Speak With Style

[bishoujo 0]

When you work, especially in the executive levels, you often find yourself having to speak in public to more than just a few people, such as your colleagues, clients, bosses etc. Public speaking can be a daunting task, especially when you are worrying about whether you are getting your audience's attention.Here are the 3 Ps you should take note of to maintain your confidence and eloquency in public speaking.PlanConsider what your audience is interested in hearing. Identify key areas and focus on these, at least initially. This technique is equally effective when planning the opening of a speech or presentation. If you're unfamiliar with your audience, gather as much information as possible about their interests and their level of knowledge of the topic you intend to discuss. Do not leave your audience wondering what the crux of your presentation will be. Generally, audiences can assimilate a maximum of three main pieces of information from a presentation. Think hard about what your three key messages are, mention them in your opening, explore them in the presentation and return to them at the end.PractisePractise your public-speaking skills in a low-stress environment. Many managers find that they use these skills most often to address employees at informal gatherings or meetings. Use these meetings as a training ground. Prepare what you want to say in advance and practise until you know your introduction by heart. If you use notes, put them on small cards. Limit it to five words a line and five lines a card, so that you can glance at them while still maintaining eye contact with your audience. Ask a couple of colleagues to watch your performance critically and ask for feedback on your delivery speed, voice pitch, body language as well as content of the speech. Act on their comments and the next time you give a talk, ask them if they notice any difference. With this experience under your belt, you can move on to more formal situations.PaceYour audience will take in much more if you give them time to absorb what you say. Many people start babbling when they are nervous, so slow down and don't be afraid to pause. Structured rehearsals and preparation are the key tools that can turn a potential nightmare into a skill that you can use to win friends and influence people. You may even learn to enjoy it.In addition:Breathe: Before you begin speaking, take deep breaths, establish eye contact with your audience and pause until you have their full attention.Start strong: The first 30 seconds are crucial. Rehearse your opening until you know it from back to front.Watch the clock: Running late will irritate your audience. Allow two to three minutes for each slide and leave time for questions at the end.Keep it simple: All information should be presented in a clear and simple manner. Don't expect your audience to be as familiar as you are with the facts and figures.Bring them on board: Use inclusive language to engage your audience. Using the word "we" instead of "I" is a simple way to do this. Make eye contact with the whole audience.

[MickE 0]

these are really nice tips!! I will keep this in mind the next time I have to prepare for some kind of speech, but there are some things I have comment on.1. You say, ... establish eye contact ... but that's not always a good thing, some people (like me) get more nervous when they're looking straight into people's eyes. a better way (but don't do this when you have to talk to less then 15 people) is to look at the noses of the people, they will feel like you're looking at them, and you won't have to answer their staring eyes. some people also suggest to look over the people's heads, but you have to be careful with this approach. I for one, don't like it when I notice someone is staring at the wall while speaking, it gets on my nerves. when I notice this, I always want to jump up and shout "hey we're down here, don't look over our heads!!" But obviously I don't do that :)another way to deal with this (but this is only for large crowds of about 150 or more people) is to devide them into sub groups, for example four, and switch your view from one center of a sub group to another. This way everyone will feel like you're talking directly to them, and you can feel like there's almost no-one there :(2. watching the clock is a very good tip, nothing is more annoying then expecting a 20 minute speech, and getting an hour of chatter. what's also very good is to give an overall view now and then, so people know what they can expect next. this should be done especially near the end of your speaking: "for five minutes I will be summarising what I said, and then there will be time for questions" or something like that. this way people know you'll only spend a few more minutes talking, they know you're about to give a short version of what you said and they know they can leave in a few minutes. 3. when preparing long periods of talking you should keep in mind that people can only really foces for about 45 minutes, after that the amount of material they absorb decreases rapidly. so don't make long speeches of an hour and a half, though people might keep quiet to be polite, they won't remember much of the last half hourthat's all I can addyou gave some great information bishoujo!!

[moutonoir 0]

Good information! I was recently reading up on some good tips for planning your speech:Once you have gathered the material necessary for your speech, it is time to write notes you will use during the speech. Notes are important. Do not try to memorize your speech. You might leave out a key concept, or worse, stage fright might cause you to forget most of what you are going to say.To make an outline of what you will say, you first identify which issues you plan to talk about. Your talk will be limited to these and only these issues. Next, review the material you collected. If any of it has little to do with these issues, get rid of it. People often worry about having enough material for their speeches, but usually you will have too much information rather than too little. Be ruthless in eliminating all non-essential information.One of the main reasons for giving a speech is to provide the audience with details they will later remember and be able to use. Do not include useless or trivial details that will bore your audience instead of inform them.Clear organization of your speech is very important. Many people have a hard time understand speeches and organizing the information presented. If you organize your speech in a logical manner and tell your audience what will be said beforehand, they will have an easier time sorting out information as they receive it and understanding your speech. Using transition statements to link one point to the next helps make your speech easy to follow.When preparing your speech, remember that engaging emotions in your speech helps make it more powerful. One of the best ways to do this is to tell personal stories. It is much easier to listen to a story than to listen to a bunch of abstract concepts. Stories get the audience to tune in, listen, and take notice.Sometimes jokes will liven up your presentation, however, not everyone is good at telling jokes. If you aren?t, you shouldn?t attempt to make one in your speech. A bad joke is much worse than no joke. Jokes are not always suitable. Don?t tell jokes when talking about sensitive subjects or when the occasion isn?t right.