When it’s your turn to stand up and speak to an audience, whether it is a room of five or an auditorium of hundreds, you can speak confidently and effectively when you use these eight powerful public speaking tips.

Don’t be discouraged by the fear of public speaking or past presentation challenges. Remember that successful public speaking is a skill-set based on learning and practicing the fundamental techniques of public speaking.

Engaging Opening
The opening to your presentation must grab the attention of your audience and establish rapport. You could reveal an amazing statistic; ask a question; state a quotation from a famous person; create a visual image or tell a story. Don’t start your presentation with “Today I’m going to talk about…’ That’s boring.

Direct Eye Contact
Don’t speak at the audience – instead speak directly to each individual in the audience by making eye contact with each one in the audience. Deliver a few words as you look at one person – then move your glance to another. Too long a glance is intrusive – too short can appear shifty-eyed. Talk with everyone in your audience – one person at a time.

Smile More Often
Smile when you start your presentation. Smile when you have stated an important fact. Smile when you want them to laugh. Smile just after you said your name. Smile when asking for the order. Smile when you close. There are many occasions to smile. Use them. Smiling is contagious.

Laugh
Help your audience laugh. Use exaggeration or surprise. Tell a funny story about something silly you once did. Humor is tragedy or embarrassment removed by time. Don’t tell jokes that put anyone else down. Instead make fun of yourself. Humor must be inclusive not exclusive. Everyone wants to laugh.

Look More Confident
Be prepared – but don’t be so slick that your audience disbelieves you. People accept your errors. It makes you look human and imperfect like they are. Don’t fret about small mistakes – just carry on. And don’t apologize about every mistake – it over-emphasizes the mistakes.

Use Words they Understand
Speak in the language of your listeners. Engineers need how to’s and facts – tolerances, specifications & blueprints. Accountants want numbers – balance sheets, debits & ROI. Sales people are interested in – commissions, customer benefits & price. Find out what the organization calls their people – members, staff, associates, investors or true believers.

Use Your Voice
Play with your voice to keep interest and emphasize key points. Lower your voice to make an important point. Speed up when you are describing a process. Ask rhetorical questions which allow you to inflect your voice. Put feeling in words that naturally lend themselves to emotion, e.g. family, Christmas, grandma, home, first prize, baby, vacation…

Powerful Close
Make your close memorable and effective. Conclude with a call to action; end with a quotation; sum up your key points; repeat your opening line; end with a story. Avoid ending with ‘thank you’. That is a very weak close and not memorable. Finish strong and then say ‘thank you’ after they applaud.

If you want to be a more powerful public speaker study and use these eight public speaking tips. You will feel more confident as a speaker and your audience will be amazed by your presentation.

——

©George Torok is the Public Speaking Pro http://www.Public-Speaking-Pro.biz He helps business leaders deliver million dollar presentations. Register for your free public speaking tips at http://www.Torok.com For public speaking training or executive speech coaching call 905-335-1997

The fear of public speaking is considered to be the most common fear in both the USA and the UK today. Here are my top tips for successfully speaking in front of others:

1. Do not look at yourself as ‘a public speaker’. See yourself as yourself. And you are plenty good enough.

There is no better way to approach any audience than to imagine that you are talking to a good friend, someone who is on your side. After all, we do that all of the time and we don’t feel nervous about it.

Seeing your audience as a mass of opponents or as a panel of judges is not only unfair to everyone in your audience, it’s plainly incorrect.

You audience is there because they want to hear what you have to say. In truth, people really do want you to do well. In fact, most people are already on your side before you even begin to speak.

2. You do NOT need to be a born speaker, a natural orator or a brilliant wit in order to do well.

Your audience is not expecting absolute perfection. In fact, it’s perfectly all right to make mistakes, slip up, or to not cover all of the points you had planned.

In reality, if you didn’t have time to cover all the points you had planned, then you probably had too many points planned, anyway. (See item number 3, below.)

The most essential and important thing in becoming a good public speaker and in delivering a good talk is to give your audience something to take away with them.

This could be a piece of information, a thought or two, an idea for them mull over or a different perspective to ponder.

