Effective Public Speaking is an Art to Rock your target audience. Your audience can be in a small or a large group but success and the skills hold the same meaning in all scenarios. What differentiates public Speaking from Effective Public Speaking is the mark it leaves on its target audience. You are not successful if your audience does not remember you for long time and if it fails to establish you as a brand. Yes, this is tough but a regular investment in your skill has the ability to make you successful over a period of time.

Most of the people have developed a fear of Public Speaking which translates into a loss of many unanticipated opportunities. Rather than focusing on what needs to be done right they focus on ways and means to escape it.  They fail to understand that it is not only about speaking but host of other skills which if mastered makes the job real easy.   

This post talks about 25 tips which if used effectively would ensure rocking performance. Depending upon the nature of subject or audience, you can mix them up skillfully to make a favorable impression. While these may seem to be tough at the outset but a regular use would make them an integral part of your personality. Persistence is the Key here and one should expect results over a period of time. Try them consistently and you would see a rocking change in your performance.

1.    Think Success- Be positive and think Success. Nothing can take you down more than a negative mindset. You need to visualize the success in order to attain it. Your first or nth performance, the key remains that you have to think and visualize yourself as being successful. If needed imagine yourself as one of the great speakers and see yourself attaining the same level of success. Immediate gains would be the willingness and “go for kill attitude” that would get developed to break all shackles that surround you.

2.    Understand the Target Audience- Who is your audience? Is it a group of your subordinates or your managers who need to be addressed? Is your audience a bunch of technical people or the novice who needs bottoms up approach? Remember one approach cannot be used for different set of audience. You need to change your approach, content, and delivery mechanism based on your target audience. Understanding the target audience, their nature, what they like, dislike, what would be beneficial to them would do wonders for your presentation.

3.    Goal-Pen down the Goal of your presentation. Do you want to clear some concept, do you want to generate enthusiasm, do you want to put them into action or do you want a change in behavior- be clear about it. Goal should not be what you want to deliver but what result you want from your audience.

4.    Nature of Content- Be very clear about the content and its nature. Once you have good understanding of your audience you need to present them something which is easy to comprehend and digest. Be very clear. Avoid using shortcuts and jargons which acts as deterrent to their concentration. A simple and nicely delivered content based on the nature of target audience makes your presentation more interesting.

5.    The Depth of Content- Do you want to cover the basics or you want to go deep into the subject. While it depends upon the nature, many times the speaker ponder a lot on one point and go too much deep that any chances of regaining the flow seems to be remote. It is always helpful if you introduce a concept and talk something interesting about it than going into the nitty-gritty’s. An interesting presentation seeks to cover all corners without losing focus of the center. Go deep if the subject demands but avoid it if it does not fit the duration vis-à-vis the breadth of subject. Use this time to inject some interesting stuff instead.

6.    Presentation of Content- Your slides or any other aide you intend to use for your presentation needs to be perfect. Be very careful what you put in your slides and how you want to display them. It is always beneficial to mix your content with some graphics to put across your point strongly. Graphics help to embed your point with context and have the ability to leave long lasting impression. Think your presentation as an advertisement which needs to generate maximum interest in short time. Focus on every slide and have a goal for each one of them.

7.    The Environment- The environment has large influence on attention of your audience. Make sure that there is nothing in between you and your audience. Any visual or object based interruptions needs to be removed and there should be nothing that distracts either you or your audience. Make sure the acoustics and the lights are working at optimum level. Also take care where you want your audience to sit and in what manner.

8.    The Way you Dress-If you want your audience to take you seriously then you need to dress nicely. While content has the ability to remove all related misconceptions but the way you dress gives you an extra advantage right from the start. It is generally said that when a women dress shabbily everyone looks at her dress. But when a women dress impeccably everyone looks at her. This is true in every scenario and with everyone. Wear something that does not distract attention rather something that goes with the flow of your content.

9.    Hardware and Software- The projector or any other hardware or software you intend to use needs to be properly configured. Make sure to check everything much before the start of the presentation. Seek help from IT support even for small problems. Don’t leave anything to chance.

10. Practice- If you want the luck to be in your side than Practice. No matter how many time you have presented the content, makes sure you practice every time before your next presentation. Always write down the mistakes you have done in your last presentation and practice them hard. The more hard work you do at this stage, less are the chances that any error would creep into the final show.

