Although I am a personal development blogger by profession, I am in no way a mental health professional. See my disclaimer for more info.
So, you’ve got a speech coming up and need a few pointers. I’m here to give you my top public speaking tips that always help me give great speeches.
Imagine this: you’re standing in front of your audience and you feel completely unprepared. You have a huge fear of public speaking and you wish you would’ve done more preparation.
Friends, I’ve experienced this a time or 2 in my life. I’m already not the most outgoing person, so when I have to present a speech, I really have to do my best so I don’t go up there and embarrass myself. I’ve done a number of speeches in school and, from those, I’ve learned some helpful tips to make the process more bearable.
If you find yourself in my shoes — fear not! Whether you’re a college student, work in corporate America, or want to be a motivational speaker, I’m certain these 16 public speaking tips will help you give the best speech possible.
This post is all about public speaking tips.
Public Speaking Tips:
1. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse!
Look: if you go into this thing without practicing AT ALL, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
If you want to succeed, you have to rehearse for your presentation. It may seem boring, but you’ll thank yourself when you have to present to your audience.
So, when I say rehearse, I’m not talking about in your head. No — stand up and act like it’s the real deal.
I always do it like this and it helps me get a feel of how it’s going to be (without a live audience, of course). I sometimes even deliver my speech in front of my family to get their reactions.
If you really want to, you can record your rehearsals. This allows you to watch them back, critique them, and take notes to help improve next time.
Here are 2 things you want to look for:
- Body language (standing up straight and not swaying side to side)
- Voice (tone, shakiness, volume, pitch, etc.)
2. Get inspired
Every time I’ve given a speech, I’ve learned from my peers.
There’s usually a good number of people that present before I do. This lets me observe their speeches and pick up a few things (both good and bad).
For example, say someone is presenting but they’re pausing frequently. I’ll make a mental note of that and try not to pause too much in my own speech.
But you don’t have to learn this way! Go on YouTube and watch other peoples’ speeches. I’m sure you can learn quite a bit.
When observing them, look out for these qualities — good speakers should:
- Have good body language (good posture, not swaying, etc.)
- Make eye contact with their audience (not looking at the floor/ceiling, their notecards, their slideshow, etc.)
- Make use of ethos, logos, and pathos (credibility, reasoning, and emotions)
- Show confidence (it should be, in a good way, obvious that they’re well-rehearsed and ready to present)
3. Learn from your past speeches
You obviously can’t do this if this is your first speech… BUT, once you’ve had some experience, you can learn from your past presentations.
Think about what you did well and what changes you can make to make your next presentation even better.
This might be hard if you forget things easily like myself. I like to take mental and physical notes during and after my speech.
Then, when I have another one coming up, I can reflect on my past few and make sure I apply these critiques.
4. Do positive self-talk beforehand
You’re most likely going to be a nervous wreck before your speech — and that’s totally okay!
I’m always really shaky and anxious before I present. I can barely move since I’m so jittery.
To calm myself down, I say some positive affirmations in my head. I remind myself that, as long as I’ve practiced and I know the material, that’s what matters most.
5. Stay hydrated
You’re going to be talking for some time without taking a water break. Make sure you hydrate yourself before your presentation.
Do this to stay hydrated and prevent your voice from sounding and feeling dry.
6. Know that nervousness is normal
I get that you’re nervous. You’re talking to a group of people and they’re actively yet silently judging every word that comes out your mouth.
I always get nervous before my speeches — even days before I deliver them! The sooner you understand that nervousness is normal, the sooner you’ll be able to find peace.
Your fellow presenters are most likely nervous, too. They might not show it, but I’m sure there are a few people in the room who feel exactly how you do.
When I realize this, I can calm down beacuse I no longer feel alone in how I feel.
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7. Take a breath in between pauses
Have you noticed that you say filler words like “um” and “uh” when you pause?
Yeah, try not to do that! It can be kind of annoying when the presenter says “um” every 5 seconds.
I know it’s not on purpose, but it still happens. Instead, take these moments to take a deep breath.
This way, you avoid using filler words, you can catch your breath, and you have a chance to think.
8. Try not to replicate your rehearsals
I know the purpose of rehearsals is to be prepared for the actual thing. But if you don’t do it right, this could hurt you.
