deceased is one of the best elements to put in the eulogy speech. It can be any, a funny or a heart-wrenching one. You can do with one of each type also. But it is great to have a single story that has both the elements. It is not mandatory for you to tell only one story.
You can start your eulogy with an incident, re-counting how you interacted with your loved one. You can even talk about an incidence that you will remember for a lifetime of them that you had when you were a child. Or you can talk about an important lesson of life that you have learned from them and how helpful it has been in your journey.
One of the benefits of adding a story in your eulogy speech is that since you have lived that moment, there is no need for you to memorize and read the words. You have a vivid memory of it. Since you have been through that moment, all you need to do is to make a rough outline of the incident or make brief bullet points in your notes. Then during the speech, you can begin about it by saying anything that briefly reminds you of the anecdote you wish to share.
There are some other things to that you need to remember while composing a eulogy speech. But to assist you while you get started and to eradicate the pressure of creating a lovely and a great tribute to your loved one, the story will be an excellent idea.
Tom Antion is a renowned speech expert and is also the author of a book called “Instant Eulogy Speeches”. This book helps you write a nice eulogy speech even though you are downright upset and depressed. It also contains very lovely photographs and phrases that you can use in your finished eulogy. You can also add many more pieces of appropriate humor to ease the tension of the atmosphere.
Eliminate Your Fear Of Speaking In Public
You can reduce your fear of speaking in the public by simply adopting some of the following tips.
- Conduct thorough research on your topic. To meet the expectation of the audience, visit or call the key participants and have a chat with them. Get to know what they expect from your presentation, what they want to learn and what do they already know. Then prepare your presentation accordingly so that it benefits them. These sorts of conversations help you learn and know what your audience expects from you, and thus give you the advantage of preparing accordingly beforehand.
- Prepare well. Don’t write down the whole speech, but a rough outline with the help of the keywords. Then rehearse as much as you can. Be assured that you can deliver your speech in a conversational manner without reading the script. Do not memorize it word for word. It will make it sound robotic and dull. Moreover, it makes things complicated. Just in case you forget a point, you may keep on stumbling in your speech. So, avoid it. Keep practicing your speech anywhere and anytime you find it possible.
- Rehearse well for it. Keep on practicing your speech among a group of friends or coworkers and, if possible, even with your boss. Ask them about their views on your speech and try to improve accordingly. Also take advantage of this opportunity to get familiar with the room and equipment. This helps you face the audience confidently.
- Always play a gentle and an amicable host. Get friendly with your audience by arriving early at the venue and greeting them beforehand. Some simple gestures such as shaking hands with them and thanking them for coming can help you build up a warm rapport with them. Try to engage them in a simple talk with you by introducing yourself and asking them about their wellbeing, etc. Convert the strangers into friends and make them feel comfortable.
- Always expect success. If you expect it, then you will work hard to achieve it, too. Fantasize yourself doing a wonderful job with perfection. Never scare yourself with nightmares. When you expect yourself to do well, you gain confidence. Remember that everyone expects you to do an excellent job.
Making Your Speech Fluent
Do you stammer when you must speak in front of someone or a gathering?
Then this portion of the article is meant for you. If you are looking forward to achieving fluency, read on. This article will interest you as it looks at the speech impediment such as stammering and stuttering.
Since the age of four, I have been suffering with a stutter. Though I had regular conventional speech therapy sessions, I continued to stutter till the age of twenty-two.
Life was extremely frustrating when I used to stutter. But there were times when I could speak very well too. Whenever I used to speak to my ex-girlfriend, I rarely ever stuttered. But it was quite disheartening that when I attempted to speak to her parents, I struggled quite a lot.
I noticed that whenever I was drunk, my fluency level used to improve tremendously and at that time if I used to stutter, it came to me as a shock!
I could never understand why I used to stutter talking to one person when I was totally fluent speaking to the other. And, I had the same problem trying to figure out why I could speak without any problem when I was drunk, but I stuttered when I was sober.
Tired of my situation, I read as many books as I could find about speech impediments and achieving fluency and stuttering. I also made contacts with some speech therapists. After having read these books and conversing with the therapists, I was told and was made to believe that I could not lead a stuttering free life as it suggested that you are unable to eradicate stutter.
It was indeed a negative attitude and I could not accept what I was hearing and reading because I knew that I was able to talk very well without stuttering at all at times.
One day, while watching television, I came across Bruce Willis’ interview. Now I consider myself fortunate enough to have seen it. In that interview, Bruce Willis stated that he too suffered from the problem of stuttering, which started when he was a young boy. However, by the time he reached his late teenage, he had managed to attain fluency. I was inspired by it tremendously, and it was then that I decided that I would attempt and overcome my speech impediment.
It took a year of intense work for me to overcome my speech impediment. I never lost the hope and kept thinking positive. Pouring through books and by basically studying the people whom I thought were great speakers, I managed to beat my stutter. Now I have made it my career, I help people achieve fluency as a successful public speaking and presentation coach.
Keeping The Attention Of Your Audience
To highlight the occasion, be it award ceremonies, conventions, alumni, fund-raising, homecomings, commencement exercise etc., guest speakers are usually invited. Guest speakers are usually selected according to their accomplishments and popularity to make the gathering a memorable one.
