10
Sure-Fire Steps To Take The Fear Out Of Public Speaking
Do you "feel the fear" when asked to do some public speaking?
Public speaking is still one of our greatest fears and it turns grown
men and women into nervous wrecks. The mere thought of it turns our
tongue to cotton wool, causes our internal plumbing to act up and turns
our knees to jelly.
Well, there's no need for all of this because help is at hand. All you
need to remember are your P's and Q's. Let's start with the P's
1.
Preparation
When you sit down to write what you're going to say, bear in mind who
you'll be speaking to. Will they understand what you're talking about;
will they understand the technical stuff and the jargon? If in doubt
remember the old saying - "Keep It Simple Stupid".
Make sure that what you say has a beginning, middle and an end. Think of
some anecdotes that help reinforce your story. People think visually so
paint verbal pictures for your audience. And always remember, people
want to know what's in it for them - so make sure you tell them!
2.
Place
Have a look at the venue before the event if you can. It's not always
possible, however, even if you get there half an hour before, you can
check out where you'll be speaking.
Stand at the point where you will deliver from, imagine where the
audience will be and check that they can see and hear you. You may even
wish to place a glass of water where you'll be able to find it.
3.
Personal Preparation
Before any Public Speaking event, think about what you are going to wear; when in doubt dress up rather than down. You can
always take things off for a more casual look. Men could remove their
jacket and their tie. Women could remove items of jewellery.
Part of your personal preparation should include some mouth and
breathing exercises. Practise saying some tongue twisters to give your
speaking muscles a good work out. Take a deep breath and expand your
diaphragm. Then breathe out, counting at the same time; try and get up
to fifty and not pass out.
As part of your personal preparation, write your own introduction. Write
out exactly what you want someone to say about you, large font,
double-spaced and ask the person introducing you to read it. Believe me
they won't object and will probably be pleased and impressed.
4.
Poise
and Posture
Whenever you're called to speak, stand up or walk to the front quickly
and purposefully. Pull yourself up to your full height, stand tall and
look like you own the place. Before you start to speak, pause, look
round your audience and smile. You may even have to wait until the
applause dies down. Remember, you want the audience to like you, so look
likeable.
5.
Pretend
I'm suggesting you pretend you're not nervous because no doubt you will
be. Nervousness is vital for speaking in public, it boosts your
adrenaline, which makes your mind sharper and gives you energy.
The trick is to keep your nerves to yourself. On no account tell your
audience your nervous; you'll only scare the living daylights out of
them if they think you're going to faint.
Some tricks for dealing with nerves are:
Before you're called to speak, get lots of oxygen into your system, run
on the spot and wave your arms about like a lunatic. It burns off the
stress chemicals.
Speak to members of your audience as they come in or at some time before
you stand up. That tricks your brain into thinking you're talking to
some friends.
Have a glass of water handy for that dry mouth. One word of warning - do
not drink alcohol. It might give you Dutch courage but your audience
will end up thinking you're speaking Dutch.
6.
The
Presentation
Right from the start your delivery needs to grab their attention.
Don't start by saying - "Good morning, my name is Fred Smith and I'm
from Smith Associates." Even if your name is Smith, it's a real boring
way to start a presentation. Far better to start with some interesting
facts or an anecdote that's relevant to your presentation.
Look at the audience as individuals; it grabs their attention if they
think you're talking to them personally.
Talk louder than you would normally do, it keeps the people in the front
row awake and makes sure those at the back get the message. Funnily
enough, it's also good for your nerves.
7.
PowerPoint
And for those of you who haven't heard of it, it's a software programme
that's used to design stunning graphics and text for projection onto a
screen. As a professional speaker, I'm not that stuck on PowerPoint. I
feel that too many speakers rely on it and it takes over the
presentation. After all, you're the important factor here. If an
audience is going to accept what you say then they need to see the
whites of your eyes. There needs to be a big focus on you, not on the
technology. Use PowerPoint if you want but keep it to a minimum and make
sure you're not just the person pushing the buttons. Why not get a bit
clever at using the faithful old Flip Chart, lots of professionals do.
8.
Passion
This is what stops the audience in their tracks. This is what makes them
want to employ you or to accept what you're proposing. Couple this with
some energy, enthusiasm and emotion and you have the makings of a great
public speaker.
Give your presentation a bit of oomph and don't start telling me - "I'm
not that kind of person." There's no need to go over the top but you're
doing a presentation to move people to action, not having a cosy little
chat in your front room.
That's the P's finished, so let's look at the Q's.
9.
Questions
Decide when you're going to take them and tell people at the start. In a
short speech it's best to take questions at the end. If you take them as
you go then you may get waylaid and your timing will get knocked out.
Never - never - never finish with questions; far better to ask for
questions five or ten minutes before the end. Deal with the questions
and then summarise for a strong finish. Too many presentations finish on
questions and the whole thing goes a bit flat.
When you're asked a question, repeat it to the whole audience and thank
the questioner. It keeps everyone involved, it gives you time to think
and it makes you look so clever and in control.
10.
Quit
Quit when you're ahead. Stick to the agreed time; if you're asked to
speak for twenty minutes, speak for nineteen and the audience will love
you for it. Remember, quality is not quantity.
One of the most famous speeches ever - "The Gettysburg Address", by
President Lincoln, was just over two minutes long.
Right, that's my cue to quit when I'm ahead. Now that you're armed with
this information you too can minimise your fear of Public Speaking.
About the Author: Alan Fairweather - "The Motivation Doctor" -is the
author of "How to get More Sales Without Selling" To receive your
newsletter and free ebooks, visit:
http://www.howtogetmoresales.com
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