You know yourself better than anyone else. So, you already know you are an introvert. But your work might demand public speaking. You might have to stand in front of a podium, no matter how much you dislike it.
Public speaking is one of the common fears. You may have a profound knowledge of the topic you are going to talk about. Still, your palms could start sweating. There are different ways to overcome this.
Today I’ll be sharing some effective tips on how you can tackle this fear and become an impressive speaker.
Apply these key strategies while speaking to your colleagues and seniors in your workplace. You will learn how to communicate with them in a better way.
Slowly, you will gain confidence and become comfortable, and consequently, your performance will improve.
Don’t Bother About Nervousness And Prepare For The Best
You may feel that your hands are trembling, or your heart rate is increasing. But those will not make you a poor performer. Rather, they may make you more conscious about your job and insist you speak far better.
Practice is the best way to conquer your fears. So, practice, practice, and more practice! The more you prepare, the more comfortable you will become with the material.
Make videos of your practice sessions to figure out the mistakes so that you can understand the areas where you are lacking. Focus on those areas. Use the video editing tool InVideo to learn how to create a slideshow to help you communicate better. This excellent tool will help you develop yourself.
Learn About The Listeners
You must be aware of your listeners, their age groups, and backgrounds. With this information, you will be able to prepare the speech. A good speaker must keep in mind the taste of the audience and prepare accordingly. Your vocabulary, level of information, inspiring statement must touch them to keep them interested.
Focus on the audience in front of you and learn to understand their reactions. Make some adjustments to your message in a way that the way they feel relevant. While preparing the speech, keep some space for minor alterations depending on the audience’s reaction.
If you can connect them through your words, they will listen to you calmly. Change the choice of words and style based on the category of the audience. Avoid delivering a canned speech as it is your task to make them listen to you attentively.
Let Your Personality Reflect
While speaking in public, be the person you are. Never try to be someone else in any communication. People should trust you and listen to you from the heart when they notice that you are a real person.
Your personality should come out through your gestures and the way you speak. If people can connect with them, you will be able to establish credibility. So, share your views as a genuine person.
Recognize your strengths and weaknesses as a speaker in front of the public. Use your strengths to express your views. Add a personal touch to your message like telling a story, sharing some personal experience, or just cracking a relevant joke.
Use Simple Language
The language you are using while communicating with people is important. Keep it decent and simple. Explain your viewpoint without using arrogant words. To grab the public’s attention, inject light humor in between.
Your presentation must include a funny anecdote. For better presentation, you can take the help of an online video editor. People will love your speech if it has got a personal touch. You can use InVideo for this purpose, as it is a great tool.
Don’t Just Read Out Your Message
Avoid reading from a script or slide without communicating with the audience. This is very likely that you will lose their attention. Eye contact holds a great value in public speaking, maintain that throughout.
Focus on yourself and what you are speaking about, keeping eye contact with the listeners. If your preparation is up to the mark, then a brief outline will work fine. You can dig out from memory and expand on the message effortlessly.
Focus on your hands and gestures. Avoid any signs of nervousness that are visible to the audience. Your body language speaks more than your words. It carries most of the message. It conveys your ideas clearer and faster.
The Beginning Is Crucial, Don’t Enter The Topic Directly
Start like a pro. Never use phrases like,” I am going to speak about X today” to begin with. This will ruin all your effort. Instead, use an interesting anecdote or a famous quote as a starting trick. It will set the ambiance to enter the core subject matter smoothly.
Try to relate to the audience in the opening remarks. Try to understand their expectation. They should have a motive to listen to you. Figure that out to grow their interest.
Conclusion Is Vital
Like the beginning, the ending lines must be touchy and interesting. After delivering your message, wrap up with a summary and a strong, impressive statement that the listeners will remember long after the program gets over. The conclusion has to be dynamic, with every sentence having a lasting impact.
Audiovisual Aids Are Interesting
Change the mode frequently. If you go on speaking or showing slideshows for a long time, the audience may get bored. Use your aids wisely. Interact with them in between.
Listen to their confusion, queries, and clarify them. Let them take photos of the slides if they feel like. This will help to keep them engaged and to learn more about it.
Your On-Stage Persona Does Matter
Public speaking is a performance. You should try something that comes naturally. That could be recitation, mimicry, or acting. This would help you to discover your extroverted side, which was unknown to you so far.
Don’t try to be perfect. Nobody expects perfection from you. Allot a good amount of time for preparation and practice for the betterment.
I am not promising that your nervousness will vanish, but you will learn to minimize that with adequate practice, that’s for sure.
