Mar 14, 2017
5 Rare Tips to Become A Confident Public Speaker.

 

 

Whether you want to take speaking as a career or not, one day you will have to stand before people to talk. To some, the thought of standing before people and talk scares them to death. There is abundant literature on the fear of public speaking, which some have said to be next to the fear of death. We

 

While speaking comes naturally to some people, the majority of people have got to learn and master this essential quality of personal and professional success. Your ability to stand up and speak either for yourself or your organization is the most important skill you should strive to cultivate. And I can tell you that you can do it.

 

 

I remember the first time I spoke before a group of 15 people, it was terrible! I was supposed to speak for 30minutes but I ran out of words 15minutes ahead of time. That was about 20years ago, today I have honed my skills. Though I’m still learning, but I have improved far from where I started years ago. I have had opportunities to speak before University students, Professors, Bankers, entrepreneurs and being on Radio and Television. I have moved from a timid speaker to confident, calm, organized and articulate speaker today. You too can.

 

I have outlined these 5 essential tips that will enable you to become a more confident speaker. Let’s look at them:


 

1.Relax Completely.

 

 

This is not a do or die contest! You are here to speak and that is all. The truth is that your audience wants you to succeed and not to fail. Don’t focus on failure, focus on success. It’s true that you might experience the emotion of fear before you stand up to speak, you are not alone. There is no speaker either big or small who is completely free from negative emotions of standing before people. That you should keep at the back of your mind. So relax. As you walk on stage, put on a big smile, spread your eyes around the room for a few seconds before making your first statement. That way, you will portray confidence and Identify with your audience. You can start with a joke to ease tension and set the atmosphere right for your speech. Taking deep breaths will calm your nerves, and you should pause and breathe deeply after you make a point. Talk as if you were with a group of friends in a large room.


READ RELATED ARTICLE: 5 Ways To Overcome Fear of Public Speaking

 

 

2. Be Yourself.

 

 

The bad thing about a photocopy is that people prefer the original! Be yourself. Talk like yourself. Sound like yourself. Act like yourself. Dress like yourself. You will have to learn from other speakers, but don’t lose your own personality. Let your personality come out through your speech. Even in formal meetings, don’t take yourself too seriously. If they have invited you to talk, they need YOU to talk. They want to hear you not another person speaking through you. So learn to be yourself and be comfortable with it.


 

3. Be Enthusiastic About Your Topic.

Enthusiasm is contagious. A boring speaker will make a boring speech that will make a boring audience. If you are not excited about your topic, your audience will go to sleep! That is why you need to speak on what you are really interested in. If you want to take public speaking as a career, you need to identify what you are really interested in or passionate about, don’t speak about how to become a computer programmer if you don’t have interest in computer programming. It will wear you and your audience out. Once I was invited by a student body to speak on effective journalism, I politely turned it down because I have no passion for such topic. But there are topics that naturally turn me on, and when I speak on them, I literally set the audience on fire!


4.Prepare and Prepare.

If you failed to prepare, the most cooperating audience will not help you. It’s been said that proper preparation prevents poor performance. Ordinarily, a speaker should prepare always. Why? Because, you may be called to speak at any time. A few months ago, I was invited by galaxy TV(you may want to watch the interview HERE), they called on Thursday and they asked if I could appear on a program the next day.

I live in Ibadan, I have to travel to Lagos to honour the invitation, that left me with little or no time to prepare. I was thinking I would find little time to read when I get to Lagos but I was involved in an accident on my way to Lagos. That night I couldn’t read anything, but I have always been a reader. I attended the program the next morning and I spoke for an hour and it was great. What helped me was the prior preparation. So, I advise you live prepared. As Louis Pasteur once said, “Chance favours the mind that is prepared”


5.Keep it Short and Simple (KISS)

The more you prepare, the easier this point becomes for you. Don’t focus on impressing your audience, focus on expressing yourself. A young man who was about starting up his speaking career went to an elderly man who has been a professional speaker all his life to seek for counsel on how to succeed as a public speaker, the elderly man looked at him and said, “Know what you want to say, keep it simple and don’t use big grammar.”  Each time you stand before an audience, don’t forget that piece of advice!


You May also be Interested in : 5 Elements of A Super Presentation

 

PS: Thanks for taking time to read this. I appreciate you leave a comment before you leave. Thank You!

 

 

 


 

Felix A. Duyilemi is the international best-selling author of “How To Borrow God’s Brain To Succeed”, “The MAGIC of Getting Rich,” and other best-selling books

He helps businesses and individuals craft compelling stories, expand their concepts of possibilities, and dream bigger dreams. His vision is to impact at east 3 billion people for time and eternity

When he’s not learning new concepts, he’s speaking or writing. Reach him at [email protected]

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Mar 14, 2017
5 Ways To Overcome Fear Of Public Speaking

Everybody you meet is afraid, only that you don’t know! Fear comes with stepping out of your comfort zone. Fear of public speaking, popularly refers to as glossophobia or speech anxiety has been said to be next to the fear of death. I remember my high school friend who was nominated to represent his class for an intra-school debate, on the day of the debate, when it was his turn, he walked to the rostrum and he was literally shaking, he started with “My name is…my name is…my name is…” he kept repeating this for about 10 minutes before the whole class shouted his name! He has forgotten his name! That is the least the fear of public speaking can cause. 


Are there ways to turn this destructive energy of fear to positive motivation for delivering a powerful speech? Yes! The truth is fear can become a wonderful motivator. It can put you on the cutting edge of delivering a powerful speech. It can also help you to prepare very well for your speech.

 Author Steve Brown developed an acronym called LEVEL to harness and profit from your fear of public speaking. Let’s look at them:


L: Legitimize Your Fear.


