Welcome Back Everyone! Hope everyone is doing well! With Thanksgiving and the many holidays around the corner, I know it must be a hectic time for y’all so hang tight and enjoy the ride as the year closes out. Rest, recuperate, and enjoy whenever you can because we know that nothing lasts forever. For today, I wanted to impart some knowledge that I learned early on in my career, one that I always took for granted because I knew not what I had. With that being said, lets learn about The Art of Public Speaking .
Public speaking is one of the most beneficial and important skill sets for your career. Not only does it help increase confidence, but it also shapes the perception of others about you when you deliver a speech. However, public speaking is one art form that many people fear the most. If you struggle when it comes to public speaking, know that you are not the only one. Fortunately, there are ways to overcome the fear of public speaking and impress the audience even if you are a beginner. Following are some tips that will help you achieve this:
Prepare and Rehearse
Rehearsal is the secret to a good presentation. The famous speakers rehearse and practice several times. Everyone has their own way; some do it in the office, others in the bathroom or while jogging, and some in front of the mirror. Regardless of the method you prefer, it is recommended that you rehearse loud and improve the messages and content as you prepare.
Study Your Audience Well
Most people don’t care to study their audience before writing or delivering their speech. But if you want to ‘work the room or the crowd’, you should try to get the maximum information about your audience before you meet them. Your goal is to understand your audience well so that you can communicate better with them.
Level with Your Audience
Your speech has to be direct, communicative, and simple. Rhetorical tricks are a waste of energy and time. Aim at clear messages using solid examples that people can relate to as well as stories that will help them appreciate the proposed solution to the problem. Also, there’s no need to shy away from repetition when you deliver your speech.
Form Matters
Just like content, delivery is very important. In fact, form is more important; your personality, gestures, voice, eye contact, relation with the audience all determine the quality of your speech. Try to communicate normal modesty and trust in how you look. Your audience won’t take you seriously if you are shabbily dressed or overdressed.
Pay Attention to Eye Contact
Eye contact is crucial part of a speech as it helps keep your audience interested in what you are saying. Look at the room from left to right and from right to left before you begin. During the presentation, make sure your eye contact is dynamic. Don’t leave out anyone. Try to include everyone in your field of vision. Keep in mind that even though your mouth speaks, it is your eye that communicates.
Maintain a Strong Voice
Maintaining a strong voice is important. You want to make sure that your voice dominates the room during your speech. Try to create interest with your voice so that it bonds you to your audience from the start. Modulating your voice following your rhetorical moments and meaning is a skill that must be learned.
Communicate with Gestures
Gestures are a great way to communicate. Avoid too many gestures as they will spoil your speech, but at the same time, make sure to maintain an active posture so that the presentation is not boring. Your goal is to create a dynamic relation between your words and your body language.
Public speaking is an art which can be learned and mastered. While the process of mastering this art is long, it is worth the time and effort because the reward is great: you will see it in the eyes of your audience listening to you with satisfaction and admiration.
We hope you liked this latest segment as much as we did. As always, we would like to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU for all the support so far. Furthermore, we would like to hear from all of our Black Sheep out there to know of any more tips and tricks you may have that we miss in this quick guide. “Till next time”-The Black Sheep