Public Speaking

checkcheck20

I get terrified at public speaking. My hands, legs and head starts to shake whenever I start my speeches. Are there any tried and true techniques to give better speeches and be calm and collective about it?

Revolutionary

I'd say try feel proud of the words you've written, if you are excited about something then you'll be able to speak about it easily.

Also, preparing speeches a couple days in advance will allow you to feel more relaxed. Even if it is all written on Tuesday for example, slightly revised (and thus read) on Wednesday, and then spoken on Thursday, you will perform twice as better than you would if it was prepared entirely on Wednesday night.

In other words, put more thought into the content. Try get fired up about what you're talking about.

Aldo

There are no tried and true approaches, it's different for everyone. Just remember that everyone is anxious about speaking in public at first. For me it helped to remember that I knew much more about the subject than my public and that *they* won't notice when I say something slightly different from how I wanted to say it in advance.

starmanbrand

The most important thing? Confidence in yourself, man. As long as you are not holding something up with your hands (IE your note cards or a display or piece of paper) people will not see your hands shaking. If you are standing at a podium or table, people will not see your legs shaking. Just don't shuffle around and draw attention to those parts of your body with anxious movements. Take small, confident steps and make small confident hand gestures to accentuate points. This may sound like bullshit, but seriously. You can -not- tell unless the person speaking to you is giving you reason to look there.

Aside from that, if you stumble over words, it is ok to laugh at yourself if you say something stupid and back it up for a second. If you say "for" instead of "from" and it doesn't make sense in the the placement, it is ok to keep going. People will get the point and as long as it isn't some kind of contest, no one will think less of you for it.

Public speaking is all about having a good time. If you have a good time when you are speaking, you will make it easier for other people to enjoy speaking. don't worry about it too much. Itll be over in a couple minutes anyhow.

Raneados

one thing that seems to help a lot of people is practice

a lot of experience with public speaking definitely helps quell the shakes and the nervousness

A lot of colleges offer courses on Public Speaking. Everyone in there is just as nervous as everyone else and it's, honestly, a GREAT bonding thing. You feel great for others when you notice them getting better and others feel good for you.

Revolutionary

I'd like to add that although you should speak to the audience, you shouldn't pay attention to their moving/shuffling in chairs. It is only a distraction.

LewieP

If you can, get your point(s) across in this format -

3 point list
3 point list
Comparison.

Fizban140

Getting a little buzzed works for me.

RNEMESiS42

Fizban140 wrote: »

Getting a little buzzed works for me.

I'm not sure drinking a bit of alcohol before presentations is a good solution at all! I already tried that in high school...bad idea.

Improvolone

Do it often

kaliyama

I do it a lot, and I still get nervous; I think you're always going to be nervous. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing - nervousness can equate to energy, and make you give a better speech. The best way to not let it trip you up is to do the following.

1) Rehearse your speech, and know it. Don't memorize it - this makes you stiff and formal, but if you can write the speech in natural language, you'll recall it with a glance to your notes, slides, etc.

2) Delivery: if you're familiar with your speech and its written naturally, then this shouldn't be much of a problem. You don't want to adopt some artificial way of speaking or acting because you won't come off well. You want to feel like you're having a conversation with the audience - that will let you calm down a lot, imo.

3) Positioning: Standing behind a podium may be necessary, but don't stand RIGHT behind it with a death grip. You're more likely to feel casual and conversational if you move around a bit, or move off from the podium, or move in front of the podium.

s_86

-

Thanatos

Don't try to write a speech, word for word. A lot like what Kaliyama is saying, but a series of bullet points works much, much better than a written out, word-for-word speech in the vast majority of situations.

X3x3non

Don't try to write a speech, word for word. A lot like what Kaliyama is saying, but a series of bullet points works much, much better than a written out, word-for-word speech in the vast majority of situations.

This is good advice. Just a few days ago I had to hold a scientific presentation in front of a panel of researchers. I was pretty nervous so i thought i just write a speech and memorize it word for word. Turns out the bullet point format would have worked much better.

The only true way to get better at public speaking is PRACTICE. Try to volunteer for as many speeches as you can even if you FUCKING HATE IT. It's kinda like working out, you dread it, but you are a little proud after wards for kicking yourself in the ass.

LonestarRunner

The easiest thing that I do is to just say your speech like you were talking to a friend.

I like that method because it makes you give off a sense of enthusiasm and ease, but if your speech is good, it maintains the air of professionalism and friendliness.

Unless it's a serious speech.

Can't help you there.

Rotting Meat

I was always trembling in fear doing presentations before this year and TAing. One thing that I found really helped was presenting other people's material to get used to the whole concept of being in front of people. This way you're not nervous about the material; it's not yours, they can't judge you based on it. This leaves you free to focus on just getting the information across.

Another tactic that might help: as been said, think of it as a conversation with the audience. Try just talking to one of your friends about your topic and record or write down what you say and how they respond. This is a good starting point for the speech. Re-organize it so it flows better and try again, but keep in all the little things that you use when casually talking that are part of your personality (little jokes, pop-culture analogies, etc). Obviously some things won't be appropriate for a serious work setting, but it's good to keep a light mood. Have fun with it.

Forbe!

