PUBLIC SPEAKING BASIC SKILLS - 7 STRATEGIES
To business executive, public speaking skills are absolutely essential. Here you will learn 7 strategies to speak more clearly, professionally and effectively in any business presentation.
1. MAKE TENSION WORK FOR YOU
Most people and you are likely to experience some sort of tension everyday. It is thus normal if you feel some tension when speaking in public. In fact you can make tension work for you the following ways :
=Be objective. Don’t get tense about being tense. Let the tension about making a presentation flow naturally and accept it.
=Identify the tension. Do you feel tightness in your shoulders, butterflies in your stomach or perhaps your mouth gets dry and become short of breath? So do most people in this situation.
=Release tension daily. A simple isometric exercise can do you good. Tense the muscles involved, relax them, tense them again. After four or five times they will begin to relax. Now close your eyes and breathe slowly through your nose. In a minute or so you will begin to feel the tension easing.
=Release tension through movement. When you speak, gesturing with your hands, moving your body as naturally as you can and working with audiovisual aids will help turn the tension into energy.
2. ESTABLISH EYE CONTACT
Eye contact is very powerful and persuasive to gain attention and get agreement.
=Use eye contact before speaking. Never start talking right away. Decide who the “key” people that attend. Look at them the way you would if they were the only ones you were speaking to. Nod or smile at them. This will establish personal contact that helps create interest in your presentation.
=Maintain eye contact throughout. This is essential to get the response you want from the audience. You can start with a friendly face and concentrate on those “key” people for a few seconds. You can also divide the audience into quadrants. Speak to them the way you would to a friend in each area. This will help you develop sympathetic listeners in a systematic way.
=Monitor the audience. If you see someone “drifting”, eye contact will help bring that person’s attention back to you.
=Learn to read faces. Eye contact will help you read the reaction of your audience. It enables you to change or adapt your presentation whenever necessary.
3. START OFF FAST
The first 30 seconds are usually the most critical of your presentation. You must establish yourself and your message within that time to get off to a winning start.
Here are some tips you could use :
=Find and use your trigger. Your trigger is what works best for you in opening a presentation. The right trigger will create the exact relationship you want with your audience.
=Anecdotes that refer to the needs and interests of your audience can create a positive feeling of recognition or nostalgia.
=Using names of key audience members, in a warm and personal way, will help get the audience in the palm of your hand.
=A startling fact, statistic or provocative quotation will get serious attention every time.
=Jokes are logical openers. Remember, however, that a joke poorly presented isn’t funny.
Avoid yourself from any distraction. Here are some tips :
=Don’t start speaking before you are ready.
=Don’t use visual aids or handouts in the first 30 seconds.
=Don’t try to “wing” your opening. It only takes 30 seconds to practice a 30 second opener.
4. FIELD QUESTIONS SMOOTHLY
One of a public speaker’s greatest fears is not having the answer to a question, or having the mind go blank even when he or she knows the answer. Here are some tips to sharpen your answering reflexes :
=Don’t be led off on a tangent. Keep turning the question-and-answer session back to your subject.
=Listen to the question. Don’t try thinking of an answer until you have heard and understood the entire question.
=Keep answers short. Never go beyond 60 seconds in answering a question.
=Organize your answer. Answer the question immediately if you can. If you need a few seconds to organize your answer, use an opener like “That’s a good question…” or “What you are asking is…”
=Admit you don’t know. A simple “I’ll find out the answer and get back to you.” will gain empathy and credibility.
=Maintain control with eye contact. When someone finishes asking a question, break eye contact and re-establish it with other members of the audience. When you have finished answering, don’t look back at the questioner. Questions and answers should never deteriorate to a dialogue between two people. This can cause the rest of the audience lose interest. Use eye contact to encourage people with “friendly” questions. Avoid eye contact with those asking questions you choose not to answer.
5. SHOW THE RIGHT VISUALS
If you are making more than 3 points in a presentation, visual aids can reinforce your message for greater comprehension. Follow these simple rules, whether you are using slides, transparencies, flip charts or handouts.
=Don’t use visual aids in the first 30 seconds. They distract from your opening.
=Don’t talk to your visual aids. Talk directly to your audience.
=Don’t read your visual aids. Use them to illustrate what you are saying.
=Keep it simple. You should have only one concept per slide or page.
=Position the message horizontally. People are used to reading left to right, not top to bottom.
=Center the message inside wide margins.
=Check your visuals. Your audience should be able to get the point of any visual at a glance.
=Remember that visual aids are not the most important part of the presentation. You are. Don’t hide behind them, literally or figuratively.
