Presentations and Speeches. They're not about you.
Really. No one cares about you.
Unless you're a celebrity.
It's all about what the audience takes away from your message. So, when preparing your presentation or speech, keep this in mind, "How can my message help my listeners?"
If you want to engage, entertain and educate your audience, then try and relate your story and your message to your listeners lives.
Showing posts with label 30 public speaking tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 30 public speaking tips. Show all posts
How to Improve Your Public Speaking Skills
Video Tape & Review Your Presentations!
Do you video tape your presentations? No?
Why not?
If other people have to sit there and listen to you, why should you be spared?
Reviewing your performance is a great way to improve your public speaking. It's painful to watch yourself. Very painful. But it's a great way to gain some feedback.
Critique yourself. But be nice to yourself.
Write down at least one point of improvement.
Make a commitment improve on your next performance.
Repeat, repeat, repeat.
FREE Communication Skills Tips, Tricks and Techniques: http://bit.ly/ipNMxm
Do you video tape your presentations? No?
Why not?
If other people have to sit there and listen to you, why should you be spared?
Reviewing your performance is a great way to improve your public speaking. It's painful to watch yourself. Very painful. But it's a great way to gain some feedback.
Critique yourself. But be nice to yourself.
Write down at least one point of improvement.
Make a commitment improve on your next performance.
Repeat, repeat, repeat.
FREE Communication Skills Tips, Tricks and Techniques: http://bit.ly/ipNMxm
Speaker Man: Public Speaking Superhero?
It can be tough to completely quantify who Speaker Man is, and he can show up within all of us, inhabiting our body on stage as we strive to give the audience the best show we know how. And yes, Speaker Woman is ready to pounce as well, ladies. While concisely defining Speaker Man may be difficult, it's likely we all recognize him when we see him, even if we don't always recognize him when he possesses our own presentation.
While Speaker Man views himself as a Presentation Hero, he is actually an insidious villain, undermining speakers around the world - unintentionally destroying credibility and connection.
Speaker Man Signs to Watch For:
1. The Costume - not everybody can rock a green suit on stage. If you're wearing clothes that aren't 'You', you won't be comfortable when you speak. This doesn't necessarily mean going up in blue jeans and cowboy boots, although that approach has worked for a few... Buy clothes that make you comfortable and confident, while being appropriate for your speaking engagement. The more well known you are, the more you can get away with, but regardless of your status, if you are wearing a suit you hate just to impress, or incredibly uncomfortable high heels just to add power to your look, you are veering into Speaker Man territory.
2. Flexing Those Muscles - Speaker Man loves to strike a pose, and use gestures that truly look other-worldly. If you are planning dramatic gestures, and worse, holding them long enough to 'impress' the audience, you are definitely setting yourself apart. Apart from your listeners. Gestures need to be a natural outgrowth of your speech. Getting out of your comfort zone by using exaggerated gestures is a good thing, but when they are there simply to show people you can do them, Speaker Man is again rearing his not-so-heroic head.
3. The Megamind Myth - Speaker Man craves approval, and wants to show the world how smart he is, and how many quotes and statistics he can throw into a speech. He doesn't realize that by the end of the speech he's channeled so many great minds, no one actually needed him on stage at all, they just needed to buy a copy of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. If only he realized great concepts and ideas can almost always be recreated within our own personal framework, and presented to audiences in fresh ways they'll remember instead of dismiss as 'oh - yeah, that Einstein quote'.
4. Super Voice - this is the most universally recognized power of Speaker Man, as once it takes over, all hope is lost. Sometimes it's an overpowering used car salesman voice. It can be an overly plaintive and emotional voice. It can be a rapid-fire monotone at high-volume. When Speaker Man grabs control of our voice, we no longer become amplified versions of ourselves giving the audience a piece of our lives - we instead become preachers, politicians, and often overly pompous in our persona. When Speaker Man comes on, the audience turns off. Speaker Man, as desperate as he is to give the audience a great show, forgets to be conversational - to sound the same onstage as off. Instead of amplifying the natural, he's driven to deadly distortion.
Don't let yourself be victimized by this wanna-be superhero. Be comfortable and appropriate. Be naturally demonstrative. Bring your own experience to the stage instead of a steady stream of statistics and expert statements. And PLEASE - just talk to us - if we wanted a performance we'd have gone to the theatre.
SPECIAL GUEST BLOGGER
Data Dumps belong in the Garbage
You may not like the guys at Microsoft, but there's a reason they created two seperate programs: Microsoft Powerpoint and Microsoft Word.
Most presenters make the mistake of confusing presentations with documents. They do not understand the difference between the two. They do not understand that each serves an entirely different function, and hence should be prepared very differently.
Public Speaking Sin: Confusing Presentations with Documents
There's a huge difference between a presentation and a document.
A written document is supposed to contain all the details about a particular project - elaborate graphs, tables, long explanations, fine print. People can access the written document anytime they want and go over the all the details.
A presentation, on the other hand, is VERY different from a document. A presentation should only contain the most important information. Unfortunately, many presenters do not seem to understand this and subsequently end up copying large chunks of text into their Power-point presentations...a recipie for disaster.
The other common problem is that many presenters feel the need to cover everything in their presentations. They'll do a data dump - outlining all the tiny details, listing all the points, but never really adequately explaining enough. As a result, when audience members walk out of the presentation, they walk out remembering nothing.
