Public speaking is your most valuable skill for communicating information and ideas. It’s the primary medium for presenting and selling your products and ideas in real time. Being able to communicate verbally is essential in business, professional endeavors, and your personal life. Every business and organization needs individuals who can speak clearly and influentially. Your knowledge and skills in this area can help advance your career and generate greater success. If you really enjoy public speaking, you may even choose speaking as a profession.

Let’s look at some of the ways you can improve your success in public speaking and presentations.

Calm Your Nerves to Increase Your Focus

Public Speaking can be a physically and emotionally draining process. While it may seem that some people have a natural-born talent for public address, virtually everyone experiences some level of nervousness before speaking. Follow this simple 5-minute exercise to calm your nerves and gain confidence as a speaker:

1. Find a quiet and solitary place.
2. Close your eyes.
3. “Listen” to your breath for the first minute.
4. Focus your awareness on a visual image you “see” in your mind.
5. See that object in as close to crystal clarity as you can manage.
6. Realize your breathing will become slower and deeper, as you reach a calmer state.

Organize and Prepare

Speakers who know their audiences give the best presentations. In preparing to speak, it’s important that you ask yourself three questions:

1. Who is the audience?
2. What information or type of persuasion will they respond to?
3. What is the best method of giving that to them?

Develop Dynamic Introductions and Conclusions

Let’s say you’ve done the work of audience analysis, being clear on your purpose, and organizing your material. Now you need a dynamic introduction. You also need a conclusion that “sticks.” Let’s look first at why your introduction is important. There are three reasons:

1. Audiences make value judgments about you and your message in the first 30-60 seconds.
2. Your opening sets the entire tone of your presentation.
3. The first minute is when you introduce your message and tell the audience why they need to hear it.

You also need to end strongly, so your influence lasts beyond the moment your presentation stops. You’re like the lawyer who wants the jury to be making the lawyer’s arguments in the jury room, when the lawyer can no longer be present.

Engage and Motivate

Influence won’t occur if you don’t engage your audience. Making the audience feel a part of the discussion is important.  Remember these key points to make an impression on your audience:

1. Make eye contact.
2. Enjoy yourself. Let the audience know you’re having fun.
3. Energize your voice.
4. Ask questions so your audience feels involved.
5. Smile.

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Follow the above advice and you’ll be a more confident and successful speaker. Public Speaking International can help get you there!  Learn more about Dr. Gary Genard's unique Speak at Your Best! training system.

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Become a more dynamic communicator!  Call Public Speaking International at (781) 643-2095 or Contact Us