6. STEER CLEAR OF TROUBLE
Here are 3 little words that will help you avoid a lot of trouble. Rehearse, rehearse and rehearse. One of the best ways to avoid trouble is to know as much as possible about your audience in advanced. Try to get a list of attendees before the meeting. Should something go wrong, don’t panic. Your audience will be sympathetic, especially if you adopt the attitude of “I won’t let this situation get the best of me.” At any rate you should be prepared for the 4 most common crises.
=Technical difficulties. Common problems are microphones that won’t work or have cords that are too short to let you move about, or projector slides that are either upside down or in the wrong order. Avoid these headaches by personally testing all equipments beforehand.
=Change of plans. At the last minute, your allocated time could be either cut in half or doubled with very little warning. That is why you should prepare both a short and long version of your presentation. Tip : You can always lengthen it by adding a question-and-answer session.
=Bad room set up. It’s too small or too large, too hot or too cold. There are noise distractions and the seating is poor. Once again, plan ahead. Inspect the room personally and double check with the person in charge.
=Somebody steals your thunder. Another speaker “steals” your best points. Don’t get defensive or let the audience know it happened. Switch to another key point and shorten your presentation.
7. PREPARING FOR ON-CAMERA INTERVIEWS
You never know someday you’ll be faced with a television interview during your executive career. Communicating effectively on camera is not that different from making a business presentation.
=Promote you point of view. The skills you learned about fielding questions in strategy 4 will help here too. Simply remember to keep your communications objective clearly in mind at all times.
=Keep your answers short and simple. State your position simply with a short reason why. Back it up with an example and then restate your point of view.
=Project a relaxed attitude. Relax and smile before the interview. This way you’ll be comfortable the moment you are on camera. Keep your language positive no matter what questions you are asked. Using the tension release exercises in strategy 1 before the interview will also help you feel more at ease.
=Maintain “executive position”. Clasp your hands in your lap. Gesture at waist height, not in front of your face. Avoid sitting in a lower position than the interviewer or other guests. Men should cross their legs at the knees and women at the ankles.
=What to wear. Every executive should dress in tailored, conservative clothes. Men should wear a blue shirt and a predominantly red tie to reflect facial color. Women should avoid jewelry at the neck because it may interfere with a microphone. Skirts should always cover the knees.
You have now learned the 7 basic skills in becoming a strong, confident public speaker. Whether you are addressing 2 people or an auditorium of hundreds, you can now speak with confidence.
1. MAKE TENSION WORK FOR YOU
Most people and you are likely to experience some sort of tension everyday. It is thus normal if you feel some tension when speaking in public. In fact you can make tension work for you the following ways :
=Be objective. Don’t get tense about being tense. Let the tension about making a presentation flow naturally and accept it.
=Identify the tension. Do you feel tightness in your shoulders, butterflies in your stomach or perhaps your mouth gets dry and become short of breath? So do most people in this situation.
=Release tension daily. A simple isometric exercise can do you good. Tense the muscles involved, relax them, tense them again. After four or five times they will begin to relax. Now close your eyes and breathe slowly through your nose. In a minute or so you will begin to feel the tension easing.
=Release tension through movement. When you speak, gesturing with your hands, moving your body as naturally as you can and working with audiovisual aids will help turn the tension into energy.
2. ESTABLISH EYE CONTACT
Eye contact is very powerful and persuasive to gain attention and get agreement.
=Use eye contact before speaking. Never start talking right away. Decide who the “key” people that attend. Look at them the way you would if they were the only ones you were speaking to. Nod or smile at them. This will establish personal contact that helps create interest in your presentation.
=Maintain eye contact throughout. This is essential to get the response you want from the audience. You can start with a friendly face and concentrate on those “key” people for a few seconds. You can also divide the audience into quadrants. Speak to them the way you would to a friend in each area. This will help you develop sympathetic listeners in a systematic way.
=Monitor the audience. If you see someone “drifting”, eye contact will help bring that person’s attention back to you.
=Learn to read faces. Eye contact will help you read the reaction of your audience. It enables you to change or adapt your presentation whenever necessary.
3. START OFF FAST
The first 30 seconds are usually the most critical of your presentation. You must establish yourself and your message within that time to get off to a winning start.
Here are some tips you could use :
=Find and use your trigger. Your trigger is what works best for you in opening a presentation. The right trigger will create the exact relationship you want with your audience.
=Anecdotes that refer to the needs and interests of your audience can create a positive feeling of recognition or nostalgia.
=Using names of key audience members, in a warm and personal way, will help get the audience in the palm of your hand.
=A startling fact, statistic or provocative quotation will get serious attention every time.
