Are You making the most of Public Speaking

Have you ever found yourself watching someone and thinking ‘I could do that’.

That happened to me when I was sat in the audience listening to some of the UK’s top business strategists and speakers presenting on internet marketing and personal development. Having the ability to speak well in public opens up a world of opportunities, So what was stopping me?

I was keen to explore this with one of my coaches and it was interesting what came up. Being shy or lacking confidence surprisingly wasn’t the issue, for me it was a real fear of forgetting my subject matter when in front of an audience. I can tell you, an audience looks quite different when you are facing it rather than part of it.

So let me share with you some of the actions I have taken that will also enable you to take your public speaking to the next level.

1.Be yourself. You are an expert on you. No-one in your audience knows your subject better than you – at least not from your perspective.
When my coach drilled down on my fear it became apparent I was concerned about being judged. It was then that I realised my perspective, my experiences my opinions were the messages I would be sharing with my audiences I suddenly realised the fear wasn’t so bad. No-one can judge my perspective!

2.Prepare and practice. Brain storm, mind map or bullet point the main points and then run through your entire presentation as often as you can. Some people suggest you practice in front of a mirror but personally that just makes me laugh!
What I prefer to do is visualise the whole presentation, from arriving in the room right through to close of the presentation, being very careful to include every little detail, from starting with a bold statement, a question to get your audience thinking or by telling an interesting personal story, to making eye contact with the participants to listening to the sound of your voice, ( is there any passion there, are you speaking from your heart?) to noting how your audience responds to you – the positive outcome you desire. Really go to town on this and note whether you are associated or disassociated from the experience, or in other words in your visualisation are you watching yourself perform or are you actually in the picture seeing things with your own eyes? Play around with this and see what happens.

3.On the day. Aside from the practicalities, prepare yourself. Have you ever been at a seminar before and turned around to see the guest speaker make a flying entrance from the back of the room? This is a popular speaker trick to get the adrenalin pumping before going on stage. Remember to stand at the front of the platform, if you stand too far back you risk demonstrating you are nervous of your audience. Try to include humour in your presentation, it reduces tension and helps you build rapport with your audience.
If you are wanting to share new information with your audience the quickest way of doing so is to begin your sentence with ‘ you probably already know ……’ before you have even finished those words your audience will be nodding and their neural pathways will be ready to accept the new information.

And lastly remember like learning any new skill it takes time to perfect, so most importantly enjoy the experience and the opportunities speaking to an audience will open up for you.

Gerald R. Ford famously said: "If I went back to college again, I'd concentrate on two areas: learning to write and learning to speak before an audience. Nothing in life is more important than the ability to communicate effectively."