5 Surefire Tips To Better Public Speaking

Searching on the web for “public speaking tips” brings up well over 2 million different pages. While there may be a lot of resources out there on the topic of public speaking, all the help in the world just isn’t enough when it’s you who has to step up to the podium and address a group of people. If you have a fear of speaking in public, then it may take more than advice to get you comfortable with this.

Believe it or not, most of those fears are self imposed. What do I mean? The people listening to you don’t really care how the information is disseminated, they just want at the information. It’s the speaker that puts themselves through the ringer weeks before the event. Here are some tips that may seem obvious, but once completed, will really put your mind at ease, trust me.

Public Speaking Tip #1

KNOW YOUR TOPIC! I don’t mean know your topic, I mean inside and out, upside down, what ever question someone could throw at you, you know the answer. You really need to be prepared to reach this level. You need to know your speech almost by heart; you need to know the products you will be discussing. Do your homework, you will know you have reached public speaking Nirvana when you get that “feeling”, it will come with knowledge. Believe!

Public Speaking Tip #2

Greet as many of the attendees prior to your speech as possible. Familiarity promotes confidence. Besides, think of the benefit you provide the topic you are to speak on when you take the time to meet people before you go on.

By using your time before the speech to talk to people, you won’t spend this time worrying. This alone will make you much calmer and composed when you speak. The more relaxed you are when you step up to give your speech, the better it will go.

Public Speaking Tip #3

You may have heard the old saw about picturing your audience naked – don’t do this. Instead of putting you at ease, you’ll find it distracting and will actually hurt your efforts at public speaking.

Public Speaking Tip # 4

When you find yourself with only a mouthful of uhs and ums, stop yourself, repeat the sentence as if to add importance, and replace the uhs and ums with silence to allow your points to hit home.

Public Speaking Tip # 5

Use body language. A lot of people think that giving a speech is all about what you’re saying. That’s only half of the picture. You need to use gestures and other body language to add emphasis and energy to your speech if you want to be a truly effective speaker.

All of these tips are useful in helping you to overcome your stage fright and get comfortable with public speaking. Being able to give a speech in front of a group when needed can be very important for your career; there are people who actually pass up on a promotion because of their fears of having to speak in front of people!

Do you realize people fear speaking in public more than they fear dying? Maybe because dying is abstract and appears far away while the podium is right in front of them. Either way, you really can come to grips with your fear and maybe you won’t enjoy it, but you’ll be able to get through it easier. I can’t emphasize enough that half of your battle will be just knowing what you are going to say, and anticipating what others are going to ask. It can be easy!