3. You do NOT need a whole list of points to cover.

A common, but easily made mistake of the inexperienced public speaker is trying to cram in too many different points. Regardless of what you may have begun by believing, when it comes to speaking in front of an audience and holding that audience’s attention, less truly is more.

In fact, the very best public speakers that I have heard have usually restricted themselves to just a couple of main points. That’s really all it takes.

Choose two or three points and talk passionately about these.

By all means include facts, and essential statistics, but go easy on these. Nothing is guaranteed to bore an audience more than have a string of facts and statistics quoted at them.

Few people will actually remember these things, anyway. Yet if you insist on including too many, the thing your audience will remember is that they were simply bored.

Your audience has a need. They need to leave feeling that they have something to take away with them that they didn’t have before they heard you talk. That could be an interesting perspective, or just a feeling.

4. Expect to give NOT to get.

When you are asked to talk to an audience it’s because someone believes you have something to say and wants you to share that something with others.

They do not invite you to talk in order for your ego to be massaged, to become rich and famous or to have your insecurities assuaged and taken care of.

Of course, these things just might arrive, in one degree or another, but that will happen as a by-product of your talk; they are certainly not the reason why your audience is there.

They are there to listen to what you have to say. That’s it.

Make good and sure that you yourself are really interested in your topic and in what you are talking about. This will give you the energy and the passion which can so easily be transmitted to others.

Your audience will love you if you simply and passionately share your interest with it.

If, despite following these tips you are still left struggling with your fear, then it may be because of a past experience or experiences that have ‘programmed’ you to feel anxious when talking in front of others.

If this is the case and you really are determined to let go of this fear, then find an experienced transformational hypnotherapist to work with you and in a brief period of time, he or she will help you to move on and become that really confident speaker that you were born to be.

——

Peter Field is a leading British hypnotherapist, with busy practices in both London and Birmingham, UK. Author of numerous articles on psychotherapy, hypnosis and health, he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Health and a Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. For more of his useful articles, help with fears and phobias and other helpful information, please visit his website: Peter Field Hypnotherapy Hypnotherapists UK

Although the content of your speech is important, the delivery is much more so. The way you vary your voice during a presentation will either get your audience’s attention or put them to sleep.

It is estimated that when a voice-trained person delivers a speech, the audience retains 83 per cent of the information. In contrast, when an untrained person delivers the same speech the audience will only retain 45 per cent of the information.

An interesting voice will have a varied pitch and variations in pace and volume. A speech which is delivered in a monotonous voice is very dull indeed for the audience.

There are various characteristics that alter a person’s speech, such as clarity, volume, pitch, tone and speed of delivery. Let’s look at those characteristics now.

1. CLARITY.

It is essential that you speak clearly, otherwise your audience will become bored and you will not get your message across. If you are very nervous your mouth can become tense and it becomes more difficult to speak with clarity. It is worth trying to control your nerves as much as possible and to make a conscious effort to pronounce your words very clearly.

If you find that nerves are making you gabble or mumble, then take a deep breath and pause for a second before continuing. Try to avoid filling pauses with ‘uh’, ‘um’, ‘you know’ and so on, as these can be distracting for the audience.

2. VOLUME.

Make sure you speak loudly enough – you must be heard at the back of the room! You can increase the volume of your voice by increasing the pressure of air coming out of your lungs. Speak from the chest, not the throat.

Don’t be afraid to vary the volume of your voice during your speech. Talk more loudly and slightly more quickly during the more exciting parts. Drop your voice and slow down during the important points. This will increase the atmospheric tension in the room and force the audience to concentrate hard to hear you.

3. PITCH (the highness or lowness of a sound).

Generally people feel more comfortable listening to a deep, smooth voice. It is crucial to sound natural and relaxed. Speak as low as you comfortably can while still sounding natural. Try to vary your pitch depending on the content of your speech, this will keep your audience interested. When practising your speech you should try reading out loud and singing to explore the potential of your voice.

It is also a good idea to watch or listen to news programmes and be aware of the pitch of the presenter’s voice. Notice how they change their pitch depending on the content of the story.

4. TONE.

Your body cavities, such as your mouth and chest, will impact the tone of your voice. If you restrict these cavities your voice will sound restricted and quite nasal. To avoid restricting your body cavities you must ensure that your posture is correct. Sitting down in a slumped position, slouching or standing while hunched over will affect the tone of your voice and your overall delivery. Stand tall and straight, holding your head up and your shoulders back.

