Public Speaking Techniques To Make You Become An Effective Speaker
- By Carolyn Anderson
- Published 12/31/2009
- Tutorials
- Unrated
Some people are just so skilled when it comes to public speaking but even if you think you are far from being the best public speaker, you can work your way to become an effective and dynamic speaker with some public speaking techniques.
Even if you have that stage fright that we all dread, you can actually become a good speaker if you choose to. Being an effective speaker is indeed an important skill if you want to become successful in the many areas of your life.
If you have built enough confidence to speak before an audience, whether large or small, then you can work on not just giving a speech but learn some public speaking techniques to make your speech effective - to wow your audience and to make a big impact out of your speech. Here are a few tips you might find useful.
- Maintain proper posture when speaking. You have to stand erect and not lean on the podium. You have to refrain also from fiddling with your clothes or your fingers.
- Watch your body language. Body language often intensifies your speech but, at times, it can also be a distraction. Watch your body language and get rid of some mannerisms that may distract the audience from what you are saying. However, you can use some gestures to make your speech effective as well. You can practice this in the mirror or videotape yourself to help you assess your gestures and mann
erisms.
- Do not speak too fast or too slow. Speaking too fast may confuse your audience on what you want to convey to them, but on the other hand, speaking too slow may also bore them. Determine the right pacing of your speech but do not make it sound monotonous as well. You don't have to stick to one speaking rate though. One of the important public speaking techniques is to vary your pace throughout your speech, depending on what you want to emphasize.
- Check your diction. To make your speech effective, you have to work on making your diction right as well. Practice your diction and make sure you are not mumbling your words.
- Pause in between some important points you want to convey to the audience. This will give the audience time to think about what you just said. It is also one of the good public speaking techniques to allow you to breathe, allow you to think about what you have to say next. Keep in mind that these are planned pauses and not those long pauses that you may encounter because you forgot what you will say next.
- Forget about reading your speech. You may read a part of it but reading your entire speech in front of your audience will make it less effective. Create an outline of your speech so you can have at least a guide what to say next, but do not read everything in front of your audience.
Last but not the least; leave a great impression to the audience by closing your speech with a striking and impressive closing.
Even if you have that stage fright that we all dread, you can actually become a good speaker if you choose to. Being an effective speaker is indeed an important skill if you want to become successful in the many areas of your life.
If you have built enough confidence to speak before an audience, whether large or small, then you can work on not just giving a speech but learn some public speaking techniques to make your speech effective - to wow your audience and to make a big impact out of your speech. Here are a few tips you might find useful.
- Maintain proper posture when speaking. You have to stand erect and not lean on the podium. You have to refrain also from fiddling with your clothes or your fingers.
- Watch your body language. Body language often intensifies your speech but, at times, it can also be a distraction. Watch your body language and get rid of some mannerisms that may distract the audience from what you are saying. However, you can use some gestures to make your speech effective as well. You can practice this in the mirror or videotape yourself to help you assess your gestures and mann
- Do not speak too fast or too slow. Speaking too fast may confuse your audience on what you want to convey to them, but on the other hand, speaking too slow may also bore them. Determine the right pacing of your speech but do not make it sound monotonous as well. You don't have to stick to one speaking rate though. One of the important public speaking techniques is to vary your pace throughout your speech, depending on what you want to emphasize.
- Check your diction. To make your speech effective, you have to work on making your diction right as well. Practice your diction and make sure you are not mumbling your words.
- Pause in between some important points you want to convey to the audience. This will give the audience time to think about what you just said. It is also one of the good public speaking techniques to allow you to breathe, allow you to think about what you have to say next. Keep in mind that these are planned pauses and not those long pauses that you may encounter because you forgot what you will say next.
- Forget about reading your speech. You may read a part of it but reading your entire speech in front of your audience will make it less effective. Create an outline of your speech so you can have at least a guide what to say next, but do not read everything in front of your audience.
Last but not the least; leave a great impression to the audience by closing your speech with a striking and impressive closing.
Carolyn Anderson
Carolyn Anderson used to have stage fright but was able to overcome it. To learn some techniques to become a great public speaker, check out Get Applause Now. Also check out Kill Your Stutter, a ten-minute lesson on how to get rid of your stuttering.
View all articles by Carolyn Anderson