The moment I start to write a speech, the following lines from one of my “theme” songs go off in my head:
“Every face tells a story/No need to hide and lie/Every face tells a story/Yours is saying goodbye.”
The difference is that while the tune remains the same, the words become:
“Every speech tells a story/Audience response don’t lie/Every speech tells a story/Will they be saying goodbye?”
No, I’m not crazy. Read More→
The fear of public speaking is one of the top fears that individuals have. Statistics show that over 41% of people have some level of fear or anxiety with regards to speaking in front of a consultation. This fear often manifests as excessive sweating, sweaty palms, increased pulse rates, blanking out (memory loss), nausea and often times trouble breathing. There are many speakers who Read More→
We’ve all heard that eye contact is essential for successful public speaking. Sometimes, however, looking audience members in the eye isn’t easy, especially when nervousness and self-consciousness hijack our thinking.
Recently, I coached a client who had a severe case of eye-avoidedness. It was the first issue he brought up. And of course, I saw it in action immediately. Even though we sat in armchairs no more than 4 feet apart, I’d estimate that he avoided looking at me about 80% of the time.
He knew this was a problem both in presentations and interpersonal communication, but he had no idea how to overcome his shyness. And that, in fact, turned out to be an important clue for me. He mentioned that he was an introvert. One speaking trait introverts sometimes have is a desire to “go away” in their own mind and fashion a carefully structured and gift-wrapped statement or response. In the rough-and-tumble of conversations and Q & A, however, we seldom have the luxury of doing this.
Before we tried an exercise I had in mind, I gave him the two reasons why I believe strong eye contact is critical to successful speaking situations:
1. You will never exert influence on people you don’t look in the eye! When was the last time you were persuaded by someone who wouldn’t look at you while he or she was talking?
2. People are easier to get a response from than the back wall. I often hear from my trainees, “But if I look anyone right in the eye, I’ll forget what I’m saying!” At this point I usually respond: “Which do you think is going to give you something back, the ceiling or the person you’re talking to?”
Our listeners should give us energy–not suck it out of us like an audience of vampires! Speaking to “the window of the soul” (the eyes) as you say something important to people, and observing their response, should be a delightful activity rather than a painful one. People want you to look at them when you talk. If you do, they’ll trust you more.
As it turned out, the exercise we practiced next turned out to be even more helpful for this client than I anticipated. Here it is:
I had prepared around 20 impromptu speech topics, which I folded and placed in an envelope. My client had to reach in, choose a slip and read the topic, then look up at me and start talking about it. Understand: I gave him no time to prepare. (No nicely wrapped speech package possible here!)
The topics were intentionally ones that he would have no expertise in; and in fact, each topic had no right or wrong answer. For instance, they included, “What do you like about the United Nations, and why?” And: “What do you think was the most interesting ancient civilization?,” and so on.
For a minute or two each time, my client spoke on each of four items he’d selected. And I’d say that 90% of his responses were delivered looking directly at me, with rock-solid eye contact!
You see, he couldn’t “go away” and marshal his thoughts and relevant data on the subject, for his professional experience hadn’t given him any special knowledge. The exercise was simple and clear: he had to look his listeners in the eye even if he wasn’t sure what he was about to say. His job was to reach his listener with what he was saying, not fashion the perfect answer.
The exercise is a sure-fire confidence builder, and I’ve used it many times for that purpose. But it was nice to know that it works well as a tool for strengthening eye contact, too.
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GARY GENARD is an internationally known speech coach and corporate trainer. A former professional actor, he is the founder of Boston-based Public Speaking International, one of the world’s premiere presentation skills and media training companies. PSI offers communication skills improvement including public speaking training, executive speech coaching, speech improvement training, presentation skills and using PowerPoint, sales presentation training, and media appearance training. Public Speaking International can be found online at http://PublicSpeakingInternational.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Genard
Everything begins with and flows from your state. Your results in public speaking or any other activity you engage in will only be as effective as your personal state.
