Getting Comfortable with Speaking in Public
Learn who your audience is. A lot of stress caused by the fear of speaking in public, whether for a presentation or at a social gathering can be derived from not knowing who you’re speaking to. You wonder if you’re saying the right thing. If your point is getting across. If you sound intelligent enough. Before engaging in any form of public speaking, learn about your audience. If you are giving a presentation you should be able to do this easily. Think about why you are speaking and where you are speaking. Then go through a checklist. Try to be able to answer as to the size of the audience, age, gender, education (experience and socioeconomic level), religion, friendliness, and if the audience knows about you. You can remember this as an acronym, SAGE RFK. Being able to fill in those blanks will help you form a speech that you will feel comfortable giving. The type of audience will affect how you speak. If you have the chance, interview 3-7 people from the audience. Find out their challenges so you can create teaching points. Ask about their successes so you can highlight them. Doing so will help you build support and trust from the audience during your speech.
Alter your outlook. Negative thoughts associated with the task of public speaking can hinder your ability to present the amazing speech and knowledge you have inside you. Instead of letting negative thoughts prevail, turn those thoughts into positive ones. Visualize yourself speaking confidently and the audience responding positively to your speech. Imagine audience members benefiting from your speech, and tell yourself that you are in the right place at the right time. If you feel nervous or scared you probably also have nervous thoughts about what might go wrong. Having such thoughts will alter your voice and your body language negatively. Instead of harboring bad feelings and letting negative thoughts fester, remember to think positively. Positive thoughts will make you excited, allow you to relax, and give you confidence. Instead of thinking about how you wish you didn’t have to speak, reframe your thoughts and give yourself a pep talk. You might say to yourself, “Wow! I get to share my knowledge on a subject I’m passionate about with all these wonderful people who want to hear what I have to say!” View the chance to speak as a compliment. And know, that in most cases, the people who are listening to you are there for you. These people want to hear what you have to say.
Learn to be comfortable with silence. Silences can feel awkward, especially when you’re standing in front of a lot of people who are staring at you and waiting for you to say something. But silences are a chance to breathe and collect your thoughts. Make speaking a choice. It’s not something you have to do because you’re standing in front of a bunch of people. It’s something you choose to do when you’re ready. Learning to feel ok with silence will help you take your time when speaking publicly. You don’t want to rush your speech. Silences will always feel longer to you than to those not speaking. Just smile and gather yourself but never take too long. If what you speak is good enough, the audience will not mind some silence. Use silence to notice your breathing and stay calm. You can also use silence to let a particular point sink in. If you are speaking and want something you just said to really sink into your audience, silence is a great way to allow that to happen before you move on. Silence is your friend, not your enemy.
Identify your speech patterns. Understanding how you speak when you’re just having a casual conversation will allow you to improve your public speaking skills. Practice pausing and giving yourself time to collect your thoughts, rather than using filler words to avoid silence. Pay attention to all the filler words you say in any given conversation. These words are the noises and words you say when you are processing your thoughts and don’t know what to say next. Words and sounds like “Ah,” “Um,” “Like,” “Er.” Getting more comfortable with silence can help you reduce filler words. We also have default speech settings which have become automatic to us over the course of our lives. For example, if someone sneezes, you might say “Bless you.” These behaviors exist in public speaking as well. Identify what behaviors you have, both verbal and nonverbal. Which ones make you look nervous or not authoritative? Once you identify what your behaviors are you can begin to correct these habits. Perhaps you adjust your glasses when you’re nervous. Or pick your fingernails. Maybe you use more filler words. To help you change these habits, learn to be aware of what you’re doing in all settings. Even if you’re talking to a friend on the phone, be cognizant of what you are doing. When you realize you are doing something, make an effort to stop.
