Education Care

As a writer, teacher, attorney, and business owner, I can tell you that people will judge you by what you say and how you say it. When you are invited to present a speech at a professional convention or conference, you must take care to present yourself well in your speech. We can all improve our public speaking by learning a few simple techniques which can help prepare us to speak confidently in public. Surveys of Americans have shown that people are most afraid of public speaking; death ranks a mere number two. But you can rein in your fear and speak with confidence if you read on and do your homework.
This article shares with you the ten top ways that you can use today to improve your public speaking.Top Tip #1: Plan your speech.Planning plays an important role in all of your communications. In public speaking especially, you should follow the formal research and preparation which an outline requires. This process and its result will keep you organized and flowing in your presentation. This first tip is actually a bundle of tips.
Here’s how to get started and do the outline:First, ask yourself: Who is my audience?Assuming this will be your professional group, your colleagues will require a different style and approach than another group. A group of potential customers, for example, will probably need more information about what services your company provides and how you can help them fulfill their needs. On the other hand, your colleagues will want to know your particular expertise and how you go about satisfying customer needs.

Second, ask yourself: How do I narrow the topic?For a presentation to your professional group, you will often be invited to speak in a general area which the coordinators feel is needed for the theme of the conference. Be sure to get the brochure and look at the advertisements so that you know what the theme is! Look at the other topics included in the brochure. How does your area fit in? Your topic should, if at all possible, be related to a “hot topic” in your field. You will know what those are from your professional
publications and  journals. If you don’t get them, go on-line and do your research.
Think of an interesting twist on a subject of high interest in the field. Everyone says, “Don’t reinvent the wheel,” but what if the right approach to a problem in your field is, “Reinvent your own wheel,” or, as Bruce Springsteen says, “Sometimes you just have to write your own narrative!” You may wind up with a highly creative wheel that spins faster than all the others.

