Saturday, May 21, 2016

Public Speaking - You CAN do




Effective Public Speaking is an art, which could be mastered through thorough preparation and practice only. And those who master the art turns into a leader (not definitely political, but in their own fields). Since conveying your message effectively is the first step in creating your followers. Not only politicians, but people from various fields, including spiritual leaders, also use it to gain more followers.

There are many, who want to speak in public. However, they fail due to various reasons, some known and some unknown. They keep on attempting, but in vain. Some dream of addressing the public, some think of going to the podium and start speaking, and a few reach up to the stage and stammer there, resulting in a failed show. Still, they will have the eager want burning inside their heart. Here are a few tips, which I feel would help you in overcoming the anxiety, tension and low self confidence; main reasons for  the failure.

The first step in becoming a good public speaker is forget what you are.  

Yes, that’s the first step towards preparing yourself to address public. You may be weak in studies, bad at sports, worse at imagination. 



Nobody bothers about it. 

They are there to listen to you, waiting for your opinion, your thought, your view about a particular thing. I agree that it is not easy to master the art of public speaking. It requires days (and months) of preparation and practice. Nobody has ever turned a successful public speaker in an eyes blink. It was always a result of meticulous planning and preparation.

I can give you a few tips, which can help you in developing into a public speaker:

(1)  Read, read and read. Read a lot. Read whatever comes your way. Read everything, but absorb only the thing you feel right. Read across genres, fiction and non-fiction, journals and newspapers. Concentrate on wide-reading, not in in-depth reading, unless you are trying to specialize in particular field.

(2)  Observe, everything around. It is not that you will stare at people and things much to their inconvenience. No, don’t do that. BTW, your observation skill will improve by itself through reading, without you realizing that.

(3)  Learn looking into eyes of the people during conversation. Because it shows your confidence. Don’t keep on checking your grammar and other things inwardly. Nobody cares whether your grammar is correct or not. They are interested in the information/idea/knowledge you have got. And that makes my next point…preparation.

(4)  Prepare as much as possible for the talk you are about to give. None can have 100% knowledge about anything, but we can, at least, try for that. Don’t mix-up the things, arrange the things you have prepared in an orderly manner.

(5)  Don’t vomit everything you prepared at once. Audience also require time to think, to understand the things you say. So, pause in between, let silence speak to them, let the idea sink in. You need to understand where to raise your voice, where to lower, where to stop, where to pause. Learn voice modulation. 


  *If you don’t know anything about it, listen to Julian Treasure's    TED Talk here.

(6)  Practice the speech with modulation, as much as you can, in front of a mirror. Practice also will improve your confidence level.

(7)  Believe that the audience have come to listen only you (you don’t have to think about the other speakers on the list). Just simply say to yourself that the audience is YOURS.

Get back to me, if you are unable to became a successful public speaker even after following the above-mentioned steps :) 

(authorshines@gmail.com)

1 comment:

tike mik said...

This helps in creating an organizational structure and further defining the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder. When each individual knows what is expected of him or her, they are more likely to perform better in their role. go here

What are the Benefits of Hiring a PR Agency?

Media recognition, brand identity, public awareness and establishment of credibility are the essential aspects for a business firm t...