Preparing Yourself and Your Speech
Plan appropriately. Spend time putting your speech together so that when you give it, it flows naturally and feels normal to you. Being familiar with the content will greatly reduce stress. Visualize giving your speech, from driving to the location, getting on stage, delivering the speech, and returning home. This can help alleviate your anxiety and alert you of anything you still need to prepare. View your public speaking like a play. If you don’t learn your lines you won’t be able to act and engage your audience. When an actor doesn’t know her lines, the audience is always aware. The more you prepare the less you have to worry about when speaking publicly. If it helps you prepare, create a character. You don't have to be just you. Take on a stage persona. If you're introverted, create a character who is extroverted and play that character when speaking. Plan everything that you can so that when it’s time to speak all you have to do is focus on your speech. Not only should you know your speech inside and out, you should plan everything from what you’ll eat to what you’ll wear. Plan your outfit a day ahead. When it’s time to get ready, you don’t have to worry. Plan what and when you’ll eat. If you know you get nervous and not hungry before speaking, then plan to eat a few hours earlier.
Write down an outline for your speech. You don’t have to write out your whole speech. But you should have some sort of outline that works for you. While your speech should be pretty much memorized, having an outline will let you reference something to make sure that you’re hitting all the points you need to. An outline will help you develop a natural flow to your speech. You won’t have to panic if you forget what your next point was because you can look at your outline. You should also include the thesis, or main point, of your speech. Like in an essay paper, having a clear thesis that you will back up is a great help. Your thesis will inform you and your audience of what you will talk about. It will also show the audience that you are prepared and knowledgeable. You may get sidetracked during a speech depending on the forum you’re in. Having an outline and really knowing your material will allow you to easily transition and get back on track.
Practice your speech and record it. Rehearsing your speech and taking notes on how you speak, the tenor of your voice, body language, and other factors will allow you to speak with confidence. Then watch yourself and take notes on how you sound and look. Make necessary adjustments. Just like for any athlete or artist, practice is a key component to success. When practicing your speech, go a little slow to really digest what you are saying and how you are coming across. When you give your actual speech in public you’ll probably have the tendency to speak faster than normal. But practice can help you keep a good tempo. Practicing will also help you memorize and feel prepared. When it’s time to speak publicly, you’ll know that you could do your speech in your sleep. Practice while you’re doing other things, such as the dishes, mowing the lawn, or getting ready. Be sure to practice the middle of your speech multiple times, as this is the part that is most often forgotten. Don’t just practice your speech from the beginning; start from the middle and rehearse it through the end a few times to help you lock each part in your memory.
Breathe deeply, smile, and stay hydrated. Breathing is a key component in delivering a great speech. Your breath and the oxygen you allow to enter your body will keep you calm and focused. Smiling makes you happy and water keeps you energized. When you smile, you feel better. When you allow yourself to take a moment to breathe you can slow your heart rate and process what you are doing and saying. When we get nervous we often take shorter more shallow breaths. This kind of breathing doesn’t allow us to get as much oxygen and can cloud our thoughts. Long, steady breaths will help you keep a clear head and a calm body. Additionally, smile. Smiling triggers endorphins in our brains which make us happy. Make sure to stay hydrated as well. When you’re dehydrated you can’t think as clearly and can become tired much more easily.
Rest well and dress for success. If you know that you’re speaking in the morning, plan to get a full night’s rest. Then, once you wake up feeling refreshed and energized, put on your outfit which you already planned to wear. Do whatever you need to do that relaxes you and allows you to get a good night’s sleep. Exercise, watch a movie, read. Try to get eight hours of sleep so you wake up feeling refreshed. Plan your outfit beforehand so all you have to do is put it on. You should wear something that gives you confidence and makes you feel amazing. Whether it’s that great suit that makes you feel like you can take on the world or that classy dress that fits your body perfectly and gives you confidence. Dress well and appropriately, but wear something that you feel great in. When you feel great about how you look, your confidence will soar.
Speaking in Public or Giving a Presentation
Warm up. Before you give your speech you should properly warm up both your voice and your body. To open up your throat and increase the volume and resonance of your voice, stick out your tongue and recite a nursery rhyme. Then, recite the rhyme again normally. Do some stretches to get your body loose so you don’t feel and look stiff when speaking. Warm up your vocal chords with some singing drills like moving through your vocal range. Start as low as you can go and then move up through your register to your highest note. Then go back down and repeat. Try a few diction exercises and tongue twisters to warm up your mouth and loosen your jaw.
