Apr
03
The Secret of Good Public Speaking
Posted under Goals and Goal Setting
Humorist Dave Barry once wrote, “All of us are born with a set of instinctive fears - of falling, of the dark, of lobsters, of falling on lobsters in the dark, or speaking before a Rotary Club . . .” It is the last in this list that haunts most of us so powerfully, yet in many cases, public speaking is not an obligation you can leave on the table.
Whether it’s a meeting with your company CEO or a commencement speech at your local high school, just the term “public speaking,” is one deeply rooted in fear. Sure, your high school speech teacher may have told you just to imagine everyone in their underwear, but let’s be serious, in most cases, that trick just doesn’t work.
What to do about it? Like most things in life, a little planning and forethought can help you through this one.
-Familiarize yourself with your speaking turf. Visit it beforehand to get a good idea of where you’ll be and what you’ll see as you speak.
-Concentrate on the overall point of your speech instead of the process of making a speech. It will help to eliminate some measure of tension.
-Reduce the fear by individualizing your audience. Make eye contact with individual members of your audience as frequently as possible. And, hey, the side effect of this one is that they’ll think you’re just being sincere, and that certainly can’t hurt.
While these suggestions may not take the actual fear out of the speech as you stand behind that podium, they may help you be a bit more confident when you actually begin speaking, and that’s all that counts.
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Comments
As someone who has spoken in front of large and small groups - though not enough to be really comfortable - I agree with what you’re saying.
My suggestion would be know your topic well. I’ve never been one for crafted speeches. I would often outline a few points I wanted to cover in a talk. But I would know or learn my topic very well. That way, I can get over the stress of making a speech and focus on engaging in a conversation with my audience - even if there’s no time for Q & A. Often, though, there’s time for individual dialogue afterward. So I think of speaking to one person in the audience as though I’m having a conversation with them. It seems to work great. Though I don’t recommend staring only at one person.
Dawud, that’s some good advice. It is much more difficult to give a presentation if you aren’t prepared.
Also, Before my presentations, I like to visualize a successful talk. The audience is receptive and happy that I am speaking.
You can go beyond just looking your audience in the eye to familiarize yourself with them. Get there a little early and actually talk to them - its a great warmup.