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6. I can see clearly now.
Visual aids are great to use when speaking, except when
audience can’t see them, or they detract from presentation. Visual aids can help audience to understand complex points with more ease. Visuals are easier to recall than words, they provide variety to your presentation, and are a wonderful tool to prompt you through key points of your speech. When preparing visual aids, use black or dark blue lettering on a white background to provide highest contrast. Avoid using bright colors, even against a white background as eye has trouble distinguishing them. You can utilize a variety of visual aids from PowerPoint slides, to flip charts, to overhead transparencies, to written handouts which allow for participant note taking. Refer back to analyzing your environment, to determine which type of visual aids, if any, would be most appropriate for a particular audience.
7. Dress for success.
Make sure that you dress appropriately for venue. If you’re speaking to business people, dress in business attire. If you’re speaking at a more casual event, it lends to your credibility and professionalism that you dress one cut above your audience. To help attendees distinguish you from other guests during networking part of program, wear a special name tag or a red ribbon on your lapel so that they can tell that you are speaker or presenter.
8. Express yourself -- literally.
Using gestures is a great way to to add variety to your speech. You can use several techniques with your hands including clenching your fist to illustrate power or force, putting your hands together in prayer to illustrate contemplation or meditation, holding out both of your hands to indicate offering or contributing something, pointing in different directions to indicate past or future or to refer to yourself, or placing a hand on your chest to indicate heartfelt emotions. Keep in mind that your hand gestures, for most part, should be below neck area. Hands near face can subconsciously indicate lying or hiding something. Also, involve other parts of your body when you speak. Your eyes, for example, should focus, periodically, on different audience members to maintain their attention. Both your eyes and your mouth can communicate any number of emotions from happiness to anger so use them to support your speech content. Also, showing your teeth as you smile will warm audience to your message. Finally, you can move to different areas of stage, if appropriate, but don’t pace. Using movements like these will help engage your listeners and, at same time, help you dissipate some of your nervous energy. Use them judiciously as their overuse can be distracting.
9. Me? I’m not nervous.
Every speaker, no matter how experienced will feel some sort of nervousness around speaking. Knowing that nervousness is something you will need to confront time and again, create a conscious strategy to confront it. By focusing on three main areas, you’ll put yourself in best position for converting your nervous energy into speaking energy to invigorate your audience. First, you need to know your topic inside and out. The more familiarity with it, easier it will be for you to speak naturally and comfortably about it. It’s amazing how a couple of hours of study can have you sounding like a veritable expert. Second, know your audience. You need to know who they are and why they are there. Walk around meeting and greeting attendees before you give your speech. That way you can develop some familiarity with audience, significantly increasing your comfort level when you recognize their faces when you’re speaking. Third, you need to know your environment. If possible, try to visit speaking venue ahead of time. Walk around room, stand up at front to view how audience will appear, practice with equipment (yours and any that is provided) to ensure that everything is in working condition. Note how you will approach front of room and how you will gracefully take your seat once you’re finished speaking. This dress rehearsal will greatly decrease any nervousness that you might have around speaking. Knowing your topic well, understanding your audience, and developing a familiarity with your speaking environment will probably reduce your speaking anxiety by 90% or more. Funnel rest of your energy into delivering a dynamic speech.
10. Practice, practice, and more practice.
The path to being a masterful speaker is paved with practice and lots of it. Each speech you do presents an opportunity to refine your speaking techniques and skills. The more you do, better you will get, guaranteed!
Copyright 2004 by Tara Kachaturoff.
Tara Alexandra Kachaturoff is an executive coach, trainer, consultant and professional speaker with over 15 years of corporate experience. She coaches executives, professionals, and entrepreneurs on leadership, business and lifestyle issues and has been featured in radio, print, and television. She is the owner of CoachPoint™, www.virtualleverage.com,and www.relationshipplanning.com.
