Speaking in public does not come naturally for most people. However, if you aspire to success, you'll need to master the art of public speaking. Well, perhaps not master it, but at least be comfortable with yourself when speaking in front of a crowd.
The crowd need not be 500 angry shareholders at the annual meeting; it can be a gathering of sales staff, or even a birthday toast to a good friend. Speaking in public means that you have an audience and, more often than not, they are listening to every word you utter, which makes it important that you don't slip up.
There are certain easy steps mentioned below that will help you to improve your performance and enable you to feel comfortable while speaking in public.
1. Relax; don’t get nervous
The simple thought of speaking in public is enough to make most people nervous. The actual act of doing so will result in many people simply freezing on the spot! Their heart rate quickens, their hands get clammy and they seem to speak incoherently.
The important thing to remember is that you are not in a life or death situation. You are merely addressing a few people with some words of wisdom (or whatever it is you have to say). Be it two or two hundred people, you should be delivering your lines in the same way. That is, don't get nervous, focus on the task at hand and get the job done.
Understand that those in the audience know it is not that easy to speak in public and they want to see you do well. Use this positive energy and give a beautiful performance.
2. Know your stuff
We are often most nervous when we must do something that we have not mastered. Few people are master public speakers, but most can do well if they prepare properly. The key to preparation is knowing your topic inside out.
If you are an executive at Coca-Cola giving a speech on the competition, you'd better know every nook and cranny about your company, as well as all the other soft drink companies. Take the time to make notes and summarize your ideas into small bites of information. All you need to do afterwards is remember the information bites and expand on them during your speech. If there is a question and answer period, try to anticipate possible questions and prepare answers in advance.
3. Know your audience
If you are addressing senior management about the company's business strategy, you would do so differently than if you were addressing a group of high school students taking their first business class.
You must gage the level of expertise of your audience and deliver accordingly. After all, they have come to hear you speak, so what you say should be relevant to them.
4. Know the room
This detail is often forgotten, but the room where you will be speaking is very important. You should visit the room beforehand and familiarise yourself with the equipment and layout. Then, work on the visuals of your presentation to make sure they come across as intended. Talking in a 20,000-seat arena will require a different approach than talking in a 30-seat classroom.
A good trick is to sit down in different chairs where the audience will be seated. This will give you an additional perspective of the room and how to build a rapport with the entire audience, rather than just a few people in the front row.
5. Visualise success
Many people fail at public speaking because they imagine themselves flubbing their lines and making fools of themselves. If you can conceive of it in your mind, then you can make it happen. If you imagine yourself a fool, you will become just that.
Don't hamstring yourself before even getting started. Take your time to go over the speech in your mind. Visualize how you will successfully deliver your words and what movements you will make. Do this repeatedly until you have given the perfect speech. All you need to do then is act out your visualization.
6. Practice makes perfect
The point is if you want to be a better public speaker, you will need to practice. Volunteer to speak in front of small crowds in your spare time and get used to the feeling of being in front of people. As you get more comfortable, you will likely be talking to larger gatherings with more powerful people present. The idea is to make your mistakes when it doesn't matter much.
7. Focus on the message
While speaking in public; don't think about the audience too much. Focus on the message you must deliver and getting your point across. After all, that is why you are on the dais in the first place. You will soon get so wrapped up in your speech that you'll no longer be nervous. At that point you'll start building more of a rapport with the audience as you discuss your ideas.
Focus on these 7 easy tips and you'll become a great public speaker in no time at all!
