Twelve ways to improve your public speaking skills
This post was written by DoctorJay on December 7, 2009
Posted Under: Success, friendship, self esteem
Posted Under: Success, friendship, self esteem
What public speaker, me? Yes, you.
All human beings are public speakers. I’m not talking about giving seminars – although that can be great fun once you learn how to do it but talking to other people.
We speak publicly whenever we communicate with anyone else. All internal communication is self-talk. Our communication skills to others is a most important aspect of our success and our relationships. Our self-talk is a major determinant of our psychological health and self esteem.
Today I wish to write about speaking to others. Here are some of the ways to improve your public speaking skills:
- Your speaking skills are learned -Actually we all learned to speak publicly (to others first and then came self talk). Education starts with learning the basics. Join your local Toastmasters’ or similar organization to learn the basics of public speaking.
- You need to practice - to be an effective speaker you need to practice what you’ve learned – again Toastmasters’ is a perfect venue to practice in a safe supportive environment. Typically the first meeting is free – then you decided if it is for you.
- Listen - God gave us two ears and one mouth- so listen at least twice as much as you talk. The art of being an excellent conversationalist is based on real listening. Another thing is that to learn how to give public presentations (to three or more people – at work, weddings and so on) again listen to others giving presentations.
- Humility – We all make mistakes, and sometimes we tend to slur our words, stutter, and probably mispronounce certain words even though we know what it means, but rarely use it only to impress listeners. So in a group, don’t be afraid to ask if you’re saying the right word properly and if they’re unsure about it then make a joke out of it. I promise you it’ll make everyone laugh and you can get away with it as well.
- Eye Contact – There’s a lot to say when it comes to directing your attention to your audience with an eye-catching gaze. It’s important to move from group to group when talking to a large group so each person gets some eye contact.
- Have fun -A little bit of humor can do wonders to lift the tension, or worse boredom when making your speech. That way, you’ll get the attention of the majority of the crowd and they’ll feel that you’re just as approachable, and as human to those who listen.
- Be like the rest of them – Interaction is all about mingling with other people. You’ll get a lot of ideas, as well as knowing what people make them as they are.
- Listen to the sound of your own voice on tape or video – you sound different to others (they hear you on the outside whereas your voice reaches you ears through internal path) so tape yourself and find out how you sound to others. Listening to the sound of your own voice while you practice your speech in front of a mirror (better still recorded on video) can help correct the stress areas of your pitch.
- Always smile - A smile says it all much like eye contact. There’s no point on grimacing or frowning in a meeting or a gathering, unless it’s a wake. You can better express what you’re saying when you smile.
- A Role Model – Who have you enjoyed when listening to at a wedding, public gathering or maybe at church? How did they do it? What made it fun and impressed you about their pattern of public speaking.
- Preparation – Make the best out of preparation rather than just scribbling notes and often in a hurried panic. I like to write things down on index cards. I write a word or phrase to remind me of the main points of my seminars. The rest I know so well because I have practiced any seminar I give at least three times on video and watch each one asking myself, how I cam improve it.
- Visualize success – I left one of the most important aspects of public speaking for the last way to improve your public speaking. This is important in being successful at anything. In your imagination see yourself giving the presentation, seminar, or whatever successfully. Give the talk many times successfully in your imagination and you will do great when doing it in public.
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