Talking in public can be extremely stressful and it is easy to get distracted by emotional or physical reactions. Feeling some nervousness before giving a speech is natural and even beneficial, but too much nervousness can be detrimental. By reading the techniques and public speaking tips below, you will be able to deal with any situation or difficulties you might face during speech presentation.
1. Dress and appear accordingly (Be into what you are presenting)
When you are presenting in front of an audience, you are performing as an actor is on stage. How you are being perceived is very important. Dress appropriately for the occasion. Be solemn if your topic is serious, present the desired image to your audience, and look pleasant, enthusiastic, confident, proud, but not arrogant. Remain calm. Appear relaxed, even if you feel nervous.
2. Maintain Pathos
Speak slowly, enunciate clearly, and show appropriate emotion and feeling relating to your topic. Establish rapport with your audience. Speak to the person farthest away from you to ensure your voice is loud enough to project to the back of the room. Vary the tone of your voice and dramatize if necessary. If a microphone is available, adjust and adapt your voice accordingly.
3. Know the need of your audience
Know the needs of your audience and match your contents to their needs. Know your material thoroughly. Put what you have to say in a logical sequence and make sure that you know what you are presenting, this is succeeded only through doing rehearsals some days before the presentation. Ensure your speech will be captivating to your audience as well as worth their time and attention.
4. Do Rehearsal some days before presentation
Practice and rehearse your speech at home or where you can be at ease and comfortable, in front of a mirror, your family, friends or colleagues. Use a tape-recorder and listen to yourself. Videotape your presentation and analyze it. Know what your strong and weak points are. Emphasize your strong points during your presentation.
5. Remember to Use non-verbal cues
Body language is important, standing, walking or moving about with appropriate hand gesture or facial expression is preferred to sitting down or standing still with head down and reading from a prepared speech. Use audio-visual aids or props for enhancement if appropriate and necessary.
6. Do not read much from notes for any extended length of time although it is quite acceptable to glance at your notes infrequently. Speak loudly and clearly. Sound confident. Do not mumble.
7. Never Say “SORRY” in between the speech
If you made an error, correct it, and continue. No need to make excuses or apologize profusely. Doing so can make you feel inferior and the audience consider you as you are not sure of what you are presenting.
8. Maintain sincere eye contact with your audience.
Use the 3-second method, e.g. look straight into the eyes of a person in the audience for 3 seconds at a time. Have direct eye contact with a number of people in the audience, and every now and then glance at the whole audience while speaking. Use your eye contact to make everyone in your audience feel involved by forming a ‘Z’ like structure ie keep watch a person from the back left angle of the room then go to the one at the right angle then come to the one at the middle of the room, come to the frontiers start with the left side to the right side each one for three seconds. This maintains carefulness and attentiveness to your speech.
9. Pause.
Allow yourself and your audience a little time to reflect and think. Don't race through your presentation and leave your audience, as well as yourself, feeling out of breath. Breath to make your body and mind relaxed. This is done when the audience is either laughing to something interesting or when clapping hands to you.
10. Add humor and quotations whenever appropriate and possible.
Keep audience interested throughout your entire presentation. Sometimes a good quote is a good way to give others an idea of what to expect and add value to your speech. Start by example, Mwl Julius Nyerere once said “Ikulu ni mahali patakatifu, sio sehemu ya pango la walanguzi "
You can add as many quotes as you want in your speech but you have to choose those that fit the part of your speech and especially not to abuse it.
A quote by someone famous and respected can support your point of view and make it easily credible.
A humorous quote is always appreciated by the public if used wisely and that can relax the atmosphere. Remember that an interesting speech makes time fly, but a boring speech is always too long to endure even if the presentation time is the same.
11. Have Emergency backup system
When using audio-visual aids to enhance your presentation, be sure all necessary equipment is set up and in good working order prior to the presentation. If possible, have an emergency backup system readily available. Check out the location ahead of time to ensure seating arrangements for audience, whiteboard, blackboard, lighting, location of projection screen, sound system, etc. are suitable for your presentation.
12. Have handouts ready and give them out at the appropriate time.
Tell audience ahead of time that you will be giving out an outline of your presentation so that they will not waste time taking unnecessary notes during your presentation.
13. Always be prepared for the unexpected.
Speak to your audience, listen to their questions, respond to their reactions, adjust and adapt. If what you have prepared is obviously not getting across to your audience, change your strategy mid-stream if you are well prepared to do so. Remember that communication is the key to a successful presentation. If you are short of time, know what can be safely left out. If you have extra time, know what could be effectively added.
14. Speak with confidence as if you really believe in what you are saying.
Persuade your audiences effectively while your chest, chin and the throat is strait forward.
The material you present orally should have the same ingredients as that which are required for a written research paper, i.e. a logical progression from INTRODUCTION (Thesis statement) to BODY (strong supporting arguments, accurate and up-to-date information) to CONCLUSION (re-state thesis, summary, and logical conclusion).
15. Conclude the speech before the audience concludes.
Use a timer or the microwave oven clock to time your presentation when preparing it at home. Just as you don't use unnecessary words in your written paper, you don't bore your audience with repetitious or unnecessary words in your oral presentation. A good presentation takes only fifteen minutes. At the very first fifteen minutes is where the audience is active and attention to understand the speech. The other additional minutes the audience shall be tired so they will be just waiting on when will you finish the speech and not concentrating to the content of you speech.
Make sure that your message is within the very first fifteen minutes of the speech. Terminate your presentation with an interesting remark or an appropriate punch line. Leave your listeners with a positive impression and a sense of completion. Do not belabor your closing remarks. Thank your audience and sit down.
Here are some summarized tips on how to control your butterflies and give better presentations
- Know your material. Pick a topic you are interested in. Know more
about it than you include in your speech. Use humor, personal stories and conversational language – that way you won’t easily forget what to say. - Practice. Practice. Practice! Rehearse out loud with all equipment you plan on using. Revise as necessary. Work to control filler words; Practice, pause and breathe. Practice with a timer and allow time for the unexpected.
- Know the audience. Greet some of the audience members as they arrive. It’s easier to speak to a group of friends than to strangers.
- Know the room. Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and practice using the microphone and any visual aids.
- Relax. Begin by addressing the audience. It buys you time and calms your nerves. Pause, smile and count to three before saying anything. ("One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand. Pause. Begin.) Transform nervous energy into enthusiasm.
- Visualize yourself giving your speech. Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear and confident. Visualize the audience clapping – it will boost your confidence.
- Realize that people want you to succeed. Audiences want you to be interesting, stimulating, informative and entertaining. They’re rooting for you.
- Don’t apologize for any nervousness or problem – the audience probably never noticed it.
- Concentrate on the message – not the medium. Focus your attention away from your own anxieties and concentrate on your message and your audience.
10.Gain experience. Mainly, your speech should represent you — as an authority and as a person. Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking. A Toastmasters club can provide the experience you need in a safe and friendly environment
