Triple-Virgin-Organic-Argan-Hair

9 Useful Tips For Public Speaking Made Easy For You

A Beginners Guide To Public Speaking

If you find yourself in a position where you have to give a public presentation, you may be racked with nerves at the thought of standing in front of a group. It's normal to be scared. After all, most people in your audience would probably be just as nervous in front of a crowd, too! To overcome this, follow these helpful public speaking tips.

1Practice Your Speech

Make your speech in front of a mirror or a friend, so you can accurately time your speech and get into a rhythm. Practice speaking out loud, especially if there are hard to pronounce words or names. Preparing beforehand helps to keep you calm and confident.

2Prepare Audio-Visual Aids And Handouts

Much like your speech, make sure all the equipment is working and that you're familiar with the room and equipment ahead of time. Try to come in earlier to check if everything works. As for your handouts, you can do this one of two ways: hand them out at the beginning of your presentation or as a summary at the end. Your audience will have a good idea of what to expect from your speech.

3Use Short Note Cards

Note cards will remind you of the important points you want to make in your speech. Avoid writing out your entire speech and then reading it, however. This shows that you haven't really practiced what you're going to say, and it can affect your speech if you start to fumble around for your place. Little note cards, with an outline of your topic or short facts, can help keep you on topic.

4Speak Loud With Conviction

Even though you'll likely use a microphone, if you speak too softly, your audience members in the back of the room might not hear you well. Projecting your voice conveys confidence to your audience. Speak with conviction even if you don't know everything about the topic; you should know enough about it to make it through your speech.

5Keep Eye Contact With Your Audience

Periodically glance around the room and use the 3-second rule, while looking directly into someone's eyes. Doing so will make your audience feel more involved. The 3-second rule means you take your eyes off your notes and look around the room. Focus on a face for 3 seconds and then continue scanning the room.

6Pause From Time To Time

This gives your audience time to reflect and think about what you have said. This will also give you a breather, so you can speak without feeling out of breath. It also paces what you say.

7Capture Your Audience

Be aware of your audience's reactions to what you're saying. If what you've said is not being understood, find a way to restate it. Make your speech easy for your audience to understand. If you're speaking about a dry topic, draw something funny into your speech. Not all of us are born comedians, so don't go overboard on this if it isn't natural.

8Don't Let A Mistake Shake You

Everyone makes mistakes from time to time. If this happens to you, just go on with what you were saying. If you need to take a moment to re-align your thoughts, feel free to take it. You're in command of the stage when you're the speaker. Most audiences are quite forgiving, so just keep moving forward if you make a mistake.

9Avoid Going Beyond Your Time

Always try to keep your speech within the time parameters. Stop when your time is up. When you practice ahead of time, you'll get good at staying within the time limits of your speech.

Every good speaker has had to learn how to give a good speech through trial and error, so the more speeches you give, the better you'll become! Many speakers say that stage fright never really stops, but being prepared can definitely decrease the level of fear. Planning your speech ahead of time and talking about something you're passionate about can be a great experience.



About Author

John Quintana

John Quintana is a proud Cuban, a lifelong resident of Miami, Florida, where he lives surrounded by a loving family. When he's not writing, he spends his time either fishing or in the kitchen.