October
2008
What kind of a speaker are you?
Posted by: Monika
Sugiarto
comments
Topic: Public Speaking
Chances are that most of us will be asked to speak up about something sooner or later. Be it in a professional setting, selling our product or services, report on the financial situation, inform about a trend, and demonstrate the use of a gadget. Most people would rather die then speak up in public in front of a group. How about you?
Even conversing clearly with our loved ones represents a big challenge in our modern day of easy and instant communication devices. Speaking clearly and confidently in any situation therefore is a skill that today is an absolute need for everyone. And it can be learned and must be practiced. Anybody can improve their communication skills, especially the public speaking or better called presenting skills. Let’s look at the definition first: Present is to bring before the public, it comes from Latin, which means to show. In other words, any idea, picture and thought is presented as vividly and attractively as possible to an audience of many people or just one person. A presenters aim or intention is to get the audience to agree and adopt the same view, a similar view or at least understand that there are different views. So, we can safely say that public speaking is presenting your point, even selling your idea, whether you do it by speaking or using other means to help you like pictures, sounds or objects.
Most probably you will not have many tribulations actually talking or presenting your views, what most people fear is the reaction of the audience to what we are presenting. That is what causes the sweaty hands, a pounding heartbeat and a trembling voice when called on to present our views in public. Most speakers have some stage fright, even the very seasoned ones, how about you?
To better prepare and therefore minimize the anxiety about how the audience will perceive your speech, we need to consider the needs, wants and don’t wants of the people we are going to present to. Did you know that?
This is exactly where most speakers fail, they do not do their home work, and they do not investigate and ask questions about the audience. 90% of a presentation or a speech is in the preparation. Plan your topic with an attractive title. Arrange the material you are going to present in a manner suitable for the audience. Make sure you know the time frame, how long will you be talking. What resources will you need or have at your disposition. Will you use visual aids? Power Point is the most used and abused visual aid
in the market today. Choose the words you use wisely, appropriate for the occasion. Do not use ‘jargon’, technical or insider vocabulary that people listening do not understand. You do not look sophisticated and interesting, using them, the audience will tune you out, if they have no clue what you are talking about.
Many speakers wonder in awe how to grab the attention of the audience. Are you one of them?
Be sure to have an interesting, attention grabbing opening, rehearse and memorize it. This will give you very much confidence to come to the stage because you already know what to say and are sure it is a hit. A quote, an interesting short story, and anecdote, a rhetorical question and much more will attract the audience’s attention immediately to you and to what you have to say, since it sounds interesting, maybe funny or even absurd. Absolutely never excuse yourself for not having prepared, had the time to think about what to say and have forgotten to bring handouts. If you really do not know what to say, better do not even try, postpone for a next time. The audience will not be impressed and since you think you are not good, they will agree with you and will not listen to you anyway.
Are you usually ending your presentation in time?
In today’s business world it is of outmost importance to let the audience know how long your speech will be and then end within the allocated time. Here again, prepare your ending, make it memorable. The thing the audience will remember most is the ending, the last thing you presented. Be interesting, maybe even funny. You can point out again the main attractions of your product or service. Give the audience steps for actions to take, or come back to the beginning of your speech. Memorize your ending, for easy transition and full confidence and power at the finishing line!
I wish you success and fun with your next presentation.