Speak Like a Pro
Public speaking can be loads of fun or an absolute nightmare, depending on the person. Many people experience nervousness whether speaking in front of a few people at a meeting or at a convention with an audience of thousands. Most people would like to avoid public speaking, but that is not always possible in business. The only other option to avoiding public speaking is learning how to speak like a pro. The following public speaking tips can help you come across like a public speaking star.
• Start on Time – Time is valuable. Never show up late to public speaking engagements. Always start your speech on time. You want to speak to a fresh audience, ready to hear your speech, not a frustrated audience who has been waiting twenty minutes for you.
• Smile – A smile comes across as confidence and is a powerful weapon in combating fear. Smiling creates energy. When you smile at your audience, they will smile at you, boosting your confidence while public speaking and the audience’s confidence in your speech.
• Use Short Sentences – You will lose your audience if you speak in long, drawn out sentences. If you keep your sentences short, your audience will stay on track with understanding your speech.
• Do Not Use Big Words – Unless you plan to hand a dictionary to every audience member and allow time for them to look up your big words, do not use them. It is not impressive to deliver a speech full of words your audience does not understand. It will confuse and irritate your audience.
• Pause – Pauses are dramatic. They allow you to emphasize important information while public speaking and will give your audience a moment to ponder and reflect on the information. Pauses are sticky, too. The information said with a pause will stay with your audience long after your speech is over.
• Use Eye Contact – Eye contact will give your audience a connection to your during your public speaking. The audience will pay closer attention when you look at them. Make the effort to look directly at individual audience members, but not for more than a few seconds before moving on to someone else.
• Move Around – Use the entire stage space to move during your speech. Do not stand in one sport or behind a podium your entire speech. It will bore your audience and make them uncomfortable. Moving around on stage does not mean pacing back and forth. Move occasionally and have a purpose for your move. Do not just randomly move about the stage.
• Do Not Make Fun of Others – Making fun of yourself is fine and can even be a good way of drawing your audience into your speech. Making fun of others may turn off your audience. For the sake of your speech, if you plan to use humor, only joke about yourself.
• Finish on Time – Starting late is bad enough, but finishing late is usually worse. People have things to do. If you do not want to see audience members exiting during your speech, finish on time. If you started late, find a way to make up time or cut your speech short. Be respectful of other people’s time.
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