Tips On Public Speaking – Advice And Pointers To Improve Your Speech Or Presentation

Are you seeking some pointers and tips on public speaking?

Speaking in public is one of the common problems that many people face, whether they are in school or at work and they are called upon to speak before their peers or strangers.

Public speaking can be so treacherous for some people that they begin to shake when they stand up to walk to the podium, and even others faint from the fear that they have. Would these people have done better if they had some advice and tips on public speaking? Perhaps, but not all pointers on public speaking are really going to help.

One of the most common tips on public speaking is to imagine everyone in the audience in their underwear. It is supposed to elicit a humorous scene in the speaker’s mind. It is supposed to put everyone else on the ‘hot’ seat rather than them.

Yet this technique doesn’t really work all that well. Even if you managed to picture everyone in their underwear, you are still going to be standing in front of them and all of their eyes will still be fixed solely on you.

So here are some strategies and tips on public speaking that will help.

Start small. Rehearse your speech in front of the mirror of your room with the door closed. When you become comfortable looking up and reading from your speech at the same time, then ask a good friend to be in the room with you while you rehearse again. Have your friend stand in the background and you should still rehearse in front of the mirror. If you become comfortable with this setup, ask a few more people to join you in the room.

Know your speech. Nothing makes it more difficult to speak in public than when you don’t really know what you’re saying. Even if you wrote the speech that you will be presenting, when you get in front of all those people and your nerves are kicking into high gear, you might not be able to remember what it was that you wrote. If you memorize your speech, however, then you give yourself a bit of a cushion. Then you can look down at your speech when you need to focus on something other than the people looking at you.

Make simple notes. It’s tough when you have to speak in public and you’re having trouble reading your speech. If you rehearse enough, then you’ll know what you want to say. Then, make note cards with the main points on them so that you can reference them quickly and efficiently.

Ask a close friend or family member to sit in the audience. That way, when you feel the nerves kicking in full bloom, your eyes can find them and you can get a smile and a reassuring nod from them that you’re doing fine. In a sea of strange faces, just one familiar, comforting one is all you need to set your mind at ease.

These pointers and tips on public speaking have helped many famous orators throughout their careers. Just remember, most of the people that you see speaking in public are nervous too.