Before you include any specific point in your presentation, ask yourself "Why do my audience members need to know this? How will this point help me enforce my key message?" If a particular point/chart/graph can be done without, then don't include it in the presentation - save it for the written document that your audience members can read at their own pace. Share
Most presenters make the mistake of confusing presentations with documents. They do not understand the difference between the two. They do not understand that each serves an entirely different function, and hence should be prepared very differently.
Public Speaking Sin: Confusing Presentations with Documents
There's a huge difference between a presentation and a document.
A written document is supposed to contain all the details about a particular project - elaborate graphs, tables, long explanations, fine print. People can access the written document anytime they want and go over the all the details.
A presentation, on the other hand, is VERY different from a document. A presentation should only contain the most important information. Unfortunately, many presenters do not seem to understand this and subsequently end up copying large chunks of text into their Power-point presentations...a recipie for disaster.
- Presentation Tip 1: Do Not Copy Chunks of Text from Word to Powerpoint
The other common problem is that many presenters feel the need to cover everything in their presentations. They'll do a data dump - outlining all the tiny details, listing all the points, but never really adequately explaining enough. As a result, when audience members walk out of the presentation, they walk out remembering nothing.
- Presentation Tip 2: Cover Only the Most Important & Relevant Points
Before you include any specific point in your presentation, ask yourself "Why do my audience members need to know this? How will this point help me enforce my key message?" If a particular point/chart/graph can be done without, then don't include it in the presentation - save it for the written document that your audience members can read at their own pace. Share
10 BEST Communication and Public Speaking Books to Read
 |
| Top 10 Communication and Public Speaking Books |
I've read hundreds of books related to public speaking,
communication skills and persuasion. Most of them
were good, but a few stood out as extraordinary.
Here's my list of 10 Best Books for you to Read if
you want to become a better persuader and communicator.
10. Confessions of a Public Speaker - Scott Berkun
 |
9. Enchantment - Guy Kawasaki
8. Present Your Way to the Top - David J Dempsey
7. Say it Like Obama and Win - Shel Leanne
6. So What? How to Really Communicate what Matters to Your Audience - Mark Magnacca
5. The Reagan Persuasion - James C Humes
4. Influence: Science and Practice - Dr. Robert Cialdini
3. World Class Speaking - Craig Valentine
2. YES - 50 Scientifically Proven Strategies for Persuasion - Dr. Cialdini
and the WINNER...
1. Made to Stick - Chip and Dan Heath
"A truly outstanding book. Without doubt the best book that I've read on communication skills" - Akash P. Karia (Public Speaking Coach)
P.S. Too busy to read? Want all this information in bite sized chunks? Want the best communication tips acquired from over 100+ books? Then sign up for the FREE communication skills newsletter (Value $399) by entering the email address at the top right hand of this blog.
30 Ways to Be a Great Speaker
 |
| 30 Ways to Be a Great Speaker |
1. Craft an interesting title to your presentation/speech
2. Open with a Bang. Use a question/anecdote/quote.
3. Smile when you get up on stage. It'll boost your confidence and build rapport with the audience.
4. Make eye-contact with your audience to build a connection.
5. Keep it simple. Narrow down your message into one simple idea that everyone in the audience will understand.
6. Limit the number of points you talk about
7. Keep it conversational. Sound human. Don't use jargon and vocabulary that you wouldn't use in daily conversations.
9. Use analogies to make your point clear
10. Use acronyms to make your points memorable
11. Use metaphors and similes to create visual images
12. Make strategic use of pauses. Use pauses to allow your audience to digest particularly difficult bits of information. Use pauses after questions to allow the audience to reflect.
13. Involve the audience with an activity14. Ask questions. Get them to discuss the answers between themselves in pairs to get their creative juices flowing. And then ask them to report their answers back to you.
15. Use the 12 Power Words to engage your listeners
16. Keep your presentation/speech You-focused. Keep the focus on the audience.
17. Sell the benefits, not the features.
18. Tease your audience into wanting to know more. Don't tell, tease.
19. Give the audience a Next Step that you want them to take.
20. Repeat catch-phrases often and your point will be remembered.
21. Keep your talk positive. Avoid talking about depressing topics. Your audience will be more receptive if your talk gives them hope.
22. Use handouts to increase retention rates.
23. DO NOT read from your Powerpoint Presentation. Add value to the slides by elaborating on the points and sharing your opinions and stories.
24. Limit the number of bullet points per slide to no more than 3
25. No paragraphs on slides! Avoid a large bunch of text on the slide.
26. Use vocal variety. Avoid speaking in a monotone or you'll bore your audience. Add emphasis to certain words, change your pitch and tone to reflect different emotions (surprise, fear, love). Use a voice-recorder and record your presentation, and then ask a friend to review the recording and to help you add vocal variety.
27. Use open body-language (i.e. no crossed arms, no hands in pockets).
28. Keep your gestures natural. No over-exaggeration. Record yourself using a video-camera and ask a friend to review your body language.
29. Practice, practice, practice! Rehearse your speech at least twice before you step up on stage. Rehearse mentally (visualize yourself giving an engaging speech) right before you step up on stage.
30. Join a Toastmasters club. You gain plenty of stage time, build your confidence and receive valuable tips from experienced speakers.
BONUS:
31. Realize it's a process. Becoming a better speaker and communicator takes practice. You won't see drastic improvements overnight, but you'll get better and better with each presentation. Relax, have fun, and make a commitment to being a better speaker than you were the yesterday.
P.S. Thank you for reading. Give us a 'Like' because you enjoyed this/learned something useful from this.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