It is a good idea to record yourself talking or reading aloud. Listen to your voice, the pitch, tone, clarity and fluency of your voice. Then practice your public speaking using the tips given above!

——

Anyone can deliver a fantastic speech with the right training and preparation. Check out more tips on public speaking at http://www.tipsonpublicspeaking.com and learn how to deliver your presentation with total confidence and WOW your audience every time!

Many people associate a panic attack and public speaking. They usually have had an anxiety-producing public speaking experience. They may test that past memory of public speaking again, but often the same anxiety reaction results. People who have to speak publicly on a frequent basis and suffer from panic attacks are always searching for a panic attack remedy.

Amber’s Story

Amber had many risk factors for panic attacks when she entered high school. Her mother had a history of anxiety as well as her older brother. Amber was successfully able to avoid a speech class until her final semester of school. In order to graduate, she was going to have to take speech.

Although she had never received a diagnosis of panic attacks or an anxiety disorder, Amber had always dreaded taking a public speaking class. Just the idea of standing up in front of a class of her peers caused Amber to feel dizzy and nauseous.

When Amber walked into her first day of class, the teacher could see how nervous she was. He came up to Amber after class and discussed her obvious discomfort with this public speaking class. Amber discussed her physical reaction to having to speak in front of her peers. She explained to her teacher how she was:

* Extremely Anxious

* Dizzy

* Nauseous

* Short of Breath

Amber’s teacher recommended that she visit with the school counselor before their next class meeting. Amber was embarrassed by her reaction and was even more anxious about having to meet with the school counselor, but she knew that she was not going to be able to graduate if she could not figure out some way to get through this class.

The school counselor was very familiar with the signs of a panic attack and especially with students feeling uncomfortable about speaking in front of their friends. To help Amber get through her next day of speech class the counselor recommended that Amber stand up in front of her family every time she wanted to talk that evening.

So Amber told her family what she was trying to do to help get over her fear of public speaking. At dinner, Amber stood up every time she asked to have an item passed to her. Before bed, Amber stood in front of her parents and brothers and did a pretend speech.

Although speaking in front of her family was a lot different than speaking in front of her peers, it did help her get through the next day of class without having a full blown panic attack. Amber was extremely uncomfortable during her speech class but was able to focus and get through the class.

As the semester continued on, Amber asked some of her friends to come to her house the night before she had a big speech due. She would then practice her speech on her close friends and family until she was able to get through it without an extreme amount of anxiety.

The technique Amber used to overcome her panic attacks is called systematic desensitization and is one of the most widely used remedies for people suffering from panic attacks.
Author Chris Williams is the manager of the free Nigerian newspapers website online which offers a quick and easy access to all reputable online Nigerian newspapers plus facts about Nigeria online.

Want to land lot of paid public speaking engagements?

Of course, you would. Getting paid for speaking in public is easy. You just need to employ the right marketing tactics and deliver powerful speeches. If you are looking to get paid for your speeches you must have confidence in your speaking abilities.

If that is the case, it is time to stop thinking like a speaker and start thinking like a master marketer. Marketing is the key to get booked and get paid. All the expertise in the world will get you nowhere if you cannot promote your self properly.

Here are 3 steps to help you get paid in your public speaking career. These are sure fire methods to boost your financial earnings.

1. Find a marketable topic for willing buyers

Speech topics are the bread and butter of public speakers. Basically, you are booked based on what you can present. As a speaker you are providing information on certain topics. The topics you choose must be marketed towards the buyers you are trying to book with.

In essence, your topics must match the needs of your target audience. If you elect to speak to the youth market, you must have topics that fit that niche. You may package your materials in a way the buyers can easily recognize. This may include motivation, self-development, anti-drug lectures, and many more.

Incidentally, you must recognize who the buyers are. They are the ones that should be initially impressed because they are the ones that will be booking you to speak. The audience can be secondary but should be considered nevertheless.

Appear exclusive to the niche. Buyers will always prefer specialists on the field over general speakers. If you are perceived to be an expert on youth, you will definitely get speaking engagements for the youth audience.

