Photo By: www.audio-luci-store.it, on Flickr
10 Public Speaking Tips
By: Dan D.
Public speaking is a trade that may require years of polishing to be extraordinary at. It’s not something to be learned overnight. One must keep practicing to identify weaknesses, strengths and areas of improvement. Here are 10 tips to help speed up that process, so you can become the next TED talker:
1. Refrain from Reading your Presentation
Do not, under any circumstances, read from the projector screen, laptop, notecards or anything else. It screams “unprofessional” and shows that you’re not prepared; two things you definitely want to avoid. Therefore memorize your material and practice your presentation. It demonstrates respect for your audience, and the audience will return that respect for you. Of course you can glance at the slides to remind yourself where you are in the presentation, but don’t rely too much on them.
2. Don’t Pack Too Much Information on your Slides
Remember that a PowerPoint is a visual aid to your presentation, not the presentation itself. Having a wall of text can be overwhelming, instead keep your message short and concise. The font size should be generally large; how large? Large enough that even the back row can read it, depending on how big the auditorium is. The content of the slide should be the main idea from where you extrapolate from in your presentation.
3. Give your Insights
Presenting statistics are great, presenting quotes are great, but they’re worth nothing unless you give your own opinions about the topic. Keep in mind that the audience is there to hear your analysis on the subject; therefore other referencing information should just support your presentation. Similar to an essay, if your paper is filled with citations, where do you fit in the equation?
4. Make Eye Contact
Eye contact exudes confidence and honesty. Spread your eye contact evenly across the venue. Make an effort to look directly at specific audience members during your presentation. Hold that direct eye contact at a person while saying a few words before switching to another audience member. This creates a stronger connection with individual people and the rest of the audience will feel that atmosphere.
5. Tell a Story
The best way to connect to someone is through emotions, which are conveyed strongly through storytelling. Tell a true story that shows your emotions whether it was positive or negative. Don’t be afraid to describe a time when you were terrified, depressed or happy. This will help the audience connect to you on a personal level, and be more engaged with the contents of your presentation.
6. Ignore the Haters
Haters. You’ve run into them from time to time in your professional speaking career. They’re the ones with judgmental expressions on their faces and shaking their heads “no”. Dealing with them is easy, ignore them and focus on the attendees supporting you. Your inspired followers will look eager to learn and will be nodding “yes” frequently during your speech. If people don’t agree with you, they always have the freedom to leave, making room for more potential supporters.
7. Bring Enthusiasm
Ever heard of the mirror effect? It’s a concept that shows that the audience will feel what the speaker is feeling. So if the speaker is excited about the subject being discussed, so will the audience. If the speaker is monotone and has no energy, the audience will also feel that and become uncomfortable and unengaged. Therefore show up confident about yourself and the topic in order to boost the audience’s enthusiasm and engagement.
8. Give Value, Not Take Value
The job of the speaker is to give something to the audience that they can leave with, not take something away. You may see speakers from time to time advertise their products or urge others to follow them on social media. This will put the speaker in a bad light as someone who is self-serving. The audience will trust the speaker if they’re providing value in the form of new insights or practices, not someone who is a leech.
9. Plan to Run Short
It’s good practice to always run short on your presentation. If you were given an hour, end ten minutes early; If given two hours, start closing up your topic in the last half hour. This shows the audience that you respect their time and their attention that they gave you. Absolutely never take more time than you were allotted, it’s unprofessional and will leave a bad impression on your audience.
10. Thank the Audience
It sounds obvious enough, but it’s still an important point to make. Always remember to thank the audience at the end of your presentation. This is where you exercise your gratitude after you hear the applause. The audience’s time and attention are valuable to them so you must thank them for spending it on you. In the end you’ll appear respectful and humble.
Public speaking is a powerful and influential ability that’s not always easy to pick up. There’s a great deal of strategy in persuading others and providing new information. Practice these 10 tips and inspire greatness in others.