Tag Archives: speaking tips

Overcoming The Fear of Public Speaking

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Fear of Public Speaking Overcoming The Fear of Public Speaking

Feel the fear and do it anyways

It is highly unlikely that a person can go through their entire life without having some type of public speaking assignment,

or at least in front of a classroom. Not many people are “born” with the total confidence needed to have no fear of this; most of us will indeed go through some stage fright with our first encounter. Knowing, that you are not alone, and that every single person in your listening audience is pulling for you to succeed is your number one thing to focus on. They do not want you to fail any more than you do; if you can get through the first 30 seconds with the message you are prepared, know what you are speaking about and indeed have a purpose, they will relax and so will you.

The worst moments are the 60 seconds before you begin. The same is true for actors, athletes and musicians. Deep breathing and visualizing a positive outcome is very beneficial. Stage actors sometimes “run lines in their head” before their entrances to make sure they are still there; occasionally stage fright has set in that they don’t know their lines, but at the right moment, the words come easily. It is a learned skill that anyone can do.

Before you prepare your speech, presentation, lecture, proposal or even an important toast at a wedding, try to remember it need not be stressful. It may become the highlight of your day, your week, your month or even the best thing you have done all year. You may wonder afterward just what were you nervous about? You also do not have to be brilliant, famous, or an expert to give a successful speaking engagement. All you need to be is: sincere, knowledgeable about your topic and have a definite purpose.

Humility and humor go a long way at relaxing both the audience and yourself.

If you think a bit of humor is needed, by all means use it. When you get the desired result from the audience, the rest of your presentation will probably be smooth as glass. If the humor failed, have an alternative remark to make about it ahead of time, showing you understand. Having good eye contact with the audience is favorable, and smile once in awhile.

Be prepared on your subject; know it inside and out, in the advent of questions. Practice with family members or friends. Don’t memorize a speech, bore people with bullet points on a screen or try to follow an exact script (unless you are an actor). Speak in a clear, distinct voice and if your normal voice does not carry to the back of the room, use a microphone. To be truly appreciated, your words must be heard.

Career Partners International Speech Overcoming The Fear of Public Speaking

Jeff’s Social Media Keynote at CPI

Presentation Do’s and Don’ts

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If you only had 20 seconds instead of 20 minutes to speak, what would you say?  Studies show that by the end of the day, your audience will have forgotten half of what you said.  And by the end of the week, 90% is forgotten. To make sure that the 10% that sticks is the 10% that you really want them to remember, say it early and clearly. Below are some more presentations dos and don’t that will help you succeed. 

Presentation Do’s

  1. Make eye contact so people feel you are communicating with them.
  2. Think about how you deliver the information in terms of moods.                                  
  3. Sound like you do in a conversation.
  4. Ask a question and give people time to think.
  5. Add variety to your speech through visuals or question

Presentation Don’ts 

  1. Don’t grade questions by saying, “That’s a good question.”
  2. Don’t bad mouth or say negative things at any time, it will only discredit you.
  3. Don’t rush to fill the silence.  

6 Principles To Make You A Better Presenter

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The goal of a presentation is to motivate the listener to do something different. You want them to change a belief, buy your product, behave differently, or support a cause.

The challenge is how to move the listener from where they are now to where we want them to be? Instead of delivering information, a good presenter interprets the meaning of the topic to the listener.

The following six principles can help you achieve this goal.

1) Provoke your audience

The purpose of your talk is to educate your audience with the intent of changing behavior, not just to give them information. Don’t assume that if you tell them the features, they will see the benefit. Tell them the benefits and skim over the features.

2) Reveal new meaning

The speaker should help listener gain new meaning. You want to give them the “ah ha” moment. This step is needed to motivate the audience. You are building on what they already know and showing the “value added”.

3) Relate the information to your audience

The audience must be mentally engaged in the presentation to move from where they are to where you want them to be. Show how your topic relates to their life or work. This will tell them why they want listen to you.

4) Speaking is an art form

A good speaker utilizes techniques of making good presentations. but adorns this with his own style. Use your own personality, interests, and passions to let your talk reflect you.

5) Address your specific audience

Each presentation should be crafted to fit the particular needs and desires of your audience. There is a vast difference in how Gen X’ers communicate and how Baby Boomers take in information. The expectations of technology, length of talk, even the pacing, are quite different from audience to audience.

6) Present the whole

Your topic is a piece of the life of your audience. Demonstrate how it fits in with other aspects of their life. Help them to see the “big picture” while emphasizing this as a part of that. When possible, show how they will benefit today as well as in the future.

A good presenter is an interpreter – taking information and putting into a form that is of interest to the listener. A good presentation creates a bridge between the topic and the audience.

Incorporate these six principles into every presentation to help your audience understand why your words are of value to them.

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