To be successful and impart a lasting image in the eyes of the audience, a speaker must find out techniques and methods to keep the audience’s attention glued to his speech. The following are a few methods you can stick to:
9 Tried & Tested Methods of Successful Public Speakers
- Always speak in an enthusiastic tone and remember to keep your voice clear, crisp, and comprehensible. Try not to stumble in your speech or eat words in between.
- The speech you make at such gatherings must be in consonance with its aim and should touch the issues related and relevant to its purpose and valid to present needs for the advantage of the greater part.
- Many speakers prefer a list of subjects they want to discuss instead of preparing, memorizing, and rehearsing the whole speech word for word. An impulsive speech aligned on the subjects listed is projected more naturally.
- To keep the audience attentive and at tender hooks, inject humor into your speech. But bear in mind to keep humor up to a decent level so that unintentionally you may not embarrass others or get yourself misunderstood by them.
- The best way to raise an issue is by citing examples and instances. Clearly associate the example and the issue to make the audience understand better.
- If you are to make a speech in a gathering that has been organized to save an industry or boost the morale of those associated with it, either directly or indirectly, try and deliver a stimulating and motivating speech. To turn the mood from depressing to enthusiastic one, include some inspirational words and positive thoughts that will project a bright and happy tomorrow.
- Your speech may sound more of a discussion if you involve the audience, but in one way it will confirm the usefulness of what you are saying and offering.
- Always be precise and realistic in your projection of the industry in positive flight five or ten years from now on. Call for hard work as needed.
- The best way to wrap up your speech is by leaving a lasting and meaningful message for the audience to ponder up on.
To make the audience remember you even long after the speech has been made, say significant stuff giving food to the audience’s brain.
Liven Up Your Audience
Have you ever been put to sleep by a boring speaker? While you fight the urge to slip happily into your dreamland, your head is nodding, though paying the least attention.
Though many of you will not admit it, but sure this has happened to all of us at least once. But don’t ever let it happen when you are the speaker. The only way to keep your audience alive and active while you are making a speech is to interact with them and involve them into it. There are various ways to involve your audience:
4 Great Ways To Force Audience Engagement
- Ask questions to the audience and force engagement. It will make them work their brains and think of an answer. If you feel that people are losing interest, simply put up a question and select someone from the audience to answer it. Whether you get the answer or not, thank that person and proceed to someone else in the audience. This keeps the audience active, both mentally and physically.
- Always finish the sentence. If you just begin a famous sentence such as “Lions and tigers and bears…” and leave it midway, only those people familiar to the movie “The Wizard of Oz” will be able to respond to you. Always choose something that is obvious to them to guess.
- Whenever you feel that the room is heavy with energy, change it using this simple technique. Ask a simple question and then question, “Is this good stuff?” And as the audience replies with a “Yes”, you tell them to turn to people on either side and give them a high-five and say this aloud, ‘this is good stuff’. It really makes them get a kick out of it.
- According to a famous millionaire, T. Harv Ecker you should get your audience to do the work for you. To achieve this, break your audience into groups of two or three and then hand over some exercises to them that are an integral part of your presentation. To tempt your audience to remain active and participate, reward them for the same. Ask questions to the audience and then whoever answers, just reward them with a candy. People compete for it and hence, it becomes a game. Use it only for a few minutes in the middle of your talk.
There are plenty of other ways to involve your audience. You as a speaker should come up with various new techniques that you feel are appropriate for your audience and for you.
Presenting Without PowerPoint
It is easy to make presentations today, thanks to PowerPoint. To make the process of teaching and learning easy and fun filled, teachers and lecturers use presentations. Still, there are professionals who follow their age-old beliefs for presentations and thus make them without using PowerPoint.
It is boring to have presentations without the use of PowerPoint. Minus the musical background and visual aids, the presentation appears quite monotonous. With the help of PowerPoint, there comes in a huge change for the audience in the presentation. Thus, the use of creativity is essential in the presentations being made without the aid of PowerPoint.
To give a successful presentation without the use of PowerPoint, always remember to be precise and exact about what you are talking. Remember to first understand and learn the disposition and nature of the audience, and then make your presentation.
Always present the beginning of the presentation by keeping in mind the end of it. Without PowerPoint, you might lose the interest of the audience soon, so always remember the purpose of your presentation. To leave a lasting image, make a strong start. Since you are presenting without PowerPoint, always remember to set the right tone among the audience to listen to you throughout your presentation by carefully planning your first words and appearance.
One of the most important things to remember is to work on your speech as much as possible because without the visual treat that the PowerPoint offers, whatever you say and the way you make your speech is detrimental. Only practice can make a person a successful speaker.
Props can also be used to make a presentation, without PowerPoint. Look interesting because a prop may convey a message more easily and substantially. If it conveys the message, it works as an effective tool.
By bringing in the solutions to the problem you are discussing in your presentation, you can grab the attention of the audience, even though you are not using the PowerPoint. As you have already researched the audience, you would already know their problem and all you will need to do is to bring in new ideas to make them try it.
The only visual aid for the audience, if you are not using the PowerPoint, is you. So, minus the PowerPoint, the success of the presentation depends solely on the speaker as there are no fancy slides to drive them off the speaker. So, the speaker needs to be self-confident and well versed in his speech.