Your state manifests from your thoughts, beliefs and emotions; in particular those you choose in the moment.
When you drill down further, what are beliefs? Your beliefs are just particularly strong thoughts; ones with which you have attached strong, personal meaning.
Your emotions manifest from your thoughts; and from the meanings, emotions and beliefs you connect to your thoughts. So, it is all about your thoughts and how well you manage them so as to serve your purpose.
There is one other element. It’s also about your connection and congruence with your physical/physiological being. You must feel your energy, your state flow freely through and emanate out of your physical being for optimal, dynamic communication. There should be no emotional, intellectual or physical holding back or blockage.
At all stages of the process- homework, speech-writing, rehearsal and, of course, during your presentation-your final product will depend upon your state. You are the pilot; you must assume control. For our purposes, your state will be most affected by the following perceptions you choose:
- Your self-perceptions and beliefs – Speaking capability, expressiveness, confidence, personality, intelligence, self-worth, presence, charisma, etc. – Your beliefs and perceptions of the audience – Who are they and what do they mean to you? What do you want from them? What do they want from you? What do you want to give them? – Your beliefs and perceptions of the subject matter you discuss or present. Your message and its importance to you and the audience.
The good news is that we get to choose our perceptions and states. The bad news is, very few of us do this in a consistently empowering way. In fact, most people never actively choose and manage their perceptions or states, they simply accept whatever perceptions and resulting states have been handed down to them by their families, friends and other influencing people in their life.
In my next article, we will begin to discuss how you can take charge of your perceptions and your state.
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Copyright Christopher Babson – All Rights Reserved. http://www.BreakoutPresentations.com
It’s all about you. Chris’ goal is to help you grow and actualize as a public speaker and in all other areas of your life. Chris is an accomplished motivational speaker and public speaking coach. In addition to his public speaking experience, his diverse resume also includes 7 years as a professional actor in NYC, LA & Paris (stage, film, TV & print), after which he returned to school for an MBA and became a Fortune-50 corporate banker 12 years. Prior to founding Breakout Presentations, he founded, grew and sold another company.
He turned full-time to his greatest passion & gift (motivational speaking and public speaking coaching) after a serious medical setback caused him to re-evaluate his life.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_Babson
In this fresh decade, people are setting resolutions and crafting long lists of goals to only give up on them the following day. Practicing and perfecting your public speaking and communication skills is a long-term commitment, one with excellent pay-offs. Setting and achieving your short and long-term public speaking goals will aid in implementing the positive tips and practices you learn. Each small success will immediately impact your public speaking performance and confidence. Take a quiet moment to follow these steps to create relevant, measurable, achievable goals.
1. Evaluate Your Situation:
How do you feel when you speak publicly? What are your fears or reservations about public speaking? When you see a great speaker what do you admire about them?
2. Decide What Areas to Focus On:
What would help you feel more comfortable speaking? When you receive feedback from colleagues or mentors what do they say? What areas of making presentations or speaking publicly do you have the most challenge with?
3. List All Factors and People Involved:
What are the factors involved in making a great presentation (ex: time, relationship with audience, introduction)? What are the components you need to have a great presentation or feel comfortable speaking? What individuals are involved when you speak publicly (ex: the audience, clients, and other presenters)?
Now reviewing your answers you should have a better grasp on what you’d like your outcome. When you begin to list goals to get you there remember to have a measurable component and a plan of action. This could include getting help from mentors, feedback from colleagues or family members or setting a strict schedule. Creating a detailed plan of action and enlisting others to help will keep you accountable and on track.
For a little inspiration to get you kick-started here is a great quote from novelist Haruki Murakami’s inspiring memoir What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.
“My time, the rank I attain, my outward appearance – all of these are secondary. For a runner like me, what’s really important is reaching the goal I set myself, under my own power. I give it everything I have, endure what needs enduring, and am able, in my own way, to be satisfied.”