11. Short Attention Span- Most of the times People have a very short attention span. If you do not score high at this time, there are chances that you would lose them for rest of your presentation. You need to make an excellent start to get their confidence right from the first moment. Also every slide or graphic has the ability to get back their attention and you need to be hungry for that. Majority of speakers don’t realize this simple principal and gain nothing. You need to regain your audience attention with every change and also should make sure to hold their attention for maximum amount of time.

12. Involvement- It is always beneficial to involve readers. However you need to be cautious about it lest it creates a confusion and commotion in the room. Involve them and at appropriate time take the focus on to yourself. Keep them interested and involved with surprises. Seek their involvement to regain attention and try to get maximum mileage from such tactics.

13. Humor- You need to master this tactic before you even try to use it. While Humor is an excellent tool, many speakers fail to deliver it nicely. If you cannot make Humor part of your speech makes sure you incorporate it as part of your presentation. A Dilbert cartoon on particular situation that match your content is one of the excellent way to put your point across.

14. Be Yourself- Don’t copy someone else ever because it is a recipe of disaster.  Start working on your style or let it come naturally. Focus on your mistakes and sharpen your strong points. Develop your own style. Remember your own style may take long but the journey to it starts from your first presentation.

15. Voice Modulation- Use your voice very effectively. Stress on things which need an attention and ease the flow to carry momentum.  Great speakers use their voice effectively with relevant pauses to gain the attention of their audience.  It is an excellent tool and an appropriate investment in it ensures that your point reaches the desired audience with style.

16. Body Language- You need to be look energetic and your body should emanate positive vibes. A negative body language or gestures are good enough to put the audience down. Use your hand wisely and make sure it moves in tandem to your words. Your body speaks louder than your words and hence makes sure it supplements your subject.

17. Speed of Delivery- Don’t rush and keep a tab on your pace. Always make sure that you have extra minutes to cover up for the lost time. Your pace should not be too slow or too fast that it either distract your audience or make it difficult for them to comprehend content.

18. Eye Contact- Eye contact with your audience is very essential. Looking at floor or on ceiling while talking is distracting enough and show up very poorly on your personality. Eyes are very effective medium to put your point across. You need to look straight into the eyes of your audience and should look confident and in control of your subject.

19. Confidence-Your Confidence is one of main factors which can make or break the situation. If you are confident about yourself or your subject than there is no one who can take the success away from you. A demonstration of confidence has the ability to inspire awe and attract the audience.

20. Use Examples- sometimes words don’t hold much meaning till the time they are substantiated with relevant examples. It also helps you to get down to the laymen level and put your point across. While concept certainly looks good at the presentation level but emphasizing your point with relevant examples makes sure that it is widely understood with ease.

21. Hijacking-At times someone from audience can hijack or can try to take the focus away from you. Other times there can be multiple groups who can start the discussion within themselves. In all such scenarios it is important that you take your audience back and push everything else for the later part. Once you have done that take the point of contention either during the end or during the Q&A session. Never ever give an opportunity to any element who intentionally or unintentionally tries to take away the focus of your speech. Your subject and speech should be strong enough to show more meaning than such secondary interruptions.

22. Mistakes – Everyone makes mistakes and they are good till the time you do not repeat them. During presentation it is ok to either ignore them or acknowledge them depending upon the type of mistake. Remember if you ignore them and move forward than your audience would move forward with you. If you acknowledge them and move forward, it will act as a pause but the audience would certainly move ahead with you. You can ignore it till the time you feel that it is not much noticeable otherwise a small gesture would help.

23. Duration- Short presentations with interesting content attract much attention than the long ones. In case your presentation is long you have much work to do to keep your audience interested. While long presentations can be unavoidable in certain circumstances, it is beneficial if you divide it by involving your audience or make it a bit humorous at different point of time.

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24. Don’t Lose Focus- You have a Goal and you need to achieve it at any cost. You should not lose focus and deviate from your subject at any time. While there are situations which might demand your attention, it is always advisable to do some level of justice and then return to your main subject.

25. Take Questions-This is an important step to clear doubts. While no question is bad, it is important that you encourage your audience to feel confident and clear their small doubts. Framing of question in your words and making them clear for rest of audience is very important. Equally important if the way you should answer it to get maximum advantage. Remember, this is the last step where you can put large impact on your audience.

 

Effective Public Speaking is the journey and you should never hesitate to take the first step. A thing that seems impossible from outside becomes much easy when you are determined to achieve them. Now that you know the tricks of the game, the next step is to put them to action.

 

Try It

 

 

 

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