According to Steve, “The only people who say they are not aren’t afraid of making a speech are liars and fools. Speaking before an audience is an anxiety-producing experience. Anyone who doesn’t feel a certain amount of anxiety before speaking doesn’t understand the situation.” If you are afraid, it’s perfectly normal but don’t allow fear to stop you. I read about Napoleon that before he went to battle, he would speak to his legs, “shake as much as much you like to shake, we are going to this battle together!”


E: Elucidate Your Fear.


Why are you afraid? What is making you to be afraid? Define it. Name the reason for your fear. Are you afraid you will make a mistake? Are you afraid that the people are more knowledgeable than you are? Are you afraid you haven’t done this before? To successfully deal with your fear, you need to know the reason behind it. For instance, if  you  are afraid because you haven’t done this before, then you can tell yourself, “That is not a big deal. Everyone doing it today started one day. So I am glad to begin the journey!” Once, you bring your fear to the open, you rob it of its power!

    

V: Visualize Your Success.

See yourself succeeding and you will succeed! Don’t visualize the audience laughing at you, visualize them clapping for you! See them in your imagination congratulating you at the end of your speech for a fantastic speech! See them wanting to know you more, and inviting you to come and speak again! What you see in your imagination matters, it will either dis-empower your fear or empower it. So, imagine success not failure!

E: Embrace Your Fear

Tell yourself, we are going to do this together. Don’t let your fear stop you! Author Steve Brown noted, “ If you are afraid, that is normal. It’s okay. If you think that your whole world is going to come falling down because you think you will make a terrible speech, that is understandable. If your knees are knocking and your mouth is dry, it’s all right. But it’s not okay or understandable not to give the speech. Do it. Do it!” You will be surprised that is not as difficult as you thought.

L: Liberate Yourself!

Billy Sunday once said, “Fear knocks at the door,faith opens it and finds nothing there.” Talk yourself  out  of  fear! Tell yourself you as good as anyone in the audience. Do what you fear and the death of fear is certain. Positive self talk will program your mind to expect success and rob fear of its power to stop you!

READ RELATED ARTICLE: 5 Elements of A SUPER PRESENTATION


PS: Thank You for taking time to read this. I will appreciate you leave a comment before you leave.


Dr. Duyilemi A. Felix loves reading, analyzing, conceptualizing, writing and teaching. He’s a widely sought after inspirational teacher in many corporate organizations and churches. Reach him through mail at   [email protected]


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Mar 14, 2017
5 Elements of Super Presentation.

Have you ever listened to a speaker and you just fall in love with him because of the way he approached and delivered his speech? What differentiates a great speech from a poor one? What are the elements that make a presentation stand out? What do great speakers do differently?


The truth is, a great speech doesn’t just happen just like a super meal doesn’t just happen. There is a recipe for making an exceptional speech. If you want to improve your public speaking skills or you just want to make a better presentation at your next board meeting, follow these 5 elements of Super presentation and you will receive a standing ovation at the end of your speech-every time!


1.Meaningful.


This is the first element of a super presentation. It must be meaningful. In other words, it must be relevant to the needs of your audience.  You need to ask yourself: What I’m trying to accomplish with this presentation? What will the people learn from this presentation? How will it benefit them? Will their problems be solved through this presentation? Will they get a unique idea? Will they be moved to take action? These are important questions you need to ask before standing before an audience. Your presentation to be meaningful must be:


·Informative

·Therapeutic

·Relevant

·Enriching


2.Unconventional.


 Unconventionality simply means deviation. A deviation from the stereotypical style of making a speech. Nobody likes to listen to boring speaker! Do you? The way not to be boring is to put force, style, charisma and humour into the delivering of your speech. If your audience can predict you, they will walk out before you finish your speech. Don’t let that happen. For instance, if you are speaking about the terror of terrorism your audience has to see a look of terror on your face! If you are speaking about love, you need to show it. Have you ever seen a  speaker speaking about hell fire with hands in his pocket and a big smile on his face, what will you conclude about him?


3.Clarity.

Your points must be clear. That is why is important you know what you want to say from the beginning and organize your thoughts in a way that will convince your audience not confuse them. Your speech must follow precept by precept, line by line, one logical thought must connect with another logical thought. Don’t leave your audience wondering about what you are trying to say. You need to know what you are trying to accomplish with your presentation and organize your points to accomplish that purpose.

4.Illustrate.

Everybody loves a story. The reason Jesus Christ was a Master Communicator was that He always illustrated his points with parables. His speeches were filled with “ a certain man,” “the kingdom of  God is like,”  “I will compare it to…Etc.” No wonder the Bibles says, “Common people listen to him gladly.” A good illustration is like a window to your speech, it lets in air!  However,  the illustration must support your speech, not distract attention from it. They must be carefully selected like David selected five smooth stones with which he approached Goliath.

5.Passion.

If your speech lacks everything don’t let it lack passion. I will rather listen to an uneducated speaker full of passion than listening to a passionless well-educated fellow. Passion communicates:

·Sincerity

·Seriousness

·Truth

·Enthusiasm

Just like you can’t convince a buyer to buy a product you aren’t passionate about, you can’t move any audience with a speech you are not passionate about. When John Wesley was asked how he was able to gather a lot of people in his crusades, he responded, “I simply set myself on fire and people came from everywhere to watch me burn!” Don’t forget that!

 

Read Related Article: 5 Rare Tips To Become A More Confident Speaker

 

PS: Thank you for taking time to read this. I appreciate you leave a comment before you leave. Thank you!

 

 


Dr. Duyilemi A. Felix loves reading, analyzing, conceptualizing, writing and teaching. He’s a widely sought after inspirational teacher in many corporate organizations and churches. Reach him through mail at   [email protected]


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