2. Get out there and network with the right people

Remember ABC. Always Be Collecting! Networking will help you collect potential clients and that will help you with expanding your database.

Connecting with the right individuals will make the public aware of your expertise and availability. You can also get a lot of referrals. You can even get booked through word-of-mouth.

Be courteous and charming. Speaking skills are not only appropriate on stage they can be effective for marketing off the stage as well. Exude enthusiasm and confidence. Sure enough, you will start to get calls from interested buyers that you cannot remember marketing to. The power of networking is immense. Always bear that in mind.

3. Create products or materials that will not only enhance your credibility but can also become an additional stream of income

A speaker with relevant books or other type of resources will always be perceived as an accomplished expert on a particular field. The product can also be put to sale and at the same time become marketing materials. Supplementary products can also be used as an incentive for your offers just to make your proposals more persuasive.

Products can be sold online or after your speech to make you more publicly visible as professional speaker.


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Authors and film writers know they have a limited time to grab
the reader’s or audience’s attention in these ‘want it now’
times. If they don’t ‘open with a bang’ the browser will replace
the book on the shelf, and the cinema goer will either chat or
let their mind wander through the opening sequence and they’ll
never catch up with the plot – even if they want to.

You need to grab the attention of your audience right from the
start because it will be virtually impossible to attract their
attention at any other stage. Also the sight of people
fidgeting, or even chatting idly to others will distract the
attention of those audience members who do want to listen to you.

Here are some tried and tested ways to capture the attention of
your audience from the start. Be aware of the importance of
matching your opening to the subject, and tone of your speech
and the nature of your audience.

ACTIONS, DO SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.

Soft, understated actions can have really powerful effects simply
because they are so unexpected. Contrast that with banging or
using loud noises to attract attention, because that can be very
counter productive. People don’t like being cajoled into taking
actions or the feeling they get from being ordered into paying
attention.

In short: he who has to make a lot of noise to attract attention
has probably lost from the start.

If the noise is in context such as bells, whistles, or sirens for
emergency services or natural disaster, etc then by all means do
use them.

QUOTABLE QUOTES.

There is an air of authority to well known quotes, and phrases
that we accept the truth and wisdom of what is being said. You
can borrow the power, authority, and dignity from great people
for a moment with a well chosen quote.

Don’t attempt to hijack the rest of their speech, or works, but
move smoothly into your own speech and you will take the audience
along with you while you continue to offer justified auguments
and reasoning.

ONE LINERS AND JOKES.

A simple piece of advice here. If you can carry it off – great.
If you can’t remember jokes either don’t tell them or develop a
Tommy Cooper type act!

Some people use reverse psychology and deliver unfunny jokes
just to get people on their side. Very powerful – IF you can
carry it off.

STORIES.

People of all ages love stories and they can really make events
and people come alive. Your characters can be imaginary, but make
them believable and your audience will engage with and care about
them. Get people to engage with human characters rather than just
abstract events, or facts and figures and you could well hold
them captivated throughout your speech.

Take a little time to prepare the correct type of opening to suit
both your own character, and the theme of your talk and you will
feel more confident delivering your opening. This confidence will
feed itself to the audience and nothing can hold you back once
you have made a great start.

Tony Vieira suffered a dreadful fear of public speaking for many years so he knows exactly how you feel. Find out how to conquer your public speaking fears. vpubl.com/speaking

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Many clubs and organisations rotate the important role of introducing other speakers at their meetings. If you are relatively inexperienced at public speaking this is a great opportunity to practice and build your confidence.

When introducing other speakers you are aiming to create a favourable environment for them to present. If the right words are chosen you can put the audience into a receptive mood to listen. On the other hand a poor choice can leave the audience bored and restless.

Introductions are as different as the individuals involved. In presenting public speakers, each requires a separate approach, in the same way each hole in golf course is played a little differently from the other seventeen holes. Whether you get a high platform rating or a low golf score depends on the approach you chose.

The following tips will help you choose your approach to boost your platform score:

Plan Your Introductions

Introductions deserve more than impromptu fumbling. Learn about the speaker you are about to introduce. If you don’t know the speaker, discover as much as you can about the speaker by getting to know them. Try to answer the following questions;

What is their area of expertise?