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If you are looking for support in setting or reaching your public speaking goals for 2010, contact Pamela Hart at info@releaseyourvoice.com or call 604-240-4555. http://www.releaseyourvoice.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pamela_Hart
Regardless of how good you are as a public or professional speaker, you can always get better.
Self-Confidence
In speech giving, frequently your level of self-confidence will be directly proportionate to the quality of both your speech and its delivery. The two important elements of self-confidence are preparation and practice.
Excellent speech preparation includes: mastery of topic (even if you just did the research), flow of thought and/or persuasion, the quality of your PowerPoint (if you select to use it), planned emotional peeks and valleys, planned emotional releases through humor, and correct length of time. Only amateurs go over their time!
Practice is a whole different issue; defective practice yields defective speeches. While everyone wants their speech to appear to be “fresh” relying on your adlib or improve abilities is surely a mistake. While I would never recommend learning a speech word for word, I do however; recommend that you memorize your outline. Also work in your timing, allowing for audience laughter, which indeed adds minutes to your speech. If you can deliver, in your living room, a great speech to your spouse, significant other, or your children; your speech will be a hit with its intended audience.
Guard the Prime Time
If you were to ask most speakers just before they took the podium, why they were there, the most frequent answers would be:
“I was invited to speak.”
“I don’t know why I was invited to speak.”
“I’ve got some things I want to get off my chest.”
“I was roped into it.”
“I don’t know how I get into messes like this.”
While there are many reasons to stand in front of an audience, always remember this; for you, it’s your prime time. You will be remembered by your words; powerful or not…persuasive, or not…caring, or not.
The next time you take to the podium (by the way, look up podium; not something you stand at, but rather on) consider others by recognizing this is your prime time. Guard it well.
Make Every Speech an Event
When you get to the point that you are giving “just another speech,” don’t! Nobody is interested in “just another speech” but very interested in what you have to say that will make their lives better. When you give “just another speech” everyone in the audience knows it, and generally they quickly zone-out and become disruptive.
The solution is to see each speech as an event. One of my early mentors, Lee Andree Davis, who I have frequently referred to as a “diamond in a garbage can” would remind me to make all my activities with my children an EVENT. Not that I have always been successful at it, I have kept his words in the back on my mind. As an example, the other day I was driving with my older son, who was home from college for the holidays, on Pacific Coast Highway through Malibu. I suggested stopping for a bite to eat. So I took him to Paradise Cove, a fabulous location, yes in a private cove and right on the beach. It was the perfect Southern California winter day; sunny, warm, no wind and a calm ocean. The perfect day and location made our lunch soirée an EVENT to be remembered.
My continual challenge for you is to similarly make every one of your speeches an EVENT. Do not allow yourself to fall into the trap of mediocrity. Never just stand in front of a group of people and talk. Honor them, their time, and their intelligence by making your speech an EVENT.
Let the Diamond Show Through
Above, I suggested that you make every speech an event. I mentioned, Lee Andree Davis, who I have frequently referred to as a “diamond in a garbage can.” What I mean by this analogy is that Lee had a heart of gold but wrapped it up in such a coarse package that few were able to see his diamond.
How this relates to every person that steps onto the platform, literally or figuratively, is in relation to authenticity-what many say is the number one element to a great speech. Will you take the risk of authenticity? It is easy to stand upon the platform and be “Speaker Guy or Gal,” however it is difficult to be vulnerable enough to let your authentic diamond show through. This year, more so than in any year past, I’m going to work on letting my diamond show through, perhaps you’d like to do the same?
Love Your Audience
Yes, I know it might sound a bit odd coming from a high-content speaker like me. However, the advice is sound! Think about it, you have the attention of a number of persons waiting to hear what you have to say; they are giving a piece of their lives to you, why not respect that?
