Presence Training

If you ever do research on public speaking, you will find numerous great examples. It is true that the people these speeches belong to have invested quite a lot of effort and skill to present the masterpiece for you to admire. Perhaps the one thing in common they all have is that they do their best to avoid some common problems in speeches. This is what separates them from the ‘good’ speeches. If you wish to get on the ‘great’ level, make sure you avoid the following problems:

• Feeling unconfident – lacking confidence is a sure way to alienate your audience. People have a way of detecting nervousness, even if you try your best to hide it. The good news is that lack of confidence is something you can fix. With sufficient time for preparation and research on the topic, you will not just gain confidence in your skills, but the much-needed sense of control. These are all much necessary factors for the success of your speech.
• You don’t know much about the audience – if you don’t know the audience, your speech will hardly be successful. Knowing their age, values, cultures, occupation and knowledge is essential for setting the tone of your speech, as well as its content. If you cannot relate the material to your audience, maintain eye contact and read facial expressions, you can have your speech negatively interpreted. It is best to use anecdotes and explain how your presentation will greatly benefit the audience.
• Not coming prepared – practice is the most important factor for a good speech. Practice alone, practice with friends, record yourself and analyse the speech. Are you rushing words at some point? Do you need to improve word flow? Can you change your intonation to sound more enthusiastic? You can easily catch any glitches in your speech if you just practice enough and use the right methods for it. By rehearsing, you become familiar with the presentation and also sound more credible. In turn, this invites speakers to ask any questions.
• You don’t manage your time well – you don’t have unlimited time to present your speech. Running overtime isn’t ideal, because it shows you haven’t organised your points well enough. Timing the delivery of your material is essential, especially if you wish to leave some time for questions. It is a good idea to rehearse as if you have a little less time to speak so that you don’t feel the pressure.
• Organise your material – one of the most important aspects of your speech is gathering the material and organising it into a presentation. Arrange your information in a way that will grab their attention, keep them interested with visuals throughout the presentation and follow with a conclusion. That way you will give flow to your speech, which is the best way to give a presentation.

By avoiding these simple problems, you can undoubtedly improve your public speaking skills and become a better speaker.

Find out what other aspects of public speaking you can improve with Presence Training by calling 020 7112 9194 or  take a look at this page.

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