Successful Public Speaking

Straightforward Guide

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• Publisher: Straightforward Publishing Digital
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781847163318
• eBook ISBN: 9781847163806
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Communication & Public Speaking

This latest publication in the Straightforward Guides Series, A Guide to Successful Public Speaking, substantially develops the previous edition, introducing new techniques developed in the USA. The book is comprehensive and develops an approach which builds gradually on all the key areas of speaking and personal presentation. It will prove invaluable to those who seek to understand more about this area.

1

THE CRAFT OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

 

Public speaking is very much an art and a skill that can be mastered by anyone. It is true to say that some people may be initially better equipped for the role of public speaker than others, by virtue of their own particular personality type. However, the truly effective public speaker learns the craft and applies certain techniques that generally derive from experience.

In this book I will be alluding to the person who has to deliver a speech or present a seminar, rather than the professional teacher. It is the person who is not constantly engaged in addressing groups who will most benefit from what is contained within. All of the points raised in this chapter will be explored in depth later on in this book.

The person and the material

There are two vital ingredients in public speaking. The first is very much the person delivering the speech or other material to a group. The second is the nature of the material being delivered.

The Person

For some people, standing in front of an audience, whatever the size, is not a real problem. For others however, the very thought of exposing oneself to a group of people, and being so vulnerable, is a nightmare best avoided.

When trying to put this into context it is important to remember that, when we communicate as part of a group, or simply on a one to-one basis with another, then we interact primarily through speech and body language. We are often confident within ourselves because we feel secure in that we are part of a group interacting and that all eyes are not on us alone, at least not for a protracted period.

The situation is very different indeed when we are alone and faced with a group of people, strangers or not, and we have to present material. It means that we have to assume responsibility and take the lead and communicate successfully to others. Nervousness is very often the result when placed in this situation, because, until we can make contact with the audience and establish a rapport, we are very much alone and feel vulnerable.

Obviously, there are a number of factors influencing the levels of confidence and differences in attitude between people, such as the nature and type of the person and their background, their past experience, both within the family and in the world of work and numerous other experiences besides. All these will affect a persons ability to become an effective public speaker.

This publication cannot completely erase your nervousness. It cannot change your personality overnight. However, what it can certainly do is to raise your awareness to the root of that feeling in the context of public speaking and to help you become more confident. It can also show you that, whatever your personality type, you can become a successful public speaker by applying certain fundamental techniques.

Why do we feel nervous?

There are a number of reasons why we may feel nervous. You need to question yourself and ask yourself why. Was the sight of so many faces in front of you enough to frighten you and make you lose your self-confidence or are you plagued by the memory of previous mistakes? You need to remember that you change and develop as a person as you gain more experience and that past mistakes do not mean that you will repeat them.

Let’s face it, most of us will experience nerves in a situation which is stressful to us. This is totally normal and quite often we become anxious and charged with adrenaline which drives us on. When it comes to speaking in public the adrenaline can be positive but excessive nerves are negative and can lead to aggression.

Fundamentally, the key to successful public speaking is the acquisition of confidence coupled with assertiveness which leads to the ability to effectively control a situation. If you are assertive and you know your subject matter you are likely to be confident and in control and less likely to feel nervous.

Be prepared!

Directly related to the above, preparation is everything and to feel confident with your material means that you are half way there already. Although I will be expanding on preparation a little later, there are a few fundamental tips that can help you along.

You should listen to speakers, particularly good speakers as often as possible in order to gain tips. Notice the way that good and effective speakers construct their sentences. Listen for the eloquence. Remember, shorter sentences have a lot more impact and are easier to grasp than long sentences. They also act as a discipline for the speaker in that they will prevent him or her from straying off the point.

Another very important factor when approaching the day of your presentation is preparing yourself psychologically. Convince yourself that you are looking forward to the speech and that you will do well no matter what. Convey this to your audience as you open your presentation, say that you are glad to be with them and that you hope that this goes well for all. This reinforces a feeling of goodwill and will express itself through your body language and your voice.

Finally, one of the main aids to effective public speaking is experience and that only comes through practice so it is essential that you take every opportunity offered you to sharpen your skills in this area.