Many people (including myself at one point) try to deliver their speeches exactly how they practiced them. And I mean word-for-word!
Please don’t do this — you’ll go up there and be stuck because you’re trying to mimic your rehearsals. Anytime I do this, I get chocked up and look the ceiling, thinking:
“Wait, what is my next line?”
It also makes for a rather awkward silence in the room until you can finally recall what you’re supposed to say.
To avoid this, you should focus on the highlights and key information. Then, expand on these topics during your actual speech.
9. Only use your presentation when needed
When presenting information, you most likely have a slideshow to go with it. This is supposed to act as a visual aide and to remind you of the information in case you forget it.
It’s not meant to your personal teleprompter!
Where people go wrong, though, is entirely relying on this slideshow during their whole speech.
Some hardly even look at the audience because they’re so focused on the visuals. Try not to do this in your future speeches.
10. Speak formally
During your speech, you focus on these 3 vocal things — you should talk:
- Loudly enough to be heard
- Clearly enough to be understood
- Slowly enough to where you aren’t just running your mouth
If you don’t talk loud enough, your audience will have a hard time hearing you and might tune out. You also need to speak clearly (pronouncing words correctly) to make sure everyone understands you.
You might either have a natural habit of talking fast or unintentionally do it since you’re nervous.
Try not to do this because you end up presenting lots of information way too fast for your audience to stay on track.
11. Make eye contact with your audience
Wouldn’t it be pretty weird if you were talking to someone who’s staring at the ceiling, floor, or their phone the whole time?
SPOILER ALERT: That’s not exactly the most respectful thing to do.
When giving a speech, you should make eye contact with your audience. Engage with them and let them know you’re really in this thing.
If you’re bold enough, you can pause and make direct eye contact with one of your audience members. I haven’t gotten this far yet (haha).
Then again, though, it somehow feels less demanding than to scan the whole crowd. So maybe you should try it sometime!
THINK: Are you good at making eye contact? Tell me in the comments!
12. Be aware of your body language
Like I’ve said a few times already, good body language is key to a successful, effective speech.
Good body language doesn’t just mean standing up straight, though. It also includes talking with your hands.
When you talk with your hands, you almost make a visual to match certain words you’re saying (if that makes any sense!). You probably do this naturally, but it’s different when it comes to speaking in public.
When doing it in public, you want to be intentional with it. Try to make things match and make sense.
13. Know your topic
This may seem obvious but sometimes it isn’t. You have to actually know what you’re talking about if you want to seem convincing.
People can usually tell if you just go up there and spit out a bunch of nonsense. It won’t work!
Spend some time studying and researching the topic of your speech. You’ll save yourself some internal (and possibly even external) embarrassment.
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14. Be specific
With knowing your topic, you’ve got to REALLY know it, okay?!
Don’t go up there and present a bunch of half-baked ideas. You’ll leave your audience feeling confused and in need of more facts.
You need to add some good details and examples to support your claims — just like an argumentative essay or even, well, an actual argument!
15. Exude confidence
One of the best things you can do in a presentation is to appear confident. This means speaking clearly, using hand gestures, knowing your topic, and having good posture.
That’s basically everything I’ve covered in this post so far!
Even if you aren’t actually confident, you can pretend that you are and make a good impression on your audience. You know what they say:
“Fake it ’til you make it!”
16. Don’t be afraid to show your personality
You don’t have to sound robotic. Don’t be afraid to show your personality and let your audience get a feel of the type of person you are.
Nobody wants to watch a dull speech — what’s the fun in that?
You can show your personality by sharing relevant personal experiences and using humor in your speech. It’s pretty easy to do, so I suggest that you do it!
Let’s recap!
We made it to the end of the post!
Today, we talked about public speaking tips.
It can be scary to go up and talk in front of people — even if you know them! I hope these tips will motivate and prepare you to go and knock it out the water!
Please remember to take time to take care of yourself!
I know, in this economy, it can be hard to find free things to do that are fun. That’s why I put together a list of 7 free self care activities to enjoy today!
In the midst of chaos, don’t forget to smile,
DeMarcus – your self care buddy
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This post was all about public speaking tips.
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