English Public Speaking

Speaking at events is a great way to enhance your status as an expert and generate PR for your business. However, becoming a great speaker is an art, not a science. The good news is that with some tips and some practice, you can leave a lasting impression that you will want people to remember. 

Here are some easy ways that you can become a better speaker.

1. Do not for a moment think you cannot give a speech

You give speeches every day to your family, friends, and yes, even to strangers. Your daily conversations are nothing more than mini speeches in casual clothes. If you can talk to one person, you can talk to an audience of thousands. Really.

2. Know your audience

Now that you have your talking points nailed, make sure you are presenting the information in a way that the audience will understand. Your information needs to align with what the audience is expecting. Before presenting, get as much information about the audience as possible. The point is, your job is to leave the audience with a better understanding or education, and you can only do that if you know who they are and what they are expecting.

3. Enhance your visuals and audio

I think most speakers know to not read directly from slides (and if you didn’t before, you do now). If you do use slides during your presentation, use them in an unexpected way. Include a short, fun video or use some photos with humor. 

I saw one presenter who, when he was talking about how people want to do business with trusted brands, had a photo of a beat-up old van with “Want some candy?” spray painted on its side to illustrate why you don’t do business with strangers. Another keynote I went to recently had a DJ who changed the music to underscore themes for the story. Or even consider having an illustrator create some great art for key messages. At least evaluate having your presentation slides created professionally. These tactics can take your entire presentation up a level.

4. Keep your remarks brief and to the point

In speech writing, we have a mantra:

·        Tell them what you are going to say;

·        Say it;

·        Tell them what you told them;

·        Say thank you and sit down.

5. Keep your sentences short, your words shorter

This simply means you should not tax your audience by forcing them to follow a long, convoluted sentence, or interpret a fancy, but unnecessarily long word. Apply the KISS principle: Keep It Simple, Short.

5. Get interactive. 

During the presentations, you have the audience repeat key messages back to you or make gestures back of the takeaway points of his speech. This keeps the audience involved, but even more brilliantly, it gives them devices to remember the material. I often will stop in the middle of the speech to ask audience members to throw out examples of ideas that I present as well. 

As you plan your speech, think about where you can involve the audience and what devices you can use to involve them in the presentation so that you are talking with them, not just to them.

Posted by Leila Cynthia Dewi