Five Tips for Public Speaking

By Jennie Parker

We've all done it. We've sat through dry presentations, discreetly checking our phones or daydreaming. Wooden presentations where the presenter seems to be reading a memorized script or, worse, reading his slides to us. Or how about presentations where the presenter's anxiety is so palpable that our own palms start to sweat?

When it's our turn to present, we don't want to be that speaker, right? So, let's now think about presentations or presenters who are memorable. Can you think of a particularly engaging college professor? A captivating sales pitch? Or an enjoyable lecture or academic presentation? What was it about these speakers that was alluring?
Chances are, you felt that the speaker was addressing your needs and concerns with confidence and personality. The following five public speaking tips can help you do the same:

1. Know Your Audience
Tailor each presentation to your audience. Just as you would adjust what you're saying in private conversation to your conversation partner's needs, craft your presentations to address your audience's needs and knowledge base. To this end, as you organize your presentation, engage your audience at the beginning with a hook, like an amusing anecdote or a question that gets them thinking about the subject matter. Then tell the audience what you're going to say, by way of an outline or agenda. Throughout your presentation, watch the audience for cues and feedback. Are they bored? Confused? If so, adjust. Finally, conclude your presentation with a short summary and call to action. That is, what do you expect the audience to do with the information you've presented?

2. Let Your Personality Shine
I've worked with many clients who seem to be racing through their presentations to get them over with. This results in a rushed, wooden presentation with little connection to the audience. Slow down, take a deep breath, and show the audience who you are. Don't be afraid to connect through body language, tone, and content. Practice in front of a mirror to see how your facial gestures and body language come across.  Unless you're speaking about a tragic or grim subject, smile occasionally. Play with the tone of your voice so that you don't come across as stiff. Get comfortable with silence; pauses allow time for you to gather your thoughts and for the audience to think about your points. Add a few personal anecdotes. Use some humor. Establish trust and credibility with your audience by letting them see your authentic self.

3. Get a Handle on Anxiety
If speaking publicly makes you nervous, you're not alone. Approximately a quarter of adults report public speaking anxiety. Luckily, much has been written on ways to cope with that anxiety. Shifting your focus from a performance orientation to a communication orientation may be helpful. In other words, rather than focusing on how you "perform" in front of an audience, focus on how you will inform or inspire your audience. Another technique is using inoculation messages. With this cognitive reframing technique, speakers acknowledge their worries around public speaking and then follow them up with a refuting point. For example, if a speaker worries that the audience will laugh at her if she mispronounces a word, she reasons that it is more likely that the audience will either not notice or will disregard it. For more, see Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking.

4. Use Visuals Wisely
Don't use visuals as a crutch for yourself! I've seen it too many times. A speaker crams most if not all of the presentation onto PowerPoint slides and bores the audience by reading the slides to them. Limit your use of slides and other visuals to images that help to illustrate your points. Images, graphs, charts, or realia can engage an audience and make your explanations clearer. But lengthy bullet-pointed lists can put your audience to sleep. An audience doesn't want to be read to. An audience wants to engage with you, ​not your slides.

5. Practice, Practice, Practice!
Practicing your presentation not only helps you to work through difficult spots and increase your confidence; it will help to ease your anxiety. Contrary to most advice I read, I suggest scripting your presentation word-for-word, especially if you are presenting in your second (or third, or fourth...) language. Scripting will help you to work through tricky pronunciation and natural rhythm and intonation patterns. Once you've practiced with a script a few times, you can pare it down to a short outline of keywords. When I've taught public speaking in a classroom setting, I've observed students "practicing" their speech in their heads. While this might help with memorization, it's not going to help with presentation. I suggest, at the very least, audio recording yourself delivering the presentation. Video recording is even better because you'll be able to see your facial expressions, body language, and visuals.

While you can do a lot on your own to improve your public speaking, you may want the help of a coach. At Every Voice, we specialize in assisting clients with both short-term (e.g., "I have a presentation in two weeks! Help!") and longer-term (e.g., "I'll be lecturing next year, and I want to improve my speaking skills.") public speaking goals, particularly for those who speak English as an additional language. See our private coaching and group courses for more information.
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