Third, do the outline:All presentations have big ideas and little ones, categories and details, main ideas and examples. Pick the style you like and go with that. The top communicators in all of history tell stories. Once you have the big ideas and categories outlined, tell stories for the examples and details—it is a great educator’s tool. Look back at what we have studied so far for a good example. The big idea: Plan your speech. The details of how to plan your speech: a)
know your audience b) narrow your topic c) do the outline of big ideas (the I, II, III’s) and the examples (A,B.C under each).
Here’s another good example. In my series of e-books about learning the principles of success by studying the biographies of successful people, I am currently planning the fourth book in the series. The working title is Success Stories IV: Second Winds and Success on the Rebound. The big idea is in the title and the stories will be the examples. I have begun to make the outline of
stories I will tell which exemplify the principles explained in the first book in the series and which show second starts and careers.
There are so many stories out there that give us tremendous hope for the future and for what we can do even late in life to improve the world we live in that the hardest part is selecting the best examples I can find for the principles to be learned. I have four selected so far. The most thrilling I have found (because I didn’t recall ever knowing the latter part of this story) is the story of Alexander Graham Bell. We all know him as the inventor of the telephone and how that invention changed our lives forever. But did you know that his true calling was to teach the deaf how to speak? Did you know that Helen Keller’s parents were referred to him by a medical specialist when they were looking for a teacher for Helen? Bell took the wealth earned by his hard scientific work and put it to good use to improve the lives of the deaf. And he recommended Anne Sullivan to Helen Keller’s parents, giving birth to “The Miracle Worker.” The invisible hands of providence were working there for sure.
A story about a real life person like that is so gripping that it teaches us a lot about possibilities and dreams and changing lives. It tells a lot about how you can get a second wind in life, a second chance to do the things that are really important to you and that you know in your heart and soul you are called to do.
Whatever your field is, you will have case studies and role models in your patients, customers, vendors, employees, colleagues, students, and assistants. Think about their stories and tell them in appropriate places in your outlined presentation.
Other benefits of using an outline are that you won’t be tempted to read it because it will just highlight the main ideas and also your speech will have a logical, well-organized flow.  Everyone has heard a speech where the speaker seems to be jumping back and forth,  skipping main transitions, and just generally not doing a very organized pesentation of the material. It’s no fun for the audience to try to keep up and figure out where the speaker should be. Always plan your material so that the organization provides a framework for the ideas. Your speaking will be greatly enhanced and more readily received. And your audience will love you for it!Top Tip # 2: Select your words carefully.In this day and age, we are plagued by the imprecise use of language. I think it has to do with all the cyber world speed junkies all around us! Do your homework and you will soon discover that you are able to communicate your ideas far more effectively and easily than you may have thought. Remember that words have both a dictionary definition as well as a connotation—the feeling or implication of a word is key to its proper use. Don’t use the word “cry” when you really mean “howl;” don’t use “request” when you mean “plead;” don’t use “happy” when you really mean “ecstatic.” Pay attention to the words you use and where you use them. You can make your speech far more accurate and effective by selecting the correct words. Besides that, you can make your public speaking far more compelling by using active verbs and nouns and descriptions which really tell a story in a more fascinating way.
Say what you mean, and mean what you say!Top Tip # 3: Avoid slang and jargon.Avoiding slang and jargon is very important in making yourself clear to your listeners. Slang is almost useless outside the forums where the teenagers hang out. Unless you work at the mall selling t-shirts, drop the slang out of your speech habits. Slang has the hallmarks of imprecise speech. One kid will say it and then they will all pick up on it. If you are a parent, you will know that slang is basically coded speech. In other words, the kids don’t necessarily want you to know what they mean. If you feel it helps you in communicating with your
teenagers, by all means, that may be a context in which you may want to use their language. But be careful that slang does not infiltrate your every day speech at work.
Jargon is that particular set of words which has special meaning for a professional or business group. Lawyers are particular bad about using jargon—as a lawyer, I hear it every day. Many states have even passed “Plain Language” laws to require lawyers to speak and write clearly and plainly about what they mean. So much of the jargon that lawyers use relates to old formalities. I have noted that certain clients will want to impress us with their ability to sprinkle their communications with us with “whereas” and “hereinbefore”! I avoid that type of stilted speech as much as possible.
There may be legal documents which require the use of “terms of art” which have special legal meanings, but for everyday speech and communications, I have found that they can be avoided entirely! If you really understand a word and its usage, you can speak it plainly. Other professions also have problems with jargon. Think about the explosion of e-terms we have to live with today. It’s not a book, it’s an “ebook;” it’s not just commerce, it’s “e-commerce;” not just marketing, it’s “emarketing.” These words are everywhere now, and you probably get them every day in your e-mail box. They are so common these days that many of us are just dropping the hyphen and using the “e” as a full suffix! That saves time typing on the keyboard.  Send me an email. Write an ebook. You will see them both ways for a while, but then the hyphen will disappear. What you should do is try to cut down on the jargon as much as possible. For clarity’s sake, you should try to avoid jargon in your speech with people outside your field.Top Tip # 4: Avoid verbal stalling mechanisms.Ask someone who loves you whether you are using annoying stalling mechanisms when you speak. Go ahead. You need to know the truth. Maybe it’s only sometimes, like when you don’t jot down notes before making that phone call. But if you focus on this tip for a day, I promise you that you will discover the times and places and circumstances in which you are likely to falter in your speech.
