The following recommendations will help you feel confident and comfortable on stage, whether you are speaking in front of a full hall of clients or in front of fellow practitioners in public speaking courses.
1. A good speaker has his own special style.which distinguishes it from others makes it recognizable. If you have your own style, you are more trusted.
2. Three important pointsthat contribute to the best manifestation of you on stage:
- ease of presentation, playfulness, positive, good humor (the speaker should not “load” the audience),
- richness and conciseness of content (you must write excellent speech),
- the speaker must be energetic, because everyone wants to follow the leader, no one will listen to the listless speaker.
There are three stages of oratory:
- you do not try and you do not succeed
- you try, but you can’t
- you do not try and you succeed.
The best speaker is in the third stage. Even if your experience of speaking is small, lightness and playfulness will make the audience think that you are a professional.
3. Public speaking is strongly influenced by the mood. Famous people have “catchphrase” phrases that help them tune in. For example, the leading American trainer, one of the best speakers in the world, Tony Robbins, at the beginning of the speech, utters the phrase “God use me” (“God use me”), that is, he represents himself as a medium, expresses his emotional upsurge. With the help of this phrase he is maximally revealed to the audience.
In the Speaker Club, the participants also have their own phrase (for example, “You wanted me to say - now listen”).
4.Be sure to move on stage, but not from nervousness, but by necessity. You can not be constrained and clamped.
“The speaker’s movement is a continuation of his thoughts. If thoughts are constrained, he will stand still, if he moves easily, then he thinks easily. ”
Alexander Gerasimenko
Select three points on the scene and move between them. You should not move randomly - this will confuse the audience, create a sense of confusion. You need to move demonstrating different points of view. For example, if you talk about life in the USA and life in Russia, you need to talk about these points while standing at different points.
5. The speaker should not laugh out loud. Laughter is a release of tension, good comedians, for example, gradually increase tension, and it makes the audience laugh, but not the speaker - he should behave on the stage more restrained. At best, he can joke and smile.
6. There should not be unnecessary movements and inappropriate gestures, it expresses fussiness and nervousness. The gestures of the speaker should be measured, calm.
7.Do not read speech from the sheet. Be sure to have eye contact with the audience so that she sees your interest and emotions. If you can’t do without a piece of paper, follow the rules on how to read speech on paper.
“The safest place you can look is the eyes of the audience. This look creates trust. ”
Alexander Gerasimenko
8.Try to keep your pronunciation clear and change the tone of your voice, as if in a normal conversation. Voice control will help focus listeners on the phrase, word. You can improve diction and put your voice with the help of constant training.
9. Speak confidently and fluently.. You can choose among the listeners several people you like in different parts of the hall and speak, as if addressing them, as if answering their questions. This will allow you to express your thoughts more simply and naturally.
10.Take expressive pauses where necessary. This technique allows you to arouse the confidence of the audience, helps highlight the idea, or rather convey the idea to each listener.
11.Focus your attention on important words, correctly distribute the accents in each sentence, do not speak monotonously, but with intonation, then the speech will be convincing.
12. Follow the pace of speech. By changing it, you can draw attention to words, give expressiveness and make the presentation more dynamic.
From personal experience
Once I participated in a competition of business trainers. Despite the great experience of speaking, I was seriously excited. Catching myself on the fact that I was literally trembling with excitement, I said to myself: “Stop! What am I doing here? Why do I need it? Why am I so worried, although I will now say what I always say in my trainings? ”
Reflecting on these issues, I came to the conclusion that for me it is important not so much a victory as a test of my strength, but can I pass this test, overcome the fear of evaluating my professionalism? As soon as I clearly realized the purpose of my participation in the competition, I calmed down.
Golden rule: as soon as you feel the excitement - turn your attention to the purpose of your speech!
Tool 2: Face Your Fears
Fear is a destructive energy that can ruin any speech. Fear limits our freedom, turns us into weak “little men”, paralyzes our mental activity, makes us helpless and weak.
To overcome fear, you must first understand what I'm afraid of? If you are afraid of public speaking, find answers to the following questions:
- Why am I worried?
- Perhaps I am worried about the fear of evaluating others around me?
- Or did I already have a negative performance experience?
