For most of the people among us, public speaking is a forbearing task. Most of us will not take the challenge of stepping over the dais, and giving a speech to people on a topic mastered by him/her.
But why is this such a scary thing for us, while a few others can face the crowd with ideas so confidently?
There are some secrets of public speaking that you need to know, to be able to stand up and face every questioning, countering, pleasing, and menacing look from the crowd.
Read on to know the secrets that can make you a different person, altogether!
8 Secrets of Public Speaking
Here they are:
1) Believe in What You Say
Before talking to people, talk to yourself and ask if you have faith in your idea. This is the hurdle that you need to get through. If you believe in what you are going to say, no matter how you put it, it is going to succeed.
So either say what you absolutely believe in, or convince yourself to believe in your idea. Acquire the idea as you own and talk about it. This will give you the needed courage to speak in public.
2) Know the Purpose of Your Being There
Your being there and giving a speech has a purpose. If there is no purpose, you need not to address people and bore them. Talk only if it is needed. Focus on the purpose, and talk to address the listeners’ questions.
This focus will change the way you to deal with people. Focus on the purpose and the need, instead of thinking about yourself and your weaknesses. This is one obvious secrets of public speaking.
3) Develop a Connect With Your Audience
Develop connect with people you are addressing. And this can only be done with a confident eye contact. Understand your position and your listeners’ position. You are the preacher, and the audience are the learner. You are imparting knowledge to them.
Look into their eyes, to make them believe in what you are saying. The eye contact will keep your audience interested and vigilant.
4) Talk for Your Audience
Remember, the only way to keep your audience engaged is to talk for them, and not for yourself. The best speech masters have used this as a trick in their speeches, and are remembered as greater speakers.
Do this by analysing the crowd, and the purpose they are here for. What is the purpose of their being there? What do they expect to hear from you?
What are their problems for which they are looking a solution? Address their questions by thinking from the perspectives of the individuals gathered there to listen to your speech.
5) Go Slow and Engage the Audience
This particular secret of public speaking has been used by best speakers in their speeches. The purpose is to bring your audience’s attention to you, and make them look up to you with interest and expectation.
You can do this by resisting the urge to speed down the speech initially. Say something that triggers the interest of people, but go slow. Your pauses before spilling the ideas will make your audience attention.
6) Talk by Heart than By Facts
Facts sometimes don’t register. Or even if they do, they don’t be with the audience. And the most successful way of delivering a speech is to talk by heart, not by stats.
Remember, no one ever quotes and stats. People talk about what was said, and how it changed their lives. Use a unified idea through the speech, convince people with stories of your and famous people’s experiences, instead of talking about statistics.
7) Consider the Implications of your Speech
What you do not say sometimes becomes bigger than what you do not say. Consider the implications that can be inferred from an experience or a story in your speech. If there is something inept in it, talk to defy it in your speech.
Things that you say should have one, clear message. Do not leave anything vague and incomplete in a speech, as it leave a room open for misinterpretations or wrong conclusions.
Or if you do leave something unclosed, make an open statement that you won’t touch upon that aspect.
8) Practice the Speech to Perfection!
Very few people are born speakers, who can just say anything and gain the desired effect on their audience. If you don’t think you are one among those, practice your speech well.
Script your speech and practice it at home. You will find a lot of things that you need to emphasise, while practicing. Perfect it with your expressions and examples and right attitude. Run your mind to what your audience might want to hear about, from you.
Believe in yourself and practice new skills, and you will end up being the most impressive speaker. These were the 8 secrets of public speaking and I hope it helps you.
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