=Jokes are logical openers. Remember, however, that a joke poorly presented isn’t funny.
Avoid yourself from any distraction. Here are some tips :
=Don’t start speaking before you are ready.
=Don’t use visual aids or handouts in the first 30 seconds.
=Don’t try to “wing” your opening. It only takes 30 seconds to practice a 30 second opener.
4. FIELD QUESTIONS SMOOTHLY
One of a public speaker’s greatest fears is not having the answer to a question, or having the mind go blank even when he or she knows the answer. Here are some tips to sharpen your answering reflexes :
=Don’t be led off on a tangent. Keep turning the question-and-answer session back to your subject.
=Listen to the question. Don’t try thinking of an answer until you have heard and understood the entire question.
=Keep answers short. Never go beyond 60 seconds in answering a question.
=Organize your answer. Answer the question immediately if you can. If you need a few seconds to organize your answer, use an opener like “That’s a good question…” or “What you are asking is…”
=Admit you don’t know. A simple “I’ll find out the answer and get back to you.” will gain empathy and credibility.
=Maintain control with eye contact. When someone finishes asking a question, break eye contact and re-establish it with other members of the audience. When you have finished answering, don’t look back at the questioner. Questions and answers should never deteriorate to a dialogue between two people. This can cause the rest of the audience lose interest. Use eye contact to encourage people with “friendly” questions. Avoid eye contact with those asking questions you choose not to answer.
5. SHOW THE RIGHT VISUALS
If you are making more than 3 points in a presentation, visual aids can reinforce your message for greater comprehension. Follow these simple rules, whether you are using slides, transparencies, flip charts or handouts.
=Don’t use visual aids in the first 30 seconds. They distract from your opening.
=Don’t talk to your visual aids. Talk directly to your audience.
=Don’t read your visual aids. Use them to illustrate what you are saying.
=Keep it simple. You should have only one concept per slide or page.
=Position the message horizontally. People are used to reading left to right, not top to bottom.
=Center the message inside wide margins.
=Check your visuals. Your audience should be able to get the point of any visual at a glance.
=Remember that visual aids are not the most important part of the presentation. You are. Don’t hide behind them, literally or figuratively.
6. STEER CLEAR OF TROUBLE
Here are 3 little words that will help you avoid a lot of trouble. Rehearse, rehearse and rehearse. One of the best ways to avoid trouble is to know as much as possible about your audience in advanced. Try to get a list of attendees before the meeting. Should something go wrong, don’t panic. Your audience will be sympathetic, especially if you adopt the attitude of “I won’t let this situation get the best of me.” At any rate you should be prepared for the 4 most common crises.
=Technical difficulties. Common problems are microphones that won’t work or have cords that are too short to let you move about, or projector slides that are either upside down or in the wrong order. Avoid these headaches by personally testing all equipments beforehand.
=Change of plans. At the last minute, your allocated time could be either cut in half or doubled with very little warning. That is why you should prepare both a short and long version of your presentation. Tip : You can always lengthen it by adding a question-and-answer session.
=Bad room set up. It’s too small or too large, too hot or too cold. There are noise distractions and the seating is poor. Once again, plan ahead. Inspect the room personally and double check with the person in charge.
=Somebody steals your thunder. Another speaker “steals” your best points. Don’t get defensive or let the audience know it happened. Switch to another key point and shorten your presentation.
7. PREPARING FOR ON-CAMERA INTERVIEWS
You never know someday you’ll be faced with a television interview during your executive career. Communicating effectively on camera is not that different from making a business presentation.
=Promote you point of view. The skills you learned about fielding questions in strategy 4 will help here too. Simply remember to keep your communications objective clearly in mind at all times.
=Keep your answers short and simple. State your position simply with a short reason why. Back it up with an example and then restate your point of view.
=Project a relaxed attitude. Relax and smile before the interview. This way you’ll be comfortable the moment you are on camera. Keep your language positive no matter what questions you are asked. Using the tension release exercises in strategy 1 before the interview will also help you feel more at ease.
=Maintain “executive position”. Clasp your hands in your lap. Gesture at waist height, not in front of your face. Avoid sitting in a lower position than the interviewer or other guests. Men should cross their legs at the knees and women at the ankles.
=What to wear. Every executive should dress in tailored, conservative clothes. Men should wear a blue shirt and a predominantly red tie to reflect facial color. Women should avoid jewelry at the neck because it may interfere with a microphone. Skirts should always cover the knees.
You have now learned the 7 basic skills in becoming a strong, confident public speaker. Whether you are addressing 2 people or an auditorium of hundreds, you can now speak with confidence.
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