Tuesday, April 2, 2013

How To Become a Good Public Speaker

When people tell you that they've conquered the fear of public speaking, or that they're masters of it, they are probably lying. You should probably stay away from them. The fear of public speaking, scientifically known as Glossophobia, is highly prominent. In fact, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, 74% of all people in the world suffer from speech anxiety. To put it simply, only three out of ten people are actually not afraid of public speaking. This gives me a good feeling in the sense that most of the potential readers, or even wanderers to this article, are actually going to find it helpful. That being said, here are twelve helpful tips to follow while delivering it in "the" auspicious event.

1. Know your material.
This is the most important of all the steps. If you're a relatively inexperienced speaker, you should focus all your attention on the delivery of the speech. Knowing your material gives you the advantage of not having to read from a piece of paper. It keeps you in control.

2. Analyze your audience. Your ability to analyze your audience can not only make you a great speaker, but also a true entertainer. Skip that dirty joke while at the funeral.


3. Do not overestimate your audience. Thinking that everybody understands you is not the right attitude to have. Not all people know the streets of Paris like you do, nor do they understand golf. However mundane the nature of the act, a vivid introduction to any topic is key in keeping the plurality of the audience in the same page with you.


4. Use stories/examples to aid you. That little personal touch can be highly persuasive. Do not overdo like you would in a support group.


5. Maintain strong eye contact. Self explanatory. Crucial. Staring at the blank wall behind everybody is not okay. People want to feel like you're talking to them alone. Yes, we're still egocentric.


6. Allow some form of gestures. Do it do the degree a little less than the "classic Italian". Gestures power your words. It also has a lot to do with the sub-conscience. Friendly gestures make your speech easy to digest, and more importantly, fun.


7. Bring in some form of dynamics to your voice. Alter the range of your volume. Speak loudly while trying to promote, introduce, or describe things, and keep it low when attempting to arouse/bring-in the audience.


8. Use effective pauses. Pauses are a great way of promoting clarity. Even if you have the strangest of all accents, using effective pauses can aid in clarifying your message. It also enables the audience to keep up with you when you speak too rapidly.


9. Keep it short. This is probably the most mundane of all the great tips that I've presented. However, it's equally as important. Keeping it short is important as it keeps the audience wanting more, and that's always a great way to end. Keeping the audience hungry will eventually promote you. It will make people ask your whereabouts and even "Google" you. Long speeches, however splendid in design, always cause some degree of annoyance with the audience.


10. Good Luck...

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