What subject are they speaking on?

What do others say about them?

What business line are they in?

Plan carefully how you are going to introduce them to their audience and you will put them and their audience in “sync” with each other.

Length of Your Introduction

Be brief like good literature ‘talk long enough to cover the details but be short enough to leave the audience wanting more. Your job is to build up the speaker not to give the speech or to make yourself the centre of attention. A custom to keep in mind is that the more well known the speaker the shorter the introduction needs to be.

Keep It Simple and Sincere

Do not over complicate your introductory speech. By keeping it simple you will not confuse the audience. Mean what you say about the speaker; do not exaggerate the speaker’s experience or ability. You have the opportunity to spur on the modest speaker with a few well chosen words.

Structure of the Introduction A useful outline to use to structure your introduction is

- Opening remarks – start with an upbeat remark

- Biographical details about the speaker – who the speaker is?

- Topic of his speech – be brief – do not give the speech for him

- Thank the speaker and clearly pronounce his name

The introduction of guest speakers is a very important role. It can boost or detract from the audience’s enjoyment of the speech. It is a great way to build your experience and confidence for your own public speaking. And if you enjoy the role introducing of speakers you could consider the more involved master of ceremonies role for further public speaking experience.

——

Edward Hope is the editor and publisher of the recently published e-book “The Art of Great Conversation“. Claim your free preview at http://www.SelfConfidentSpeaking.com

Whether you have weeks or days to your next speech its important to train effectively if you wish to reach your audience.

You already have your speech written but you know there are still some tweaking and editing to do. Plus, you are not yet sure about your approach. You recognize that you still have to practice further. You want to deliver a good public speaking performance and you need to train more but don’t know what else to do.

It is easy for many to say that you just have to practice. But there is more to it than just practice. In terms of public speaking, the question we should be asking is how we should practice. What are effective training methods we should utilize to improve our public speaking skills?

Practice speaking slowly

Nervousness is just normal. But our nerves screw with our speech patterns. When we are anxious, we tend to talk very fast which results to incomprehensible speaking.

A great way to avoid this is to start in a very slow pace. As the speech goes on, we tend to pick up speed but since we started in a slow tempo, we avoid reaching the tipping point where our words become gibberish.

The best way to train our speech cadence is to record our rehearsals and listen to ourselves afterward. Detect which words are garbled and correct them. It is also recommended that you should determine which statements need emphasis and drama.

Practice in front of the mirror.

This is a very common training advice. To tell you the truth, it is not that effective. You tend to get distracted with your reflection. You won’t concentrate on your speech anymore; you’ll just get engrossed in trying to find your faults that are actually caused by the distraction in the first place. A senseless loop.

The better way is to video record your self, which is very easy to do with technology nowadays. Observe your posture and gestures. Also take note of the little things like the timing of your smiles and frowns. Also, watch out for any distracting mannerisms.

Rehearse with real people

Let your family and friends join in the fun. Arrange seats for them. Consider them as your audience. Let them critic you afterward but don’t get too disheartened if they are too hard on you. After all, they are not your intended audience. Value their opinions anyway even they can be a bit biased.

The point of this method is for you to practice your eye contact and the way you connect with the listeners.

Integrate

Combine all three. Have a rehearsal with your family and friends while recording it in very clear video and audio resolution.


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The other day I heard a speaker who was very dynamic in his delivery except in one respect. He paused too often and for too long. Without a doubt, pausing is one of the most important characteristics of good public speaking: pausing that is excessive or predictable is not.

The beauty of the pause is that it allows you, the speaker:

• to take a quick breath thereby supplementing your air supply;
• to be more expressive in your delivery;
• to briefly think (and I mean brief);
• to move in a new direction.

There are some, however, who actually abuse this aspect of their delivery by pausing too often or far too long. If your audience can begin to predict your pauses or is tempted to start timing them, then you need to make a change.

What was happening with the speaker I heard recently, was that he was pausing to see his audience’s reaction to him – almost begging for a smile or a laugh or applause. Speakers who are ‘asking’ for a response like that are too self-absorbed. If fact, I can take that a step further. Because his entire presentation was memorized, he knew from experience which of his statements produced reactions; therefore, he was determined to make his audience respond to him with his scripted pauses.