While you are waiting to speak, think about the above, it will both relax you and put you in the correct frame of mind. When you start your speech, send “mental” appreciation to your audience. This appreciation will also show up in your voice, facial expression, and body language. It is a great way to start a speech. Try to keep the idea of “loving your audience” in your conscious mind throughout your speech; I assure you, it will make a positive difference.
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Ed Rigsbee, CSP, is also the author of PartnerShift-How to Profit from the Partnering Trend and The Art of Partnering. Rigsbee has over 1,500 published articles to his credit and is a regular keynote presenter at corporate and trade association conferences teaching North America how to access Your Collaborative Advantage. He can be reached at Ed@Rigsbee.com or http://www.succeedinspeaking.com
Ed Rigsbee is also the Founder and Executive Director of Cigar PEG Educational Institute, a non-profit 501 (c) (3) public charity based in California.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ed_Rigsbee
Public speakers have a tremendous responsibility to deliver their presentations effectively, with confidence and conviction. In order to deliver a successful presentation, the speaker needs to polish their presentation skills. Discovering strategy and tips to deliver your presentations will greatly enhance your presentation skills.
1. Know the Purpose. Know why you have been asked to speak. What is the objective of the event? Be clear on the purpose before you prepare your presentation. Your presentation will be a lot more effective when you understand why your message is significant to the event or group.
2. Prepare. Prepare. Prepare. A great presentation is not just going to fall out of the sky and proceed out of a speaker’s mouth. A speaker has to plan, prepare, research and practice their presentation. I like to stand in front of the mirror when I am preparing for a presentation. I want to see what natural or unnatural movements I might be making. I want to check my stance, my facial expressions and so on. Public speaking is a skill that has to be honed. The more the speaker presents, the better the presentation will become.
3. Study. Take a look at very successful speakers. What is it about their style or technique that stands out or has an impact on you? How are they able to capture the attention of their audiences? Develop some of those successful presentation skills and tweak them to fit your unique style of presenting.
4. Tell a story. Everyone has a story to tell. People love to hear stories they can either relate to or understand. Stories not only add to the impact of the presentation but will help the audience remember your message and hopefully you. Telling a personal story in your presentation helps you personalize the topic.
5. Finish strong. End your presentation on a high note. Your closing should be as impactful as the start of your presentation. What do you want the audience to do? Is there a call of action? Avoid just ending your presentation with just, “Thank you for your time.” End with something positive and strong.
There are so many strategies to delivering your presentations with purpose and passion. Taking the time to hone your skills will help you communicate effectively so your audiences will actually listen, understand and act on your message.
If you are looking for a network to join, check out Speakers Network at http://www.gwenthibeaux.com/about-speakers-network for more information.
Gwen Thibeaux is a motivational teacher, speaker, author and entrepreneur. Gwen is also an internet radio show host, Divine Talk Radio Show, and founder of Speakers Network. For more information on the author, visit http://www.gwenthibeaux.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gwen_Thibeaux
It is often said that ‘You never have a second chance to make a first impression.’ But that is only one of three critical reasons why it is vital to make sure that your speech opening has impact:
i it gives your audience confidence in you;
ii more importantly it gives you confidence in yourself, but
iii it buys you time to settle and adjust.
Certainly ‘First impressions are lasting impressions’ and if you get off on the wrong foot it can be hard to recover. Starting well not only reassures the audience, it helps settle your own nerves. If you are in a strange room or a new environment it can take a few seconds to get used to the sound of your own voice, so speech openings are so important.
Obviously it is recommended whenever possible to try out the room beforehand, to check the sound and to get a feel for the place. However as any performing musician will tell you, acoustics change when bodies are added to a room.
On top of that, the sound of your own voice may feel different or actually be different when you are a bit nervous and it can be very off-putting if your own words sound strange in your own ear. It is a bit like trying to have a conversation on the phone with your voice feeding back half a second later.
Having trained as a classical musician in Eastern Europe, I discovered that all of their musicians seemed very well drilled. They looked and sounded so assured and confident whenever they performed, and it did not take me long to discover that this was not left to chance.