Practice. The only way you are going to get comfortable with it is by repetition.

Shark_MegaByte

Don't be afraid of the audience.

This is a choice. Often, practice can help you realize it is a choice and get you more used to thinking this way.

They're all people like you who know a few things, and also have gaps in their knowledge. You're there to fill in some gaps. They don't expect you to be Robin Williams, they just expect you to get the message across. Coincidentally, the more you're able to relax, the smoother everything will go.

When you have an attitude of "I'll do my best; whatever happens is not going to kill me," then you won't be left standing there deer-in-the-headlights for five minutes if your laptop battery or projector explodes leaving you without visuals. You just say, "Oops, so much for technology," everybody chuckles, and then you do your best to finish without the fancy aids.

Unless you're already famous, few people will ever judge you personally based on a public speaking appearance. It takes a REALLY good or REALLY bad presentation to stick in people's memories. You'll likely fall in between, which is fine.

There are two kinds of practice I can recommend...

• Take a speaking workshop or course where you learn basic principles of how to convey information effectively, and also get practice time presenting to groups of increasing size.
• Sign up to make a speech/presentation to the BIGGEST group you can find. Seriously. It will be rough - this was what made the biggest difference for me, and while I was speaking in front of almost 1,000 people, my left arm fell asleep. But after it was over, I had that experience to count as a victory - "Hey, I spoke to hundreds of people, and yeah I freaked out, but it really wasn't that bad. - And now I know I could do it again." After that, talking to a few dozen people is like nothing.

MegaMan001

If your in college / high school I cannot emphasize the usefulness of joining your school's speech team. This is not to be confused with the DEBATE team, which doesn't focus as much on the technical skill and ability of a good presentation. Your speech team may also be referred to as the "Forensics" team.

I did competitive speech in high school and college for a total of 6 years and the biggest advice I could give anyone about public speaking is to have confidence and passion in what you are discussing. If you can demonstrate that you care about your topic, then the audience will pick up on that. That's what will carry any presentation.

kingcelery

I say if you dont know what you're talking about speak louder. Volume is the best substitute for competence, and the easiest to attain.

LonestarRunner

kingcelery wrote: »

I say if you dont know what you're talking about speak louder. Volume is the best substitute for competence, and the easiest to attain.

Fuck man, I can't stop giggling at the idea of him up there screaming about the virtues of Quantum Physics.

The_Glad_Hatter

it might sound silly and trivial, but taking a deep breath before you begin helps you relax.
Just stand in front of your audience, feet at shoulder's width apart, and just take a deep silent breath before you begin. while doing this just slowly scan the croud and clear your mind.

another tip is leaving gaps. if you leave gaps that will "feel" like being rediculously long, they're usually just the right lenght. Listening to a speech =/= listening to a conversersation, and a good speaker allows his audience some time to let it sink in. keep a cool pace, without losing track of what you're saying, and you'll come across as a very confident speaker.

also, thanatos' tip about preparing bullet points. preparing a rough idea of your speech, not your exact words can help.

Lukin

Don't forget to breathe. I do this. I don't want to leave any gaps because I don't want to look like I've lost my train of thought and just go WORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDS and before I know it, I'm winded. It's easy to lose your confidence when you can't catch your breath.

desperaterobots

Preparation is really important. If you're ill-prepared you're almost definitely going to tank. The more you know about the topic your presenting, the more confidence you'll have with the material, the less you'll worry about things going wrong.

Try having your main talking points written one by one on cards. Check out your first talking point then throw the card away and start improvising your intro. When you're ready, check your next talking point and start chatting on that. Have as many as you need just make sure you throw them out of reach so you learn to rely on your ability to chat. Inspiration for this advice MAY have been how President Roslyn from BSG prepped for her presidential debates. Heh.

kingcelery

what really builds confidence is realizing that everyone in the audience is a complete and utter moron that is probably just smiling and nodding their collective heads so as to avoid looking like the fools that they are. trust me once you have total contempt for the people you're talking to you'll find it extremely easy to say whatever your heart desires.

apart from that never breath deeply, you might hyperventilate yourself. instead hold your breath for as long as humanely possible, hopefully while holding back the urge to urinate. trust me nothing gains another's respect like having the ability to change one's facial color.

finally imagine yourself naked. especially while you make small thrusting motions to your appreciative audience. if everyone is staring at you, you might as well focus their attention on you crotch and not on your horrible presentation. heck you might even get some fan appreciation after the fact.

and if these words of wisdom don't help you well then you are alone. . . so very, very alone.

Reiten

I find that moving around a bit as I talk makes me talk and breath much more naturally. Know your stuff and practice it. If you're really nervous about it, make sure to keep your talk conversational as you're more likely to stumble over formal phrasing and technical jargon. Besides, most people appreciate an approachable talk rather than a stiff and dull one filled with hard to follow jargon.

urahonky

If it's a speech for class, just remember that the student's don't really mind the material you're presenting. They're probably more worried about the fact that they might be up next. I tend to think about how nervous other people are, and about how they don't care that I'm up there talking... At least they aren't doing anything except listening to me.

Even though I say this I have the same problem as you do. I was a LOT better at it when I worked in retail and talked to random strangers all the time... Now I'm pretty introverted.