“Ah…,” “Ummm…,” “Hm…” We’ve all heard them and we’ve all used them. These are verbal tics which we need to avoid as much as possible. If you have planned your speech, you will be able to overcome this obstacle. If you feel an “Um” coming on, that is the time to glance down out your cleverly devised outline and move on to the next idea or example. I always hold a pen up there at the podium. It is easy and effective to check off each point as you go.
At times it is appropriate to insert a dramatic pause, or take a sip of the discreetly placed glass of water, or have handy a verbal cue to yourself— “Does anyone have any questions before I go on to the next point?” or make a short announcement to the audience: “Remember if you have questions please write them down on the question card distributed with your materials (or outline) and
someone will come around to pick them up.” This type of transition works every time.Top Tip # 5: Practice your speech. Out loud.Trial lawyers, orators and teachers will all tell you that practice, practice, practice is the best method to achieve success with the spoken word. Listen, the spoken word has been every bit as powerful as the written word in the history of the world from the very beginning. God said, “Let there be light,” and it was so. For people, practice is key. From the beginning of this country, the spoken word has held great power:
John Adams said, “Let me have a country—a free country!” and it was so. Well, after convincing the other colonies that independence was right and just and necessary, and after a major war in which a ragtag army took down a king and the most powerful empire in the world at that time, then it was so. Now, John Adams knew well the power of practice in public speaking and the human need of it. He would write out his closing arguments and arguments to Congress, and let his wife Abigail read them and give her criticisms, many of which he took to heart. After those planning stages, he would practice and practice the speech out loud.
Henry Clay, who later became the great orator and politician of Kentucky, would practice speeches in the barn and in the woods as a young farm boy. They called Clay the “American Demosthenes.” Demosthenes was the great Greek orator of ancient times, who stuttered as a child. He overcame his stuttering by practicing speeches out loud in private every day. The spoken words of these speakers have changed their countries and the world forever in these instances.  We may be surprised at the many opportunities we ourselves have to change the world around us and help other people, if we practice our speech to make it more effective.
What causes do you care about in the world? You can make a difference with your speech. You can inspire colleagues, salesmen, volunteers and workers. You can get people to do the best job they can, or to make more sales, or to give the best services available in your field, or to donate money and goods to a worthy cause. You can help where no one else has. Whenever you have those opportunities, use them well. Remember the importance of your presentation. And practice beforehand.Top Tip # 6: Relate to your audience.This tip is really something that brings together many of the other principles in improving your public speaking. As you plan the speech, the needs of the audience play an important role in what you say. You want to gauge the level of your audience’s understanding, interests, education, and attitude at the beginning of planning your speech.
But this relating to your audience is the hard part–when you stand up to speak to an audience. Walk to the podium. Take a deep breath. Look at the people. Maintain your eye contact. Smile. Perhaps you have had an introduction of some sort. The first words out of your mouth should be to your host and to your audience. “Thank you for that kind introduction. And thanks to all of you for coming here today. I am very pleased to be here to speak to you about…(your topic).” Take another deep breath, and then start into your outline. By the time you get into your speech or presentation, the material takes over. If you have prepared the material well, your speech will go well.
Remember, too, that in almost every case, your audience is routing for you. They came to hear you speak. They came to get information, facts, tips, whatever your experience and expertise can help them with. They are rarely thinking directly about you. They are thinking about the next client or
customer or contract. They are wondering if you will deliver to them something helpful to them in their field or business. That is where you can relate to them best. Deliver what they came to get.
During your speech, respond to your audience. When you look at their faces, do they look confused or do they occasionally nod their heads and appear to be right with you? Even if you have a strict time limit, it may be appropriate to say, “I’ll come back to that at the end,” or “Remember if you have questions…,” or “Let me explain that a little more.” You cannot say everything you need to about a subject because in most cases, the subject is too broad, so that some follow up communication may be necessary.Top Tip # 7: Relax and be yourself.People get nervous about public speaking because most of us do not do it every day. Unless you have had the experience of being a teacher or a trial lawyer, or a judge, public speaking is probably not part of your daily or even weekly or monthly routine. That makes it hard for most people to speak in their normal way or use their normal gestures. You can get past this type of nervousness by remembering you were invited to speak and most of the
people in the room came to hear you speak. You! Not some fancy professor at an ivy league school, or some Academy Award-winning actor, or some celebrity. When you think about it, you can only be you, and that is the best thing you can be! Don’t put on last minute airs that don’t suit you.Top Tip # 8: Remember: They are watching you!I know you are asking yourself, “Well, how can I relax and be myself if I have to remember they are watching me?!” Good point, but you want to be your best public self while you are up there in the front of the room. When you are called upon to give a professional presentation to your colleagues or a marketing proposal to potential customers or referral sources, your best public self should be ready to perform.
Here are the details, some “do’s” and “don’ts”:

 

How do you speak naturally while all those people are watching you?

This document covers hints and tips on public speaking and presentation skill, dealing with public speaking nerves and anxiety, public speaking skills and public speaking techniques, public speaking training.

Common Fears of Public Speaking

What happens when you have to speak in public?

Did you know that public speaking tops the list of phobias for most people? Not spiders or heights – public speaking – speech in public!

Well, if you didn’t know that, we bet your body does. It will do all kinds of unpleasant things to you when you have to stand up and face a sea of faces with the hope of getting your message across in a compelling and interesting way.

Your hands may sweat and your mouth goes dry. Your knees may shake and a quaver affects your voice. Your heart may race and those well known butterflies invade your stomach.

When all that happens most people don’t think of getting their message across in a compelling and interesting way; they just think of getting off the ’stage’ as quickly as possible!

Have we frightened you sufficiently yet?

It’s normal

We don’t really mean to frighten you, just remind you that your body reacts ‘in extremis’ when put under pressure, and for most people, public speaking is just about the worst pressure they can be put under.

It’s normal to be nervous and have a lot of anxiety when speaking in public. In a way, it’s less normal not to have nerves or anxiety; in fact, to feel you have a phobia about public speaking.

Why do we get Public Speaking anxiety?

Fight or flight

Our bodies are geared to fight or flight from ancient time – fight that mastodon or get the hell out of the way. We don’t have too many mastodons around these days, but the body still reacts as though we do. So, if we have to get up and speak in public, all that adrenalin and noradrenalin goes coursing through our bodies – way more than we need.

We can’t run away (well, we could, but we’d be out of job pretty quick if we did it too often), so our only option is to fight. But in terms of speaking in public, it can be hard to define just what we’re fighting.

Why does public speaking do this to us?

Good question. You’d think that for most people, being given the opportunity to impress their audience would be a fantastic one. There you are in front of a group of people, the spotlight is on you and for the length of time you’ve been give, the world is yours.

Or is it?

The very fact that the spotlight is you is enough to trigger every fear, anxiety and phobia you’ve ever had about public speaking.

Here’s why

You may be judged by all those people, and judged badly
You may feel like a fool
You might make mistakes and loose your way
You’ll be completely humiliated
You’ll never be as good as _________ (fill in the blank)
‘They’ won’t like you
‘They’ won’t ‘get’ what you’re trying to say

How to overcome fear of Public Speaking
What good are Nerves

Public speaking may not be comfortable, but take our word for it, nerves are good. Being ‘centre stage’ is not a good place to feel too comfortable.

Nerves will keep you awake and ensure you don’t get too complacent. Hard to feel complacent when your heart is beating so hard you’re sure everyone watching you can hear it.

If channelled well, nerves can make the difference between giving a humdrum presentation and giving one that keeps people listening.

Get your attention off yourself

It’s very tempting to keep focused on how you’re feeling, especially if you’re feeling really uncomfortable. You’ll start to notice every bead of sweat.

To make your nerves work for you, you need to focus on just about anything other than yourself. You can distract yourself by paying attention to the environment in which you’re speaking and seeing how you can make it work for you.

Once you’re actually in front of your audience, pay attention to them. If you can, notice how people are dressed, who’s wearing glasses, who has on bright colours. There will be dozens and dozens of things you can pay attention to help you trick your mind into not noticing what’s going on with you.

Anything will do and you will find that the less you concentrate on how you are feeling and the more you concentrate on other things, the more confident you will feel.

How to build confidence in Public Speaking

Your audience can be your friend

Unless you know you’re absolutely facing a hostile group of people, human nature is such that your audience wants you succeed. They’re on your side!

Therefore, rather than assuming they don’t like you, give them the benefit of the doubt that they do.

They aren’t an anonymous sea of faces, but real people. So to help you gain more confidence when speaking in public, think of ways to engage your audience. Remember, even if they aren’t speaking, you can still have a two-way conversation.

When you make an important point pay attention to the people who are nodding in agreement and the ones who are frowning in disagreement. As long as you are creating a reaction in your audience you are in charge.

Keep them awake

The one thing you don’t want is for them to fall asleep! But make no mistake public speaking arenas are designed to do just that: dim lights, cushy chairs, not having to open their mouths – a perfect invitation to catch up on those zzzzs.

Ways to keep them away include

Ask rhetorical questions
Maintain eye contact for a second or two with as many people as possible
Be provocative
Be challenging
Change the pace of your delivery
Change the volume of your voice

Public Speaking Training

Get a coach

Whatever the presentation public speaking is tough, so get help.

Since there are about a zillion companies out there all ready to offer you public speaking training and courses, here are some things to look for when deciding the training that’s right for you.

Focus on positives not negatives

Any training you do to become more effective at public speaking should always focus on the positive aspects of what you already do well.

Nothing can undermine confidence more than telling someone what they aren’t doing well.

You already do lots of things well good public speaking training should develop those instead of telling you what you shouldn’t do.

