11 Tips To Make Public Speaking Easy

Public speaking can be intimidating. It’s an incredibly valuable skill that everyone must learn. It doesn’t matter what job you have or career you pursue, at some point you have to learn how to speak in front of others. Engaging and relating to your audience is the key to being a good public speaker. If you can keep your audience interested and entertained, you’ll be sure they won’t fall asleep – every speaker’s worst nightmare!

Good communication skills are an absolute must in life if you want to be successful. Throughout your life you’ll have to speak in front of groups. From job interviews to presentations, speaking in front of groups is something you’ll have to do. Public speaking is a talent that is easy to learn if you follow a few basic tips like:

1. Speak With Confidence – Confidence demands respect. If you hold your head high and speak with authority, people will listen to you.
2. Eliminate the Ums, Ers, Uhs, and Ahs – Speaking clearly and concisely is important. Listen to yourself speak. Do you add in speech disfluencies? If you can eliminate this pauses in your speech, you will help your credibility. Silence is not necessarily a bad thing.
3. Stay On Topic – Keep your speech focused. If you get on a tangent, be sure to reel it back to the topic to keep it relevant.
4. Use Eye Contact – If you stare at the ground or off into space you won’t be an effective speaker. Make eye contact with your audience and make them feel a part of what you have to say.
5. Prepare Your Thoughts – Know what you’re going to say before you say it. Preparation is the key to staying on topic and covering all of your points.
6. Make It Relevant – Relate your topic to your audience. When you can meet your audience at their own level, it will be easier for them to follow what you have to say.
7. Be Enthusiastic – Enthusiasm is contagious. Change your tone of voice to keep your audience engaged. A monotone voice is the fastest way to lose an audience.
8. Use Props – Have you ever listened to a speech that drones on and on? Use props, videos, pictures, activities, or powerpoint presentations to help keep your audience engaged.
9. Watch Others – It’s always wise to learn from the best. Watch Ted Talks or politicians and see how they relate to their audience and work the crowd.
10. Practice – The more you speak in front of others, the easier it becomes. Trust us.
11. Be Conversational – If you truly know your topic, you’ll be able to speak about it in a conversational manner. This makes it easy to discuss and shows that you truly know your stuff.

Public speaking is not easy. Standing in front of a group of people can be scary. With a little bit of practice, you’ll be able to make incredible presentations with ease. The goal is to make your point and have your audience understand and retain what you’ve told them. Having solid communication skills will help you find success in any niche you choose. Dial in your public speaking skills, then it’s time to apply for jobs.