10 Tips for the First-Time Public Speaker |
Posted: March 19, 2018 |
It’s your first time to get up in front of people and talk to them. Your palms are sweaty, your hands are shaking and you can barely concentrate. If speaking in front of an audience isn’t “your thing,” read on for ten tips to help you make a good impression and get through this first speech.
1. Memorize facts – you’ll speak more confidently if you know your subject, and audiences love facts and statistics
2. Vary your tone and volume – learn to speak slower at certain points or punctuate a sentence with a louder tone; a business speech coach can help you master this aspect of public speaking
3. Use gestures – the audience will be more interested in what you have to say if you use hand gestures or move around on stage rather than standing frozen in one spot; it also helps you speak more naturally
4. Use visual aids – a power point presentation or slide show will appeal to the visual learners in the crowd and it will give you and your listeners something to focus on besides you
5. Tell a story – bring your subject to life by telling a story which is relevant to the topic; it doesn’t have to be funny, but it should capture the attention of your audience so they will want to listen to what you have to say
6. Clarify your knowledge – make the audience understand why they should listen to you by explaining your expertise or why the subject matters to you; they will take you more seriously if they believe what you say
7. Use descriptive language – master metaphors and sneak in similes to create a visual picture with your words; remember the adjectives and adverbs you learned in school that brought words to life and utilize those ideas to create interest with your audience
8. Focus on your introduction – create a strong introduction or you’ll lose your audience before you even start; include a statistic or fact that listeners will remember
9. Sum up your speech with a call to action in the conclusion – make sure your audience knows the purpose of your speech by creating a strong call to action; tell them what you want to do with the information they have learned in your speech or they probably won’t take any action
10. Keep the focus – everything you say in your speech should stay on point with your topic; even if you tell a story or joke or add in facts and figures, they should be relevant. Don’t go off on rabbit trails or deviate with a related topic that doesn’t keep the focus where you want it to beBeing a successful public speaker doesn’t happen overnight. It can take months or even years of practice to become really good at it. However, if you take these ten tips and hire a business speech coach to help you, your first speech can be the start of something you can be proud of.
Claudette Roche is an accent modification classes in the Vero Beach, FL area. She teaches foreign and American accents to actors and business persons/executives. In 2010 she was named as one of The Top 5 Voice Coaches by Hollywood Weekly Magazine.
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