Turn your back on too many rules

If you find a public speaking course that looks as though it’s going to give you lots of dos and don’ts, walk away! Your brain is going to be so full of whatever it is you’re going to be talking about that to try to cram it full of a whole bunch of rules will just be counterproductive.

As far as we’re concerned, aside from physical violence or inappropriately taking off your clothes, there are no hard and fast rules about public speaking.

You are an individual not a clone

Most importantly, good public speaking training should treat you as a unique individual, with your own quirks and idiosyncrasies. You aren’t like anybody else and your training course should help you bring out your individuality, not try to turn you into someone you’re not.

Hints and Tips for Effective Public Speaking

Here are just a few hints, public speaking tips and techniques to help you develop your skills and become far more effective as a public speaker.

Mistakes

Mistakes are all right.

Recovering from mistakes makes you appear more human.
Good recovery puts your audience at ease – they identify with you more.

Humour

Tell jokes if you’re good at telling jokes.
If you aren’t good, best to leave the jokes behind.
There’s nothing worse than a punch line that has no punch.
Gentle humour is good in place of jokes.
Self-deprecation is good, but try not to lay it on too thick.

Tell stories

Stories make you a real person not just a deliverer of information.
Use personal experiences to bring your material to life.
No matter how dry your material is, you can always find a way to humanise it.

How to use the public speaking environment

Try not to get stuck in one place.
Use all the space that’s available to you.
Move around.
One way to do this is to leave your notes in one place and move to another.
If your space is confined (say a meeting room or even presenting at a table) use stronger body language to convey your message.

Technology

Speak to your audience not your slides.
Your slides are there to support you not the other way around.
Ideally, slides should be graphics and not words (people read faster than they hear and will be impatient for you to get to the next point).
If all the technology on offer fails, it’s still you they’ve come to hear.

You can learn to enjoy public speaking and become far more effective at standing in front of a group of people and delivering a potent message.

When it comes to improving your public speaking skills we have three words:

practise, practise, practise!

Emotional Freedom Techniques, simply known as EFT, is a method for natural therapy that brings the many benefits of acupuncture minus the needles. EFT is fast gaining popularity and a legion of patrons. It has proven successful where no other method for calming nerves, promoting mind over matter, and providing strength and confidence has failed. Unlike other methods, the use of EFT does not require earlier study or experience. There are even websites that teach EFT and offer results in mere minutes. Many people have expressed gratitude to the effectiveness of EFT and its role in bringing back balance into their lives.
EFT is most useful in treating fears. There are a plethora of fears that can grip a person, ranging from the rational to the highly irrational. Some fears even develop into phobias, causing even bigger troubles for the sufferer. Problems in dealing with tasks and responsibilities often arise when fear of a certain person, object, or situation sets in. Fear could take control of a person if he or she allows it do so. Common fears that have been reported in order to be treated by EFT include fear of spiders and other crawly insects, fear of dogs, fear of fire, fear of water, fear of earthquakes, fear of ghosts, fear of blood, fear of needles, fear of the stage and performing, and fear of public speaking.
Fear of public speaking is present in 65% of the population; these people have said they would rather die rather than speak in public. EFT for public speaking is one of the most important uses of the method. Public speaking involves confidence, which is vital in the full development of a person in order for him to reach his full potential. Moreover, fear of public speaking may lead to a number of health problems, including the sudden rise of blood pressure when the moment to speak in public comes, panic attacks, nightmares about public speaking and getting humiliated, anxiety, general stress, and, on a more serious note, heart attack and even stroke.
EFT involves tapping strategic points in the body in order to relieve the body’s negative energies and bring harmony. Before the series of tapping is done, a set-up phase must be put up. For beginners, as well as those who want to use EFT without leaving their homes and rely on the Internet for information, there’s also a short EFT for public speaking sequence that is easy to understand and follow. The first step in general EFT is to identify the issue. Pointing out the problem is essential in helping solve it. The more specific the issue is, the bigger the chances of tackling it and improving someone’s reaction to it. For example, instead of the expected “I am afraid to speak in public” response, it would help more if the reason for the fear be included. The second step is to rank the issue, which probes into its seriousness. The third step is to find the sore spot (a detailed manual or an EFT practitioner can help with this) and rub it while repeating the set-up phrase “I deeply and completely love and accept myself even with these fear of public speaking.” These simple steps are just basic EFT for public speaking but they can help greatly.