Public speaking is terrifying and nerve-racking to most people. Whether you experience momentary stage fright or are simply naturally anxious or shy, everyone can relate to a fear of public speaking. However, as with most qualities in life, if you are not naturally born with public speaking skills, then you must develop strategies to improve. Below are my top 5 tips to help improve your public speaking skills.
- Know your audience — your speech is about them, not you.
The speech you deliver should focus on the audience, not on yourself. Although personal anecdotes are useful in many speeches, they should be used with the intent of connecting to and engaging with the audience. Know the needs of your audience and always match the contents of the speech to their needs. Make a point to know your audience, as this will help in determining the choice of information, words, and the motivational statement you give them. The speech should also be captivating to the audience and worth their time and attention. It is important to know what your audience wants and needs to hear so that once they listen to your speech, they have clear action items, or see the world differently. Everyone wants their speech to have an impact on their audience.
- Be simple and clear.
Keeping your audience’s attention is imperative. Therefore, always use simple and clear words that are easily understood by everyone in the audience. Using jargon will not make the audience feel welcome but only reflects lazy thinking on your part. Always remember that less is more — when communicating in a speech, don’t over-complicate your phrasing in an effort to appear more intelligent or prestigious.
- Make slides an aid, not a crutch.
When using PowerPoint presentations, use keywords instead of paragraphs on your slides. This will help the audience to focus on the message of your speech and not on the crowded slides. Despite the use of slides during your speech, it is imperative to maintain eye contact with the audience as this will keep the focus on you and your message. Reading from the slides will only fracture the interpersonal connection with your audience.
- Show your personality.
Don’t make the mistake of trying to adopt a different personality or demeanor. During your speech, let your true personality shine through, as this will establish better credibility. In most cases, the audience tends to remember your personal stories more than they remember the pie charts on the slides behind you. Therefore, making your speech personal will remind your audience that you are human. Ultimately, this makes the audience trust what you are saying.
- Use stories and statistics.
Using a personal story in your speech will help you engage and connect with your audience. A personal story followed by statistics will then validate your points to the audience and help them open their minds. This way, you will both give the audience a personal connection with the topic and also convince them using statistics.
Whether you are pitching to a room of investors or to your boss, or simply speaking to a group of your peers, it is important to have great public speaking skills. Possessing the power to confidently stand on a stage and earn your audience’s attention makes you stand out and is a true key to professional success.
Olga V. Mack is a blockchain strategist, public speaker, and adjunct professor at Berkeley Law. She is Vice President of Strategy at Quantstamp, the first decentralized security auditing blockchain platform. Most recently, she served as General Counsel at ClearSlide and she has held legal and operational roles at Visa, Zoosk, Pacific Art League, Wilson Sonsini, and Yahoo. Olga founded the Women Serve on Boards movement that advocates for women to serve on the corporate boards of Fortune 500 companies. You can email Olga at olga@olgamack.com or follow her on Twitter @olgavmack.
5 Tips To Improve Your Public Speaking Skills curated from Above the Law
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