The opening few moments of any performance were meticulously rehearsed to make sure that they could almost ‘play themselves’; thus giving the musician a few moments to find his or her feet. In fact I remember one old teacher saying, ‘It should be possible to wake you up in the middle of the night, put an instrument in your hand and before you are even awake, you should be able to play the first few bars of your performance automatically.’
Should you learn the whole performance like that?
Of course not! That would be robotic and lack spontaneity. And certainly as a speaker it would deny you the freedom and flexibility necessary to respond to the people around you.
Nevertheless those first few seconds are vital, not just to give you confidence, or give your audience confidence in you, but to allow the whole event to settle in your mind. You can then almost listen like an outsider:
Am I speaking too fast? Is my voice shrill? Is there modulation and variety in my words?
In fact you could say that the first few seconds of a presentation should be like the pointed end of a rocket or the steel toe-cap of a work-boot, because they need to sustain the full force of your nerves.
Get it right and your presentation starts off on a solid footing. Get it wrong and you may never recover.
Speech openings are vital, so rehearse them well. Open with a quotation, a startling statistic or something vigorous to attract audience attention.
Article courtesy of College of Public Speaking & Presentation Skills – London
Imagine being part of the audience
Imagine having to give a speech where the objective isn’t merely to inform but actually to win over the audience as well! Not dissimilar to having a debate perhaps or trying to persuade a skeptical audience over to your point of view. How should you approach this?
Without doubt the first step is to understand your audience and learn what they will like to hear. This is absolutely vital if you need to win them over on something that they will naturally be against; what in fact you are doing is selling them an unpalatable concept which is then made palatable by offering them “a sweetener” where this sweetener sounds greater than the sourness of the original bad news.
As an illustrative example, imagine that you need to inform a group of very busy processing clerks that on top of their work they all have to learn a new system in which to process their data, and that there is nothing in it for them. Imagine telling them this in a seminar and you can hear the groans screaming out at you before you’ve begun to speak. No doubt there would follow reduced morale in the workforce creating additional problems such as decreased productivity and people looking to move to other jobs. The project of implementing the new system will not be easy.
But it doesn’t have to be like that!
Find out what will please the audience
Nobody implements a new system for fun (well maybe some organisations do!) so there must be a purpose in the new system and even if there are no direct benefits to the people having to learn the new system there must be indirect benefits such as greater profitability for the company, better management information that will enable the company to survive/expand /branch out into new markets. Whatever it is there will be something that you can use to persuade the audience to be right there with you.
Convince convince convince!
Now is the time to prepare your persuasive speech. Firstly, write down your specified objective (in this example, how you will use the overall benefits of the new system to ensure that these will lead to an upbeat mood in the audience by convincing them that, despite their extra workload, this really is very good news for them). It is imperative that at no time do you encourage your audience to wallow in the prospects of additional work; while you point out that there will be more work (no point trying to cover it up or dismiss it as it will emerge as a fact eventually and failure to be honest about it will probably lead to monumental problems in the future), it is only in terms of saying that this is a necessary pre-requisite for us all to reap the benefits which you then enthusiastically describe, especially those which impact the audience. In addition look out for other selling points – many organisations are so poorly run that finding things to offer the audience is usually pretty easy; for example, in this case you may well find promising to involve the clerks in the project so that they feel they are co-owners as opposed to enforced participants will do wonders for morale and willingness to take on the new system. Another possibility is for the new system to automate some of the currently manually produced reports thus reducing the workload of the clerks – this would be introduced as part of the opening seminar speech as a great innovation even if the automation could be carried out within the current system.
Steer the audience from their point of view to yours
The same principles would be used if you wished to attempt to persuade a liberal minded audience that life time incarceration, with no chance of parole, should be introduced for say muggers. Stating that anyone should be locked up for the rest of their life with no chance of proving that they have reformed will naturally inflame a liberal audience, but this same audience would probably agree with you that everything possible must be done to avoid innocent people being mugged in the street.
