Want to learn Public Speaking Skills? Here are some tried and tested tips for improving public speaking skills.
When you think of doing Public Speaking, what happens first? Butterflies in the stomach, sweaty palms, nervousness etc etc etc.
Public Speaking is described as one of the greatest fears. However, there are several ways to overcome the fear of public speaking and improving your public speaking skills.
Even if you don’t regularly engage in public speaking, developing skills in this area will gradually increase your confidence levels and reduce the anxiety.
Now, to step up on the ladder of public speaking, first you must have good communication skills . You might have noticed, public speakers engage their audience for longer duration. So, to experiment for self you can always start from the small level, like communicating to few people and try engaging them for longer duration, which will give you confidence to get on a stage and be spectacular.
Hence, I am hereby providing you with 10 self-experimented and tested tips for improving your public speaking skills that will help reduce your anxiety, bust the myths and improve your performance.
Nervousness and Anxiety is Normal. Practice, practice and rigorous practice!
When you come up for public speaking, nervousness, trembling hands and anxiety is normal. Nothing wrong in that. Believe me, Public Speaking is not Rocket-Science as you can overcome its fear by rigorous practice. Remember the adrenaline rush that makes you sweat also makes you more alert to give your best.
HOW – Now, one question might be staggering your mind that how to practice. Best solutions are making a video tape yourself or get a friend to critique your performance.
Organize your material!
Once you overcome the anxiety of public speaking, start organizing your material in the best effective way possible to get your message delivered BOLD and LOUD.
HOW – Create the framework of your topic for speech. Write down the bullet points, the purpose and central idea of the speech. Try to grab your audience’s attention in the first minute.
Know your audience!
While drafting your speech, keep your audience in mind. Try to figure out each and every aspect of your audience before getting there actually. This will ultimately help you in choosing the right words, modulation of the level of information and the motivational statement so that you can synchronize your speech as per their needs.
Be Yourself!
Don’t try to copy somebody in any type of communication. Be yourself. The best way to power pack your speech is to being yourself. You will definitely establish better rapport among the audience if your personality and your confidence level shine through. That will ultimately help in building the trust among your audience as they would be able to see you as a real person and not a reel person.
Story Telling and adding some humor!
Injecting a funny anecdote in your speech will certainly grab your audience’s attention. Audience will more likely connect with you by the effective usage of story telling technique with a pinch of humour.
Eye Contact!
You give me entire one day and I can explain the importance of eye contact whole day long, Eye Contact is that important for interpersonal connection with your audience. So, don’t try to read unless you have to as reading from a script or a slide will break the eye contact and hence break your connection with your audience.
Body Language!
Use your hands effectively as the non-verbal communication carries most of the message. Become aware of your facial expressions as well; they should match the message you are delivering. Pay attention to your body language at different levels of speech.
Voice Modulation!
Use your voice wisely as voice is a very powerful tool to express your content. It can break your impression and it can make your impression. You need to control the following aspects of your voice:
Tone (quality)
Pitch (high or low)
Volume of your voice
Beginning and Closing of the speech should be Spectacular!
Don’t bore your audience while starting your speech with those boring jargons. Instead, use a powerful quotation, an interesting anecdote or a mind-blowing statistic. Similarly, conclude your speech with a powerful statement which your audience should never ever forget in life.
Be receptive for feedback!
Gauge your audience’s reaction, adjust your message and stay flexible. Delivering a One-Man show will lead to very few engagements by the audience’s side.
Fear of public speaking is a normal experience. However, if you have extreme anxiety while speaking in public, you may suffer with a specific form of social anxiety disorder. It is important to seek help from your doctor or a trained mental health professional. While improving your public speaking skills is helpful, this needs to be grounded in a solid framework for overcoming your social anxiety.
Still not satisfied, don’t worry. Drop me an email at info@ankitravindrajain.com or DM me on Instagram and I will help you out of this anxiety and make you a confident Public Speaker.
All Power to YOU
Ankit Ravindra Jain
