Great public speakers follow a set of public speaking rules, this is why they always appear to be on “top of their game.” Profound public speakers are intentional in their approach to public speaking; you should be intentional as well, if you want to be perceived as a leader.
This article provides you with 12 public speaking tips that will help others perceive you as the leader that you are.
12 Must-Read Public Speaking Tips:
1. Prepare: If the President of the United States has to prepare before speaking, then you need to prepare as well. Preparation is absolutely critical to successful public speaking.
2. Tell Stories: People love stories, …and I’m not exactly sure why, but you will engage a 5 year old, as well as a CEO, with a good relevant story. Begin with a story, and feel free to end with a story.
3. Sing: Audiences love stories, but they also love songs, so when you speak, connect all of your words in each of your phrases, like you’re singing a song. People will enjoy hearing your voice, when it sounds like a song, give it a try.
4. Breath: Your voice is a wind instrument. Only speak, when you’re breathing out. This tip will give your voice greater resonance and authority.
5. Control Your Nerves: If you’re prone to getting nervous, just slow down. The more nervous you are, the slower you should speak, and the more confident you should act.
6. Speak Up: Leaders are loud, don’t speak to people, speak through people!
7. Master the Beginning and the End: You should know how you want to begin and end every important conversation or presentation. Practice the first minute, and the last minute, more than any other minutes.
8. Be Yourself: Unless, of course, you’re really boring! If you’re really boring, then you should probably consider being someone else.
9. Speak off the cuff: Although practice is important, don’t memorize what you’re going to say verbatim. Practice provides an opportunity for you to work out the kinks, but you should speak to your audience in a conversational tone.
10. Take Your Time: You can avoid speech fillers like “ummm” and “you know” by taking your time. Let the audience wait….for the profound things you have to say. There’s no need to rush. Speak, and even move, deliberately.
11. Engage and Connect: Whether you’re speaking to one person, or a large audience, you always want to elicit head nods, eye contact, and other forms of non-verbal feedback. This is how you ensure the audience is engaged. When you ignore the audience, not looking for their non-verbal cues, only pushing information out to them, they will certainly ignore you as well.
12. Vary Your Pace and Inflection: Use a different pace of speed, and vary your inflection, depending on what you’re saying. Say some things loud, but say other things quietly; say some things quickly, and then take your time while telling a story; keep your inflections and pace interesting, keep your audience guessing.
Bonus Tip – Love the Audience: If you love the audience, then you won’t be another boring presenter, if you love the audience, you will respect their time, and their intelligence, and you won’t make them sit through a worthless presentation; you will engage them, you will challenge them, and you will entertain them.
Thank you for reading and be sure to pass this article along.
Mr. Self Development is an author who teaches a motivational and practical guide to success. Please visit him at Mr. Self Development.com.
