20 tips to improve the quality of public speaking

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

It takes years of practice to instantly captivate an audience, but nothing prevents you from gradually mastering the art of public speaking. Here's what to include in your speech and what to avoid.

1. Always give clear guidelines for action

No matter how inspiring your presentation is, any audience will prefer to learn something immediately so that they can immediately apply the new knowledge in their lives.

Inspiration is great, but the application of your material matters much more. So don't be afraid to say, "Think about the material today, and tomorrow do this and that."

2. Don't delay answering audience questions

If a question comes up in the middle of your presentation, that's great: it means that someone is listening to you. Use this opportunity. If you answered the question asked in the previous slide, go back.

The best presentation feels like a discussion, so never miss out on opportunities to interact with your audience.

3. Ask questions you don't know the answer to

When you ask questions to get people involved in the discussion, it can feel like coercion. Instead, ask a question that your audience doesn't know the answer to, and then tell them they don't know the answer either.

The fact that you do not know, but want to know the answer, not only makes you more simple and human in the eyes of the public, but also makes people listen more closely to what you have to say.

4. Fuel Your Mental Engine

The amino acid tyrosine, found in protein, improves cognition during times of stress and improves mood. So include protein-rich foods in your diet before performing.

And eat in advance. When you're nervous, food is the last thing you think of.

5. Burn some cortisol

When you're worried, your adrenal glands produce cortisol. This hormone limits your creativity and ability to work with complex information.

When you are attacked by cortisol, it is nearly impossible to read or react to what is happening to the audience.

An easy way to lower your cortisol levels is through exercise. Work out outside before heading to work, take a walk at lunchtime, or head to the gym just before your performance.

6. Create two backup plans

Typically, the biggest source of concern is the “What if?..” question. What if your presentation fails, someone interrupts you constantly, or no one likes your ideas?

Take your two biggest fears and create a contingency plan. What will you do if the projector breaks down? What do you do if the meeting is too long and you only have a couple of minutes left to speak?

Even if your fears don't materialize, a contingency plan will help you perform better. The better you think through all aspects of your presentation, the faster you will orient yourself if something unexpected really happens.

7. Replace superstition with good habits

Superstitions are designed to gain a sense of control over your fears. Happy socks will not help you run better in competition. By putting on a "happy" thing, you are trying to magically influence future events over which you have no control and which inspire fear.

Instead of breeding superstition, engage in activities that will help you calm down. Walk around the room you will be performing in and find the best vantage points. Check your microphone. Run through your presentation to make sure once again that you are ready to speak.

Pick a few really useful activities and get in the habit of doing them before each presentation. Taking familiar actions can help you build self-confidence.

8. Set an alternate target

Let's imagine that you are speaking to people as part of a charity program and you realize that your performance is not successful. In such a situation, people, as a rule, either start to try too hard to enjoy the performance, or they just give up.

If your goal was to connect with the audience and you understand that it was not possible to do this, try changing the goal. If you haven't reached your original goal, think about what else you can get out of speaking.

A backup goal will help you stay positive and focused until the end of your performance.

9. Share an emotional story

Many speakers tell stories from life, but this does not always bring obvious benefits. If the story of your mistake is told only to show how far the narrator has come, it will not resonate with the audience.

Another thing is to tell a story that will make you show emotion. If you were sad, show it. If you shouted, tell the story in a raised voice. If you feel remorse, let it work its way out.

When you show genuine emotion, there is immediate and lasting contact with the audience. Emotions make your performance poignant, impressive and memorable.

10. Pause for 10 seconds

Stop for 2 seconds and the audience will think you've lost your mind. Take a break for 5 seconds and the audience will think that you stopped deliberately. After a 10 second pause, even those who corresponded during your speech will look up to see what is going on.

When you start speaking again, everyone will be confident that your pause was intentional and that you are a confident and advanced speaker.

The insecure narrator is afraid of emptiness, and only the experienced speaker feels good during the silence. Take one long pause to collect your thoughts and the audience will automatically score points for you.

11. Share an amazing fact

Nobody's going to say, "That guy's Gantt chart just impressed me incredibly at the presentation yesterday." Rather, you will hear: "Yesterday I learned that when we blush, the stomach also blushes."

Find a surprising fact or unusual analogy on the topic of your talk and share it with your audience. People love to be surprised. They will remember your performance and tell their friends and acquaintances about it.

12. Strive to help your audience

Most speakers consider the goal of their speech to be immediate benefits: for example, promoting a website or service, expanding the circle of customers.

Thinking about performing this way increases the pressure of an already stressful situation. Instead, strive to ensure that your speech is useful to your audience.

When you help people grow professionally or try to improve their lives in some way, you already benefit from loyal listeners, fame and new clients.

13. Don't make excuses

Now let's take a look at a few things that shouldn't be done.

Because of the feeling of insecurity, many speakers start their talk like this: "I had little time to prepare" or "I'm not very good at this."

It won't make people feel better about your performance. Instead, your listeners will think, "If you don't know anything, why are you wasting my time?" Review your speech for excuses and cross them out.

14. Finish your preparations before speaking

When you stand in front of an audience, the time for preparation has already passed. Do not check the microphone, light, slide control - do it in advance. If specialists are responsible for the technical side of your speech, ask them in advance what to do if something goes wrong.

If something breaks during your presentation, try to look confident while you solve the problem (or while the technicians are fixing the equipment). When something goes wrong, the most important thing is how you react to it.

15. Don't overload your slides

There is a simple rule of thumb: the font size should be twice the age of your audience. This means that the font size will be between 60 and 80 points. If you can't fit all the words on a slide, you'll have to shorten the message.

16. Never read slides

Your audience should be looking over the slides. If they have to read, you will lose their attention. Plus, you'll miss out on the audience if you read the slides yourself as you speak.

Slides should emphasize your words, underline some points of your speech, but not be these points.

17. Get attention

Instead of asking people to turn off their mobile devices (no one will), try to get their attention completely so that they don't even have to check their email during your talk.

Make your presentation so interesting and inspiring that people will involuntarily listen to it from start to finish. The audience does not have to listen to you, you have to make them listen.

18. Always repeat audience questions

Every speaker has a microphone, but is rarely available to people in the audience. Therefore, if you have been asked a question, be sure to repeat it to your audience before you start answering.

First, it will help all listeners understand what your answer is about. Second, it will give you a few seconds to find the best answer.

19. Repeat Key Points

Consider the structure of your presentation so that you can repeat the key points of your speech occasionally. Explain the point first, then give examples of how you can apply this information in your life, and end with specific actions in accordance with the story.

Since no one can remember absolutely everything that you said, the more you repeat key points, the more chances that they will be deposited in the memory of your listeners and will be used in life.

20. Be brief

If you have 30 minutes to speak, use 25. If you have an hour, speak for 50 minutes. Always respect your audience's time and end early.

Trying to shorten your speech at the stage of preparation, you will hone your speech and remove everything unnecessary from it.

Finish early and spend the rest of your time answering questions from the audience. If time is running out, invite the audience to meet after the presentation to discuss any unclear points.

Never prolong the performance. This can ruin a positive impression and leave an unpleasant aftertaste for the audience.