Introduce yourself. Even if you are speaking to people who know you, introducing yourself is a great way to ease into any speech and warm up the audience. Your introduction can be as simple as stating your name and who you are. Explain why you’re speaking today. You can also be more casual if the environment allows. Start with a quick anecdote about something that happened to you and relate it to your topic if you can. A story or a joke is a great icebreaker. An introduction is a great way to get the crowd on your side and engaged before you start speaking. It will also help you stay relaxed. You want your audience to feel comfortable around you.
Start your speech by making a point or stating your thesis. Then briefly, outline the parts of your speech. Having a thesis to provide the audience will inform everyone on your topic. It will also show the audience that you are prepared. You can then move onto a brief outline of the speech with a transition phrase like, “Today I want to share with you…” This shows that you aren’t taking the crowd for granted and informs everyone that there will be an end. Audiences like to know that at some point you’ll stop talking. This will keep the audience more engaged, rather than zoning out early. Stating your outline also helps you to go over it one more time before you dive into speech.
Engage in eye contact and use good body language. Look your audience in the eye, and use facial and hand expressions. Whatever your topic, remember that your speech isn’t boring, and you shouldn’t be either. Look your audience members in the eye. Focus on someone and make eye contact for a sentence or two. Doing this shows your audience that you are speaking to the audience, not at the audience. Making eye contact can also help you stay calm. Focusing on one person at a time and treating it like a conversation instead of speaking to a large group might feel more comfortable to you. Your body language is just as important and your words. If you stand still and are stiff, you’ll come off as boring and nervous. If you wave your arms too much or move around a lot, you can also look frantic and nervous. Stand straight and remember your nervous habits. Feel free to move around when you transition to a new thought. Walk at a steady pace and mirror your pace with your talking speed.
Articulate as you speak. Diction is invaluable with public speaking. You need to be heard. If the audience can’t understand you, people will start tuning out quickly. You can even ask something like, “Can everyone hear me?” to ensure that the microphone/sound system is working well. Make sure that you speak slowly and loudly enough so everyone can hear. Don’t overdo it, but you should finish each word completely before speaking the next one. Remembering to breathe and allow silences to happen will help you with this. Pay attention to the cadence of your voice. You don’t want to be a monotone robot. Feel free to be a little excited or speak a little softer to help convey a certain mood.
Embody energy. Your audience will have an energy as will you. If you are nervous, the audience will sense that. Don’t follow the energy of the audience, lead it. Your speech and body language should inform the audience of the kind of energy you need for your speech. You’re passionate about your topic and know it so well that you get to speak about it. Use that energy to lead the audience. Remember to think positively and smile. This kind of good energetic energy will affect your audience, and as a result, will return to you.
Follow your outline. Refer to your outline when you need it. But don’t look down and read from it. With all your practicing and engaging the audience, you shouldn’t need to look down and read from your outline. But you might want to check it from time to time to make sure you’ve hit all the important points. If you’re speaking at a podium, you can leave your outline there. When speaking, feel free to step away from the podium. You can also use your outline as an anchor spot. This anchor is a safe place you can always go back to. Take a breath, let what you said sink in, and check to make sure you’re on track.
Have fun. Great public speakers are those who are clearly having fun doing it. You should feel proud that you get to share your knowledge and that people want to hear what you have to say. When you conclude your speech, you might want to summarize your main points and reiterate your thesis. Then, deliver an impactful, thought-provoking, and action-oriented closing statement. Make sure to thank your audience for listening to you and being a great audience. Then ask if anyone has any questions. Before you go into your speech, you may want to write down some questions you’ve had about your topic, ones you’ve heard before, or any you think might get asked. Be able to answer these. Answering questions shouldn’t be hard since you know your topic so well. If no one asks a question right away, show that you’re an experienced speaker by saying that people usually ask a certain question. Then use one of the questions you wrote down.
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