In teaching public speaking, I advise my students and my clients not to mark their scripts with smiley faces, places to breathe, or any other symbol. If you approach your speech or presentation with these types of directions, then you are acting. Your objective in public speaking is not to act; your goal is to speak publicly.

The pause in public speaking is exactly like the pause in normal conversation. And, similar to normal discourse in which you pause while speaking, if you can learn to treat your audience just as if you were have a conversation in your living room, you will then find yourself pausing naturally.

If you are breaking after every 4 or 5 words, then your speech is choppy and becomes sing-song which is tedious for your listeners. This is where recording yourself in practice can be so valuable. A good exercise to eliminate choppy speech is to read an audio book along with the professional reader so that you can familiarize yourself with speaking in longer phrases before pausing – just like the professional.

If, on the other hand, you pause for audience appreciation, then your presentation is an affectation. Don’t wait for your audience’s response – allow it to happen naturally.

The pause is normal; the pause is natural; the pause is a necessity in public speaking. Use it but don’t abuse it!

The Voice Lady Nancy Daniels offer private, group and corporate training in voice and presentation skills as well as Voicing It!, the only video training program on voice improvement. Visit her website at Voice Dynamic and watch as Nancy describes the best means of controlling nervousness in any form of public speaking.

The act of taking ownership has been propounded in almost every conceivable area of life. It applies also to the art of public speaking. How does a sense of ownership help you get over your stage fright? How can this help you become a more effective speaker? Taking ownership is a powerful weapon in your arsenal, allowing you to increase your effectiveness, while banishing your negative thoughts and enhancing your public speaking skills. There are few better ways to help you become a better public speaker, whether you will be speaking only once, or decide to make a career of it.

The Principle of Ownership – How do you take ownership of public speaking?

Can such an ephemeral act actually produce results? While the concept of ownership is well understood as it applies to physical things, it can be a bit difficult to understand as it relates to an act. How does ownership affect public speaking?

Understanding the concept of ownership in this context is vitally important. In a sense, this is “positive thinking,” with an edge. Positive thinking is passive – almost wishful thinking, in a sense. Taking ownership of the situation is dynamic, it puts you in control. While it incorporates quite a few of the principles of positive thinking, taking ownership puts you in the driver’s seat and helps you to banish your negative thoughts.

So, how does this apply to public speaking? Can you really “own” the experience of speaking before an audience? Yes, you can own that experience, you can make it your own. Doing so will also improve your public speaking skills. You can take control of that situation and take ownership, which will ramp up your effectiveness to a considerable degree.

Taking ownership of the situation begins with your material. Obviously, you’ll need a topic on which to speak. As you were chosen as the speaker, it was probably for a reason. Your expertise and knowledge of said topic are the best available. Use this to your advantage; use it to help you take ownership of it. Think of it as “your” engagement, “your” speech and “your” topic. This brings the spectacle of public speaking down to a much more personal level and improves your public speaking skills in and of itself.

When you own your topic, you control the flow, the salient points you will make. Use this to your advantage, make each point vital and filled with importance. You can also use this to make your speaking style and body language different. For instance, when you own something, you are rarely timid about asserting yourself where that subject is concerned.

The same principle applies with public speaking. If you own the experience, you are vested in it. This brings a much more personal tone to the entire engagement. When you are vested in something, you are committed to its success, whether you experience fear and doubt or not. Taking ownership of your topic will make your speech more dynamic, more interesting and more engaging to your audience.

In addition, ownership can be applied to the feelings of fear you feel at the prospect of speaking before a crowd. Regardless of the size of the group you are addressing, the principle of ownership will help override the feelings of self-doubt assailing you. If you are sufficiently vested in the engagement, there is little room for that fear to trickle through. Of course, you’ll still experience some fear and doubt – it’s only natural. However, you will not be overcome with anxiety over the coming engagement. Rather, you will feel empowered, proud and ready to tackle the subject, to let the world see what you can do and let your audience hear what you have to say.

David Wilkins has put together a complementary 20 page report full of simple and effective ways to reduce your fear of public speaking, which will help you quickly deal with and solve any anxiety issues. To download it instantly visit: http://www.publicspeakingmentor.com/banishfearreport.html

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