Of all the things to fear in life, many people fear public speaking. Someone once said, “The mind is a wonderful thing. It starts working the minute you’re born and never stops…. Until you get up to speak in public.
Gulp ! Gulp ! Gulp ! Scary as it sounds, many of us are expected to give speeches and even give a presentation to an audience. It is important for anyone to be able to make an effective presentation whether it’s to a handful of people around a conference table or to an auditorium of a thousand faces.
Being able to speak can mean making a sale, talking top management into approving your plan, or sharing information with your Association. Bottom line, it could determine whether you make the sale or establish your point-of-view. Speaking in front of a group doesn’t have to be a life-threatening experience.
Let’s look at how to approach making a speech step by step. A speech is essentially a combination of information and opinion written on paper and then spoken.
Here are a few tips which I learned from my experience that may help :
First, the audience, who are they? Why are they there? What are they interested in? How much do they already know about your subject? Ask questions until you have these answers and are clear about your listeners. The more you know about them, the more comfortable you will be when in front of them.
Now, your topic. Presumably, you were asked to speak in the first place in the hope that you would be able to share information about a topic you know something about. Still, you’ll want to do your homework. The more you sweat in advance, the less you’ll sweat on stage. Research your topic thoroughly. Go to the library to find current facts, recent articles on the subject and good quotations. Interview other experts to round out your material.
The best speakers make their presentations sound spontaneous and conversational even when they are memorized. The way they do this is to learn the speech in outline form, instead of word for ward. Your outline should contain the Opening, the Message and the Wrap up.
Your opening remarks set the tone of the whole presentation. Audiences make up their minds very quickly. The purpose of your opening is to grab attention. We must assume that our audience is generally as busy and preoccupied as we are. So we first need to get their attention with a question, ;grabber; words, humor or an interesting visual.
Humor is vital. Every speech needs it, and you need it, too, probably at the top. Ronald Reagan always wanted a joke at the beginning of a speech because he needed the quick victory of laughter. It helped him relax. It also helped the audience relax. Its a speaker;s way of saying, ;This won;t be painful: humor is allowed here.; If you’re naturally funny and can think of jokes on your own, great.
The old cliche is that you should always, at the top of a speech, thank the people who invited you and the person who introduced you. The new cliche is that you should never, at the top of a speech, thank the people who invited you and the person who introduced you. The thinking here is that it’s boring and predictable, and you lose the audience. I don’t think it’s ever boring to be polite. And saying thanks at the top has a practical purpose. While you’re doing it, the audience gets a chance to daydream and settle down. They’re going to daydream at some point anyway, and it may as well be before you get to the heart of your remarks.
Say your thanks in the manner, or with the tone, of someone whos been invited to a party, is happy to be there and just walked in the door to shake the host’s hand. Offer a compliment or some warm word. Thats all thats needed.
There are also some old reliable responses to introductions. One that I like is by former US President Lyndon Johnson. He said of one introduction: I wish that both my father and mother could have been here. My father would have enjoyed it, and my mother would have believed it.
Once you have their attention, its time to relate your main message. Organize your main points around only one or two main messages. It is helpful for you to ask yourself;what do I want these people to be thinking or doing as a result of my presentation.
On the day of your speech, arrive early so you can walk around the stage, look out on the room where you;ll be speaking, test the microphone, adjust the lights, and in general, increase your feeling of readiness.
Before its your turn to take the podium, breathe deeply and focus all your attention on your message. We feel nervous and anxious when we think about ourselves. Think about the content of your message and especially on the first two or three sentences of your presentation.
What you say last is likely to be what is remembered longest, so don;t finish with that;s all I have to say;. Instead, end on a note of intensity. Choose a quotation, anecdote or line that leaves the audience laughing or thoughtful. Think of this last sentence as the one that will invoke applause.
Speaking of applause, you may just discover how much you enjoy the sweet sound of applause and encouragement. It can be almost addictive. Speak up !.