At this point you would have the audience on your side but you would probably lose them very quickly if you stated that part of the solution is lifetime incarceration for offenders. However, if you emphasised that the offenders needed help and it was your intention to campaign to improve the rehabilitation programmes within prison, coupled with a through review process to ensure that muggers had been rehabilitated prior to release, you would still have the audience on your side. You may well be able to get away with saying that there is a chance that some people are beyond reform and therefore will have to stay in prison for ever – even the most liberal person would surely baulk at releasing a mugger who is almost certain to be looking for a victim upon release; you may well also get away with saying that resources are scarce, that there are many other deserving causes and that, regrettably, rehabilitation services will of necessity not be as widely available as is desirable or necessary.
In conclusion
Persuasive speaking is really one of understanding the audience’s mindset, talking in terms that show you are broadly empathetic to their attitudes and acknowledging that their views are of considerable value which must be fully taken into account when deciding upon an action. Whether it’s locking up muggers for life or introducing a new data processing system you will need to convince the audience that the alternatives lead to consequences which that audience will clearly be able to see are worse for everyone including themselves; note that it is critical the audience see it for themselves, if you spell it out to them then you can expect skepticism and you will not have succeeded in winning the audience over.
Persuasive speaking can be achieved by all, as always, the success lies in the preparation.
Article courtesy of College of Public Speaking & Presentation Skills – London
You have just been told that you are going to get a promotion, and you ask yourself – do I have the communication skills to cut it?
The joy you feel is quickly dampened by the realization that your new role includes presenting on a regular basis to senior management of your company and you are scared stiff!
What do you do?
Perhaps you enroll on a presentation skills course and while on that course you feel your nerves ebb away with each presentation that you give and each piece of feedback that you receive. One month later you are to give your first presentation at work and the nerves just flood back as though the training course meant nothing.
There are many simple ways to avoid this dreaded possibility and most of them are very straightforward.
Firstly be prepared, that means fully researching your subject and, as far as possible, your audience. Confidence increases considerably when you know your subject and know that no question from the audience can throw you.
TIP 1: All presenters naturally feel more at ease answering a question (assuming they know the answer) than they do presenting, so, if possible, get a plant in the audience to ask you an agreed question early on in the presentation; any nerves will simply vanish!
Knowing your audience will allow you to structure your presentation in a way which will hold their interest; seeing the audience interested in what you are saying will provide a great boost to your confidence.
Secondly, try your presentation on trusted colleagues first and get them to tell you what works and what doesn’t. Having already done the presentation is a guaranteed way to feel more at ease on the day.
Thirdly, do not worry about making a mistake. Joking about it can smooth the incident over, while endearing you to your audience.
TIP 2: Plan to make a harmless mistake early on and have a prepared humorous follow-up. The tension between you and the audience melts away as rapidly as ice in the desert. You could say perhaps “I fully expect sales to exceed £3,000 this month” (when you and the audience are expecting a figure of around £300,000), hesitate briefly, say, “oh well I’d better cancel the family holiday to Australia that I’d planned with my bonus this year!” Then follow up with “of course I meant £300,000″.
Fourthly, break the ice by meeting a few people from your audience before you speak; you will find that making eye contact with those people will be a great aid to making you feel at ease while you’re speaking.
Finally, deep breathing does actually help to relieve tense muscles, a quaking voice and queasy stomach. It also helps to sit in a chair, contract and relax your arm muscles. You can feel a big difference after you have done this, but if you find yourself becoming tense again, simply repeat or try it with other muscles especially neck muscles. Always have some water handy to prevent your mouth from becoming dry.
Try these tips and you will soon see that your confidence will rapidly increase. Also make sure that you do as many presentations as you can; the more you do the easier it gets. And the very best of luck!
Communication skills matter, it’s difficult to develop a progressive career path without strong communication skills.
Article courtesy of College of Public Speaking & Presentation Skills – London
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