In the next two chapters I will be concentrating on presentation and style. Fundamental to preparation as a speaker is the ability to relax and focus your mind and body on the task ahead.

Before you turn to chapter two, however, you should read the key points from chapter one overleaf.

KEY POINTS FROM CHAPTER ONE

•   The truly effective public speaker learns the craft and applies certain techniques which generally derive from experience

•   There are two vital ingredients in public speaking. The first is the person and the second is the material

•   The key to successful public speaking is the acquisition of knowledge coupled with assertiveness which leads to the ability to control and direct a situation

•   Listen to effective and successful speakers in order to gain tips

•   Prepare yourself psychologically for your speech. Put yourself in a positive frame of mind!

2

UNDERSTANDING YOUR AUDIENCE

The one golden rule when it comes to speaking in public is that you should always keep your audience in mind. Whatever the reason, and whatever the objectives of the speaker, every speech must meet the expectations of the audience. The speech must be tailored to suit their needs, interests and levels. If you address the audience’s needs and use language that they will understand, then you will go a long way towards a successful speech.

Useful questions to ask whoever has invited you to speak are:

• Will the audience be made up of mostly men or will it be cross gender?

• What age group is the audience?

• What is their interest in the proceedings?

• What do they do for a living, how economically successful are they?

• What racial and cultural background do they come from?

• Are they attending on a voluntary or involuntary basis?

You may also be able to contact a speaker who has addressed the same audience and ask them what they believe to be the main points from their experience.

When you are studying the information gathered in these ways, try to put yourself in the audience’s shoes. Try to identify the motivations and aspirations of your group, which can be broken down, broadly, into three areas: their interest; their level of experience; their needs.

Audience interest

Every audience that attends an event does so because they have an interest in the proceedings. If you as a speaker can engage that interest, then you will have gone a long way in grabbing and keeping the audience’s attention when you speak.

The audience at a conference may be the members of the same profession, and so they have a common interest in staying up to date with issues that relate to their business. Write down why you think your audience is interested in attending the event at which you will be speaking. Then decide how your subject and your objectives can be reconciled with what you believe your audience’s interests to be.

Level of expertise

Each audience can be profiled in terms of its educational background and expertise. Some audiences are drawn from a particular profession. Therefore, if speaking about that profession, they will be considered to be experts. However, if the same people constitute an audience and you are speaking about a subject unrelated to their profession then they will not be expert. Most audiences, however, are mixed in terms of their expertise. Write down what you consider your audience’s level of expertise in the subject at hand is likely to be, and then decide how this will affect your speech.

Meeting the needs of the audience

Every audience has its ‘expertise’ profile and its own interest in attending the event. Join an audience in its common interest and speak to it in terms that it can understand, and you are well on your way towards achieving your objectives. However, the real key to winning an audience’s attention and making them ready to listen, is to understand their needs and incorporate them into your speech.

Psychologists believe that modern-day people have a number of needs, and that these are basically the same for everyone:

• Economic-the need to be financially better off or secure.

• Physical comfort-the need to be warm and fed, but also be unconfined, to be free to roam.

• Psychological-the need to be free from worry and psychological anxiety.

• Acceptance-the need to feel that other people accept them as part of a social group.

• Exploration-the need to know and understand new facts and concepts.

• Political security-the need to be free from political constraint.

Each member of an audience comes to an event with all of these needs. They expect the speaker to fulfill one or more or to tell them something that will help them to do so. Identifying the audience’s particular needs and speaking with them in mind will gain their attention and keep their interest. It is vital that you fulfill the audience’s expectations if your speech is to be a success.

If you perceive a group to have mixed needs, then you should try to speak to as many of those needs as possible, just as you should try to speak to an audience of mixed expertise in terms that all members can find stimulating.

When you have successfully married the needs and level o...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• 1. The Craft of Public Speaking
• 2. Understanding Your Audience
• 3. Presentation skills-General Discussion on Style
• 4. Successful Delivery
• 5. Preparing Materials for Presentation
• 6. The Use of Visual Aids
• 7. Effective Delivery-The Voice
• 8. A Few Hints on Setting
• 9. Dealing With Nerves
• 10. Delivering Your Presentation
• 11. Time to Reflect
• Public Speaking-Roles and Events
• Useful websites