6 Steps to Conquering Public Speaking…..Like A Boss!

Communication comes in many forms, and what I will discuss with you now is the art of Public Speaking, and believe me, there is an art to effective public speaking.

Public speaking is ranked as the number 1 fear amongst people according to studies, followed by death. No, seriously! People rather die than speak in front of people. 

Successful public speaking, whether its in a board room, in front of a class, or at a church, or a funeral where apparently you'd rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy, can be achieved by following six key tips.

1. Your entrance into your speaking position. Walk in calmly, and find a comfortable area in front of your audience and get into a firm stance, standing upright with no hunching. While the pressure to begin speaking might take over with all eyes on you, don’t!…Take a moment to scan your audience, take a deep breath and calm your nerves. This initial pause will show your audience right off the bat, that you are in charge.

2. Use your voice to fill the room so that you are sure the person in the back row can hear you clearly, talking from your diaphragm. The goal is to speak louder than you think you should actually be speaking. You wont’ be screaming, but your voice will carry.

3. Speak slow!……...Use pauses filled with nothing but silence. This helps in two ways. When we get nervous while speaking, we tend to increase the rate at which we speak, so you rush through your sentences and the words get jumbled up……Use the silent pauses to collect your thoughts. The silent pauses also help to navigate you away from filler words like “um”, “like” and the “you knows”. We are very patient creatures when it comes to focusing on a speaker, and will wait for you to deliver your message. The majority of the audience is probably encouraging you to do good and are receptive to your message. They will wait for you.

4. Body language. You guys ever heard of Ricky Bobby? I don’t know what to do with my hands. Don’t let your hands become a distraction. Keep them centered, and around the area of your belly button, and use them to gesture minimally, not straying from an invisible box you create, no wider than your stance. Also, don’t forget to smile! Smiling creates a warming affect with your audience. Think about a conversation you’ve had with someone over the phone. You can hear it in their voice as they speak, that they are smiling. Smiling changes your tone and makes your voice more pleasant to listen to.

5. Eye contact. We talked about scanning the audience as you enter, but while you are speaking you want to make eye contact with individual members in the audience. Just a few will do, and ensure that you hold your gaze with them as you speak. This creates a very engaging atmosphere with you and the audience, as if you are speaking one on one with everyone in the room. Even those you don’t make contact with can feel the connection through the contact you make with others. Scan the audience for those who are visually encouraging you with their gestures and feed off of them for continued encouragement through eye contact.

6. The audience is listening, waiting on your every word for a reason. They want to receive something. They want value from what you are delivering. Avoid the salesperson dialogue of trying to force something on them, rather give something they might want or need-your information. They have given you their time, now give them something worthwhile in return.

Follow these six steps and you will conquer any public speaking engagement……like a Boss!


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