The art of public speaking is a relevant skill of the present day society that is needed and considered a value.
Public speaking occurs in various manners and occasion, the Audience can range from a person to millions of people. The following are the strategies needed to speak confidently in public:
1. Your entrance and first moment on the podium is an integral part of your speech and can either reveal to your Audience how confident or nervous you are. Observe a little silence once at the podium, take a deep breath, relax and look around, this would draw the Audience attention to you and whatever you have to say.
2. Manage your environment while talking, look directly at the person or people you are talking to, avoid looking at a particular direction for too long. Show your Audience that you are in control by your eye contact.
3. Manage your body language as well, avoid being rigid about your posture, make your point with gestures but don't over use any behavior of body language, posture or movement as it becomes distracting to your Audience and makes them less focused on what you are saying.
4. Speak fluently and audibly, don't try to change your voice. Use conversational languages, i.e the most effective words to convey your message, refrain from the use of complex words as they only make your Audience concerned with 'how you're saying it' rather than 'what you're saying'. Know the exact meaning and pronunciation of your choice of words and as much as possible be clear in your speech; abbreviations and technical languages would hamper such clarity.
5. Dress well, don't appear less than your Audience expect you to be. Show off your qualifications and competence in your appearance, this gives you more confidence to speak in public but don't dress too extravagant as it becomes a distraction.
6. Reduce your level of anxiety, It is normal to be anxious especially if it's your first time speaking in public but don't let your Audience know you're anxious, take control of your emotions and speak with courage.
7. Establish an emotional tone to move your Audience, increase the emotionality of your speech. For example, instead of saying 'I'm here to talk about.. ' use 'I'm happy to be here to...' also, instead of 'Your immediate involvement... ' use 'Each of us must act now... '. This energizes your presentation and makes your speech less rigid.
8. If possible, mention your Audience by name, depending on the kind of Audience you're addressing, or you make atleast one specific mention of your audience, this makes the atmosphere more friendly and cool.
9. Use humour once in a while during your speech to lighten up the environment and make it less tensed up but most importantly avoid stereotypic humour especially in speaking to professional groups.
10. Repeat key phrases for emphasis, observe silence before or after a statement for emphasis as well.
11. Don't be intimidated by Audience with greater credentials than you, you're the one in control at the moment, make good use of it.
12. Once you say words such as, 'In conclusion, don't take any longer than two minutes to conclude your speech'. Do a brief summary of your speech and leave your Audience with a captivating final statement.
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