Enhance Your Public Speaking Skills!
When was the last time you engaged in a public speaking event? Are you one of those people who starts to sweat and feel your heart skip a beat when you think of getting up in front of a crowd? Do you wish you had the courage to get in front of an audience? Do you speak on a regular basis as part of your profession? Do you think to yourself; how do I engage the audience? What is my stage presence like? How is my tone of voice and volume? Am I delivering effectively and making an impact? What does my body and gestures look like? Do I say um, ah or pause a lot?
The art to being an effective public speaker is to penetrate the participant’s mind chatter so that they hear what you have to say. How do you do that?
1. Be fully self expressed, don’t hold back;
A robot on stage is boring; people will be excited to hear what you have to say if you are excited about what you have to say. Let it rip, give it everything you’ve got – every time.
2. Be with the audience, look them in the eyes and speak directly to them:
Being with the audience is the best way to engage them and have them hear what you have to say. If you have to refer to notes, take a minute, look at what you have to read, and then look at the audience and deliver – NEVER READ TO AN AUDIENCE!
3. Share yourself:
Be vulnerable and share yourself intimately, talking about stuff never interests anyone.
4. Use language that generates vs. language that describes:
When you speak create a vision for people to see themselves in, something that they can relate to or be a part of.
5. Be fluid with your body movements and body dispositions:
Make sure to use your body on stage, it is your instrument. The more you express with your body the more you impact the audience. A confined, strained body is a confined, strained message.
6. Center yourself throughout your talk:
Breathe deep, in through the nose, down 2 inches below the belly button, hold and release. This technique will keep you in the moment.
7. Get present and wait for the audience to be present:
To make an impact in front of a group of people you must be present, not off in your own world or listening to a conversation going on in your head. As well, the participants must also be present, otherwise your message will get lost. Wait at the front of the room and don’t start speaking until the participants are present.
8. Quite your own mind chatter:
This is where you and your coach identify what conversations are taking up valuable creative space in your mind and preventing you from being present. The two of you then identify where you may be incomplete with an area in your life. Once the area is identified an opportunity arises to get complete.
9. Create who your audience is for you and who you are for them:
Before you get to the front of the room, take a moment and tell yourself who the participants are, ex. people who are committed to _______, or people who are open etc. Do the same for you, who are you for the participants. Ex. Someone who has answers, someone who makes a difference….etc.
10. Understand and speak to the audience’s commitment for attending:
When speaking always acknowledge the participants for what they are committed to.
Tip – Speak your Message
Sophie Boyko is the Founder and Executive Coach at Skill Shift Inc., a Sales and Leadership Coaching and Learning Firm. To contact Sophie about speaking at your upcoming meeting, conference or event, click here. Sophie can be followed on Twitter here. Sophie can be found on LinkedIn here. .