Public speaking is an art form that needs to be mastered. There are certain traits that all of the best public speakers share, which is what makes them so good at addressing rooms full of people and captivating an audience. In this blog, we’ll share five tips that will help you become a better public speaker:
Confidence is Key
When you’re talking to a room full of hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people, it will be daunting. It’s natural to feel nervous about your performance, but the secret is to find your inner confidence. Recognize that pretty much everyone in that room would be just as nervous as you if they got up to speak. The moment you embrace the fact that your nerves are normal, it makes you feel more confident. Now, you can deliver a speech that’s clear and concise!
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It’s All About Efficiency
Efficiency is critical when it comes to public speaking. The great speakers will deliver talks that only last a handful of minutes. Ask yourself, what would you rather sit through; one hour of pure waffle or fifteen minutes where you get all of the same key points thrown at you? Audiences lose interest the longer a talk goes on, so be more efficient. Cut down your presentation, so you only focus on points that people want to hear.
Rehearsals are Essential
You can’t go on stage and expect to give a great talk without a proper rehearsal. All of the top public speakers will spend time going over their speech and rehearsing it on the stage the day before, or in their hotel room at night. This gives you an accurate idea of how long the speech lasts, if you make all the right points, and helps with pacing.
Use Visual Aids
One of the best ways to captivate an audience is by using visual aids to help you out. This helps supplement your endless talking, and it gives people something to look at and take in. Make sure your words complement the visuals, so they work in tandem with one another to get your points across. For example, if you’re talking about facts and figures, displaying a graph is a great way to help people visualise what you’re saying.
Always Hold Something Back
Lastly, the secret to being the best public speaker is to keep some information back. This way, you engage the audience with helpful advice or tips, but you leave them wanting more. As an example, you could give them advice on your to improve productivity in their business, but to truly achieve maximum profitability, they need to contact you after and sign up for your services. This helps you use a public speaking role to generate leads. If you give them everything in the talk, then they can just go away and won’t need more of your assistance.
If you want to get better at public speaking, then you need to be confident. You have to plan an effective presentation with visual aids that provides lots of valuable information but holds back on a few key points. At STL Training, we actually have a public speaking workshop that can help you with all of this and make you a better public speaker – check out our public speaking class London.
Also check out our infographic with techniques for increasing confidence when speaking:
