Public Speaking

A Public Speaking Nightmare

2007-10-03T05:46:00.001-07:00

Recently, I attended a keynote presentation by a major radio executive in Toronto. Which, may sound interesting enough but, what happened at this event may make you think twice about how fine tuned your public speaking skills really are!

It all started innocently enough when a representative from the hosting organization got up to introduce the keynote speaker. What happened next can only be described as a complete public speaking meltdown and a humiliating nightmare.

After taking the stage and nervously placing herself behind the podium, she immediately launched into a twenty minute litany about herself, her quirky mother, nine rooms in her house, her alcoholic father, her trip to Boston, her move to New York etc. And, as she rested her elbows on the podium she held tightly to her face two goose-neck microphones. (I know you can picture this in your head!) And, while this looked obviously inappropriate she also never got around to mentioning anything about the keynote speaker.

With growing frustration, chairs around the room started to shift, people started to moan, and people began to give hand signals to hurry up and get off the stage. Yet, despite all the warning signs, she just kept going. Then, it happened. She got heckled by the audience! “Get off the stage for crying out loud, let the speaker speak!” said one. “That’s enough!” said the other. And, this was not just any audience! This was a prominent well-to-do money making business audience.

Not only did she never even get to the point but, but she failed completely in her duty to introduce and honour the keynote speaker. After realizing her professional blunder (due to the loud heckling from the audience) she politely said “well it looks like I’ve run out of time”. Though she tried to regain her composure, she sheepishly began reading the guest speaker’s credentials off a page in a monotone voice like she was reading names from a phonebook.

I can honestly tell you that it was truly painful to be in that audience and watch such a complete and utter self-destruction! The whole room was not only uncomfortable but some audience members were clearly angry! This is just one example of the many potential public speaking mishaps that I witness on a regular basis.

Other common public speaking mistakes include...

• When the speaker fails to build trust with his/her audience
• When the speaker tries gimmicks or jokes that interfere with their message
• When the speaker fails to effectively communicate their message and/or product/service benefits
• When a speaker puts the audience to sleep
• When a speaker manages to exclude their entire audience by focusing all of their attention on one member (or target members) of the audience

Have you ever heard ineffective speeches or pitches by politicians or by business leaders and colleagues? Did it garner your trust or lose your trust? Have you ever heard sorry speeches at weddings that made you say “yikes”? Have you ever attended a seminar where you were filled with so many statistics that you were bored after ten minutes? Have you ever witnessed an amazing seminar and wished you could do the same?

You may be interested to know that public speaking is an art that can be taught. In fact, everyone can learn the basic template for a winning and successful presentation. Learning public speaking can be a fun and stimulating experience that will empower you in any boardroom or public presentation. It can give you the confidence you need to achieve the higher success that you want! Simply by learning the secrets of powerful speakers you can make affect great change in both your professional and personal life! Avoid the professional pitfalls and public blunders altogether. Public speaking training is not only a great investment in your professional career; it’s a great life investment that will reward you again and again.

About The Author

For more information about Paul Tobey's public speaking training seminars and public speaking courses please visit his website at http://www.paultobey.com/seminars/public-speaking-training.html.

Public Speaking - The Money's in the Template

2007-10-03T05:45:00.004-07:00

The best public speakers in the world all agree on one thing. You can’t get good at public speaking without practice. That’s where some public speaking training seminars fail in teaching people how to do successful presentations. Lecturing someone on how to do a presentation will not make a student learn any faster. If you learn by doing, you'll achieve much higher results!

After several years of public speaking engagements, teaching seminars and performing piano music for worldwide audiences, I woke up one day and realized I didn’t know the first thing about public speaking. That seems like an odd thing to say but it’s true. How did I know I wasn’t any good at it? Because, I didn’t "feel" successful at it.

Then, as luck would have, I reluctantly and skeptically attended a seminar my wife dragged me too. I thought to myself, I’ve been doing this forever and I don’t need to learn anything. But, I went anyway. And boy, am I ever glad I did. For the first time in my life I witnessed a public speaking genius at work. This man was truly amazing. He had every one of the 2,000 people in that audience on the edge of their seats for three entire days!

That was the turning point for me. At that seminar I realize why I didn't feel like a successful speaker. I resolved myself to learn everything I could about being successful, not only as a public speaker but as a concert performer. And, overnight I went from being a know-it-all to a learn-it-all. I decided to invest in a seminar that promised to teach how to do successful public speaking presentations. Wow! It was even better than their first seminar. It was five entire days of learning, jamb packed with the most incredible public speaking knowledge imaginable.

What happened next is the truly amazing part! As soon as I got home I started incorporating my new found knowledge into my concert piano performances. The result? My audiences began to grow exponentially and my sales of CDs and DVDs went through the roof. Plus, my fee for performing grew to ten times what I was getting previously.

So, I took the knowledge and experience and began my own seminar business. I first started teaching what I knew and was successful at including how to increase your leads and sales through internet marketing, how to succeed in the niche music business, how to sell off the stage and the inner game of success.

What does this all mean for you? If I could use public speaking training to improve my sales, so can you!

The secret formula that I use for my public speaking presentations works great for keynote speeches, training seminars, sales presentations, live concerts, fundraising speeches, wedding speeches, board room presentations, employee motivation, employee training, pitching, team building, networking and virtually every other public speaking and presenting situation you can think of.

What is this amazing secret formula?

IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU, IT’S ABOUT THE AUDIENCE!

What does that mean exactly? Well, the vast majority of performers and public speakers are far too concerned about how they speak, about how they look, how they perform and how they sell themselves. This is 100% guaranteed to have less impact! In fact, if you’re out there trying to sell yourself, think again, few will buy!

Based on my experience, once I started to make the audience the star I generated more audiences, more results, and more money. This was real world proof that the template works! At first using the template felt strange, because of course, the template felt unfamiliar and was very different than anything I had previously tried. But, after only a few engagements, I was able to merge my personality with the template.

With practice, the template began to feel natural and effortless. Now, I use the template for every type of presentation. In fact, I recently did a boardroom sales presentation for a corporation and walked out with a $20,000 deal. How did I do it? The TEMPLATE!

Here's where you can start. First be open to learning! Then learn the perfectly powerful speaker's template. Then learn by doing. It's that easy! Don't forget to make the audience the star and you’ll realize just how rewarding and profitable public speaking can be.

About The Author

Paul Tobey give highly motivational public speaking training courses for professional speakers and business people who want to learn the right way to give public speaking presentations.

http://www.paultobey.com

Public Speaking, Presentation of the Presentation

2007-10-03T05:45:00.003-07:00

Presentation, presentation, presentation is the name of the Publlic Speaking game!

You may be the most knowledgeable person in the world on a given subject, you may be a PHD with clusters, but if your presentation of the presentation does not have presentation skills your presentation will fail! “Now that was fun!”

Have you gone to a seminar you were really excited about and if you made it to the end, got nothing out of it? Let’s take a look. When the presentation started this is what your heard; Welcooome toooday. . . . . . we will talk abouuut . . . . . .blah de blah, blah blah, blahblahblah. “Monotone, I hate monotone!”, “Drives me absolutely crazy!” Standing in one spot, like a mannequin and has the excitement of watching ice melt. Got the picture?

Continuing the series of “So You Want To Become A Public Speaker?” we are going to dive into Presentation. Not to be confused with the presentation itself, but how it’s presented.

Remember, a presentation is a performance, like an actor. Always bring your “A” game. No “B” movie acting here! How you are being perceived is critical to your longevity in this business.

Dress properly for the occasion. As stated in a previously published article in this series; you can always dress down, but not up.

If your topic is serious, be serious, but not stiff. Present the desired image to your audience. Be enthusiastic, confident, carry yourself with pride, but not cocky. Remain calm. Appear relaxed, even if you feel nervous. Remember the duck story; calm and collected on top of the water, even though your feet are going like heck below the surface.

Speak slowly, articulate clearly, and show appropriate emotion and feeling relating to your topic. But don’t be phony your audience will pick up on that immediately. Take the time to connect with your audience. (Refer back to “Public Speaking Pre Preparation” in the area of “know your audience”.) Speak to the person furthest away from you to make sure your voice is heard from back of the room. It’s okay and encouraged to ask that furthest person in the back if you can be heard. Fluctuate the tone of your voice and dramatize if necessary. If sound equipment is required, as was determined during your pre preparation, adjust accordingly. DO NOT TALK MONOTONE!

I was taught to speak with conviction as if I really believed in what I was saying. Throughout my public speaking career I have changed that teaching to, “Speak with conviction as I truly believe in what I’m saying!”

The material you present verbally should have the same structure as a written research paper, i.e. INTRODUCTION to BODY (strong supporting arguments, accurate and up-to-date information) to CONCLUSION (re-state intro, summarize, and a logical conclusion) with a verbal presentation, add a questions and answer period.

Body language is critical. Standing, walking and moving around using appropriate hand gestures is a MUST. Never present a presentation sitting down or standing still, reading from a prepared presentation. I encourage you not to use a lectern. “Here, check this out” American Heritage Dictionary - lec·tern (lěk'tərn) A stand that serves as a support for the notes or books of a speaker. Now here’s my definition - “A lectern is a crutch for the unprepared speaker.”

Audio-visual aids are okay; don’t torment your audience by creating a lengthy overhead presentation and reading it out to them. You will loose your audience for sure and most importantly your credibility.

Do not read from notes. It’s okay to glance at your notes, but personally I don’t use them. However, I do use overhead presentations so if I loose my place I can glance up, adjust and continue on. Know your subject! If you make an error, correct it, inject some humor and continue.

Add humor when appropriate. Keep your audience interested and relaxed throughout the entire presentation. Caution; don’t be a clown! Humor is great to get your audience relaxed and at the same time relax you the presenter. Don’t open with a joke. This is a bad practice. Trust me there will be plenty of time and opportunities for humor during your presentation. Remember that an interesting presentation makes time go by fast, but a boring presentation is always too long to bear even if the presentation length is the same.

Maintain good eye contact with your audience. Have direct eye contact with a number of people in the audience, and once in a while glance at the whole audience while speaking.

Maintain a constant visual on your audience. Their body language will tell you if you need to adjust your presentation. Speak to your audience, listen to their questions, respond to their reactions, adjust and adapt on the fly.

Your presentation of the presentation (gotta love it) is critical to your public speaking career. Voice tone, eye contact, humor, body language, subject matter knowledge, visual-aids and structure are items you must understand and implement. As stated in previous sessions, “You’re a walking billboard for your Public Speaking career and these are some of the tools in your toolbox of success. Good luck and see you at the next session.

Visit Us at our Public Speaking site. http://www.dseconsultinginc.com/talk

About The Author

Mr. Dale Simmons has been public speaking since 1973. Mr. Simmons has presented hundreds of public speaking presentations from business concepts to motivational. Mr. Dale Simmons, known as the “WHY” man, is a interactive motivational and "self-help" public speaker.

Overcome Fear of Public Speaking by Feeling the Love

2007-10-03T05:45:00.001-07:00

Are you one of the majorities of people that fear speaking in public? Fear of public speaking has reached extraordinary proportions affecting most people scheduled to stand up in front of people to speak.

It can be a daunting task to get up in front of people. It's one thing to introduce yourself and your department (if you're speaking in front of a group of people at work). It's quite another thing to present your most recent product offering or ask a potential client to do business with you. However, as everyone knows, real business success comes from the ability to confidently convey your thoughts and express yourself in front of others.

So how can you overcome the fear of speaking in public and achieve career success? Here is one idea to help you:

One technique that many professional speakers do is to "feel the love in the room". This may sound like a strange suggestion at first, so let's look at it a little more closely.

All eyes are on you when you are standing in front of everyone. You COULD think that they are there to judge you. In fact, that misconception is what causes so much of our fear! But that isn't normally why people are there. Remember…

1. They are there to hear what you have to say. YOU! They respect you enough to to hear your thoughts and opinions. Even in sales calls it is your expertise that they came to hear.

2. Aside from everyone in the room respecting and admiring you enough to hear your thoughts, there are many in there that cannot do what you're doing. While you may be scared, there is literally a large percentage of people in every group who are astounded that you have the guts to stand up and speak.

3. And, in almost every presentation, there's a strong chance that someone in the room really likes you and is silently cheering you on. It could be your sales manager or a co-presenter or an ally in your client's office. Feed of the energy they're sending you with their positive best wishes.

4. You are not there to hurt anyone. On the contrary! You are there to help them. You want to help them find the right product or service that you feel can be supplied by your company or perhaps you're there to help guide them to a better understanding of what your product does.

Remember: You know something they don't. Smile, keep a positive demeanor, and speak with confidence. You'll see results!

About The Author

Asia's leading Voice & Presentation Skills Coach, Deborah Torres Patel, is offering complimentary online training to overcome your fear of public speaking. Register for 20 free lessons at http://www.fearlessinfive.com.

Confident Public Speaking: Check This "Avoid At All Costs" List

2007-10-03T05:44:00.002-07:00

In the pursuit of confident public speaking skills, it is important to accept that nervousness may never be completely eliminated in some public speakers. This is not necessarily bad. A certain amount of nervousness can be positively channeled to enhance performance.

Nevertheless, confident public speaking does involve learning not to betray one's nervousness through obvious body signals.

Familiarize yourself with the items in the list below and either check yourself through a video playback of your next presentation or have a close friend or colleague critique your presentation by looking out for these indicators that betray a lack of confidence in public speaking.

Mannerisms and Awkward Gestures

As well as destroying your professionalism, they can be very distracting for an audience. Get a friend or partner to alert you if you begin doing any of the following:

stand with one leg wrapped around the other
stand on the sides of one's shoes
keep touching the nose, mouth, ears, or any part of the face
lean on the speaker's stand using it as a prop
keep putting hands in and out of pockets
fiddling with one's wrist watch
repeatedly swallowing
buttoning and unbuttoning the jacket
standing with hands clasped behind the back

Visual Aid Dangers

If you use a flip chart, whiteboard, or projection screen, avoid constantly fiddling with the marker pen, mouse, or projector control as if they were worry beads. This can be distracting and betray a certain nervousness.

Far better to have your hands free, only picking up the marker or control when you intend to use it and then put it back again on the table or speaker's stand.

Using your hands deliberately for descriptive or emphatic gestures will be far more effective than haphazardly waving a marker pen or projector control in the air.

What Do You Do With Your Hands?

Confident public speaking means you know what to do you with your hands.

When you are not using them to gesture, let them hang by your side loosely and naturally. They won't remain there for long if you are giving an animated presentation.

Your hands and arms will frequently be moving, gesturing, but in between times, just let them hang loose, ready and waiting.

Concentrate On Ideas

Confident public speaking involves the ability to concentrate on expressing your IDEAS rather than exact words. Doing this will go a long way in helping you avoid the mannerisms noted above.

This will allow your delivery to flow which makes it easy on the ears and listenable as opposed to a stop/start style of delivery.

Apart from your introduction and conclusion which require more attention to exact wording, thorough preparation and total immersion in your subject will allow you to speak extemporaneously without worrying overly about exact word choice.

The latter can result in a speaker gazing into the air fumbling for the right word which in time will destroy the concentration of the audience.

Even if you don't feel you are confident in public speaking, you don't have to advertise the fact. Use the checklist above to spot and avoid obvious signs of nervousness and you will at least leave the audience relaxed and engrossed rather than distracted.

About The Author

Michael A. Jones has compiled an inexpensive coaching manual complete with Analysis Questionnaire:

http://www.about-goal-setting.com/public-speaking-coaching-manual.htm

Michael has also personally benefited from this Public Speaking Course ranked No. 1:

http://www.about-goal-setting.com/public-speaking-course.htm

For personal development listen to "The Program Of Presidents":

http://www.about-goal-setting.com/personal-development.html

Mastering Public Speaking: How To Perform A Self-Check

2007-10-03T05:44:00.001-07:00

When working on mastering public speaking skills, it is important to recognize that development as a public speaker will probably not happen gradually and smoothly.

We tend to learn in jumps and starts, then reach a plateau for some time before we move off that plateau to the next level.

Recognize this pattern in your own development while mastering public speaking skills. Ask yourself these three questions:

Where am I right now, beginner, intermediate, advanced?

How long have I been at this level?

What am I working on right now, in other words, what skill am I refining to get to the next level?

Here is a checklist you can work through again and again in your efforts to master public speaking skills:

Powerful interest capturing introductions
Fluency - no regressions
Effective use of pausing
Accurate reading
Variety in volume for emphasis
Variety in pace and rate of speech
Variety in tone and pitch of voice
Conversational manner
Enthusiasm
Gestures - descriptive and emphatic
Effective use of visual aids
Proper use of microphone
Motivating conclusions
Logical development of information
Good use of illustrations, anecdotes, stories
Ability to convey warmth and friendliness to the audience

In Mastering Public Speaking Skills Employ A Strategy Of Never Ending Improvement

Avoid the trap of becoming complacent with your public speaking skills. Decide to embark on a course of gradual and never-ending improvement.

To do this you need to be objective in your appraisal of your own public speaking skills. This is not easy as it is human nature to see ourselves differently as others see us. However, examining our performance with a critical eye is helpful. Record or tape either a practice session or a live event and then do a self-analysis.

Of even greater benefit is getting a partner or close friend to work with you. Using an analysis questionnaire such as the one in the coaching manual suggested in the resource box can be invaluable in identifying areas where you need to improve.

Initially, you may wish to use the Analysis Questionnaire after each presentation you make. Your progress will be rapid and you will reach a new plateau.

After that, use the Analysis Questionnaire from time to time so you don't fall back into old habits. Keep alert and eager to continue mastering public speaking skills that will bring you much personal satisfaction and pleasure as well as a very appreciative audience!

About The Author

Public Speaking Technique: How To Use Repetition Without Being Repetitive

2007-10-03T05:43:00.004-07:00

An essential public speaking technique to master if you want your audience to remember is your presentation was about is repetition.

Usually any presentation regardless of length can be boiled down to just 3 or 4 main points or even less. By skillfully repeating these points in various ways, the audience will have them imprinted on their minds without being bored.

Use these 4 guidelines and make this public speaking technique your own:

1 - Use The Theme Or Title

Use the theme or title of your presentation effectively. Your theme will contain key thought containing words. Make sure you elaborate on those key words during your presentation.

Keep linking your material back to your theme or title so it runs like a thread through the presentation much like the thread in a garment holds it together.

The audience should be able to see the connection between what you are saying at any given time and the main subject or title of your presentation.

2 - Re-state Ideas

Use repetition skillfully by re-stating the key ideas through the presentation, either using the exact same words or phrases or employing similar words to say the same thing.

If you have a catch phrase or pithy slogan you want to remember, repeating it at strategic points in the presentation can be very effective.

A summary early in the presentation can be a powerful method of repetition. For example, state beforehand the main points you are going to consider, then deal with them, and finally give a brief summary of the points you considered.

3 - The Progressive Summary

Using a progressive summary of main ideas through your presentation to reinforce the ideas on your audience can be a very powerful public speaking technique, especially if you number or itemize them.

For example, you might mention there are three main ideas to be considered, then briefly state them.

Then say, "Let's take the first point . . ."

Afterward you can say, "So up to now we have considered Point 1 (restate in a couple of words). Now we'll deal with Point 2."

After that you can say something like, "So far we have seen Point 1 which was . . ., and also Point 2 in which we saw . . . Let's now look into Point 3."

Finally, you conclude by saying, "So what have we learned so far? Point 1 was . . . Then we considered Point 2. Finally in Point 3 we showed . . ."

Using this form of repetition is very effective in lodging key points in the minds of your audience so they will remember them easily after your presentation is finished.

4 - Be Vivid

Be on the constant look out for words you can use to add feeling and color to your presentation.

You may discover them through your own reading or you may hear them from another speaker. If you see or hear a word that makes an impact on you, note it down and keep it for future reference when you might use it in your own presentation.

Gradually as your vocabulary increases to include dynamic words full of vigor, your presentation skills will develop too as you convey vivid mental images to your audience.

Using a variety of vivid words and expressions directly related to your main points and theme will give you the flexibility of being able to repeat them often but with a different flavor.

Repetition is an essential public speaking technique. However, it needs to be used skillfully. The 4 guidelines above will help a public speaker use powerful repetition without appearing to be boringly repetitive!

About The Author

Public Speaking Anxiety: 4 Ways To Control It

2007-10-03T05:43:00.003-07:00

Calls for "Speech, Speech" can send many men and women into panic and fear. Others may be given an assignment to present information before a group and feel overwhelmed by public speaking anxiety in the run up to the presentation.

The 4 key suggestions here will do much alleviate the problem and assist anyone to control and overcome public speaking anxiety:

1. Thorough Preparation

The biggest antidote to audience fear? Thorough preparation! There is no short-cut.

If you have carefully researched your material so you are convinced it is worth delivering, and you firmly believe your audience needs to hear it, and you have practiced and practiced the delivery, you can stand up in front of an audience with confidence!

2. Breathing

Control nervousness by taking deep breaths to relax the body. Concentrate on your message and the things you have prepared to present to your audience rather than on your nervousness.

Use positive speech, even in your own thoughts. Instead of saying to yourself, "Boy, do I feel nervous", which only reinforces the feeling, say, "My adrenaline is pumping and I'm going to use it to deliver an unforgettable presentation!"

3. Confidence Visualized

To increase confidence and combat uncertainty use visualization techniques. These can be VERY effective.

Running through the whole presentation including the approach to the speaker's stand, the initial pause, the first few sentences, over and over again in your mind, will create great confidence.

4. End Result Visualization

Include the end result in your visualization exercise.

See yourself having successfully concluded an excellent presentation with the applause of the audience in your ears. See the smiles, hear the compliments afterwards and make them real in your mind.

In a TV interview, Mohammed Ali once explained how he prepared for a fight. He would concentrate his mind on imagining actually being there in the ring, in the stadium, at the venue. He would see himself there at the end of the fight, victorious.

He created a very real scene in his mind with the smells, feelings, sounds, sights, he expected to experience at that moment. He used the phrase 'Future History' to describe what he created in his mind.

Why not create a 'Future History' for yourself before your next presentation and see how it triggers the necessary energy to overcome any feelings of self-doubt.

It may be unrealistic for some individuals to think they will conquer public speaking anxiety completely. Perhaps some public speakers with many years experience can walk in front of an audience without any nervousness at all.

For the majority however, who may only be called on occasionally to speak before a group or an audience, there will always be some anxiety. A realistic expectation regarding public speaking anxiety and following the suggestions above can however do much to control it so it does not overwhelm the speaker.

About The Author

Public Speaking: What if My Mind Goes Blank?

2007-10-03T05:43:00.001-07:00

This might be the biggest concern of would-be speakers: "What if I forget what I was going to say?"

The horror! Imagine: You're standing in front of a room full of people. The seconds tick by loudly as you frantically search your memory for the next point in your talk. You clench the lectern, knuckles white, as the audience becomes restless and start shifting in their seats. You see them looking at each other, some with pity in their eyes, others with disappointment. Your mouth is dry and you feel hot as your face turns bright red and you begin to perspire. You start to feel woozy . . . and you crumble to the ground, mortified to death.

Now that truly sounds like a public speaking horror movie and it's a movie that plays in a lot of speakers' heads. But like most horror movies, it's pretty far removed from reality. With proper preparation, both physical and mental, you can handle anything that comes your way onstage, including the dreaded "mind going blank" monster. Slay the monster with these helpful tips.

Pointer 1: Bring your notes

Don't let anyone tell you that using notes makes you less professional. The key to using notes properly is to keep them out of sight and only refer to them when necessary.

Keep your notes to one piece of paper, single- or double-sided, so you won't find yourself shuffling through note cards or flipping through paragraphs of text if you do lose your place.

On your piece of paper, use simple bullets or a clean outline format in large text to lay out your main points and supporting points. When practicing your presentation, use these bullets to trigger the chronology of ideas in your head. Make sure to practice enough that you remember the presentation from start to finish; the notes are not a crutch, but rather a backup tool.

When giving your talk, keep your notes on a table or on the lectern to your side. When you need a refresher about what comes next, take a few steps over and casually look at your notes.

This will not offend your audience or send them into shock. In fact, it makes you look more human, rather than a perfectly polished and mechanical speaker. And taking a step or two to view your notes serves more than one purpose; it adds movement to your talk, and it allows a healthy pause for the audience to process the information you've been giving them. This will feel perfectly natural to your audience.

You don't want to be pacing back and forth to your notes throughout your talk, which is why practice is important. However, just having the notes close by can act as a "security blanket," helping you to feel more comfortable knowing that they're there if you need them. You might find that you don't need the notes at all.

Pointer 2: Acknowledge that you've lost your train of thought

If it does happen that you forget your place, and it's going to take longer than a quick glance at your notes to get back on track, it's better to acknowledge this fact to the audience than to try and hide it. The audience can tell when you're not being honest with them or trying to fake them out. Make a human connection with them and say, "Hold on a sec, I've lost my place." Then take those two steps to your notes and find your place.

Seasoned speakers do this all the time, and the audience can relate. They won't judge you, because it's happened to them before as well. They will sympathize with you, not criticize you. The audience is not your enemy; they want you to succeed and they want to support you.

While doing your pre-presentation practice and preparation, visualize yourself experiencing this situation. Visualize yourself acknowledging that you've lost your place, finding your next point in your notes, and moving forward. Visualize yourself handling this situation with calmness and confidence, and even a little self-effacing humor if you feel so inclined. And visualize the audience as your encouraging, nurturing friend rather than your critical, judgmental enemy.

Pointer 3: Move on and forget about it

Now that you've acknowledged to the audience that you've lost your place, and you've looked at your notes, go ahead and pick up where you left off. Make light of the moment; say, "Now where were we?" and just keep going.

Think of the last sporting event you watched. You might have seen an athlete make a mistake or fall down at some point during the event. Did that athlete sit there, pounding on his forehead, saying "Stupid, stupid, stupid"? Of course not! That athlete jumped up and got right back into the game.

Remember the scene in "A League of Their Own" where the Tom Hanks character says to the sobbing player, "There's no crying in baseball"? Well, there's no time for feeling sorry for yourself in sports, and there's no time for feeling sorry for yourself in public speaking.

While you're on stage, you are responsible to the audience. You are responsible for serving them, for giving them the information they want or need, for being their guide. Don't waste their time feeling sorry for yourself and dwelling on your mistake. The sooner you move on, the sooner they will, too.

After your talk, take some time to analyze what happened and determine why you lost your place. Write it down so that the next time you are preparing for a presentation, you remember what happened and incorporate this into your practice.

By using clearly written notes, taking enough time to practice, visualizing yourself managing a potential mishap, and reframing the way you see the audience, you can handle any interruption or disruption. Whether it's the building alarm going off, the sprinkler system malfunctioning, or the dreaded "mind going blank" monster, you are the star and the director of the movie playing in your head. Make it a blockbuster!

About The Author

Lisa Braithwaite works with individuals to uncover their challenges and build their strengths in presenting themselves confidently as speakers. Find your voice with public speaking coaching! Sign up for my newsletter and find out about my e-course and free consultation by visiting http://www.coachlisab.com.

Public Speaking For Shy Or Private People

2007-10-03T05:42:00.000-07:00

Learning public speaking is like learning to ride a bike. All you need is some initial courage and a sense of balance. Then you have to change gear as appropriate. Once you’ve progressed that far you simply learn when to put on the brakes.

Most of us have suffered from listening to poor public speakers. We’ve squirmed as they’ve gone on endlessly saying the same thing in a dozen boring ways. Most of us too have admired brilliant speakers and wished we too could captivate an audience. At the very least most of us would like to express our views in public without losing our courage not to mention our voices.

The thing most public speakers have in common is simply a fear of making fools of themselves. They may be college students who have to study rhetoric as part of their schooling. In adult life those who attend may be budding politicians, trade union activists or aspiring business people. There may also usually be a few shy singles and some married couples sharing a new experience in communications. However interesting the mix they don’t usually expect to start the class with breathing exercises.

Teachers will explain that these exercises will help pupils relax. The truth is that when you see others puffing and blowing you have to laugh. You simply can’t take yourself too seriously when you are bent double swinging your arms energetically. In the context of all this merriment it is usually a only a short matter of time before you all introduce yourselves and explain why you are taking public speaking classes.

You first challenge is that you have to get used to speaking aloud. So many teachers provide poems and tongue twisters, even bits from the Bible for you to try. You may be asked to bring in your favourite book and read it to the class. You will discover that they quietest person in the class probably loves gruesome tales of the supernatural while the strongest looking footballer loves lyrical poetry. Once you have got used to the sound of your own voice you progress to speaking about everything under the face of the sun.

One week you may rivet your class with your speech about spies. The next week you will find yourself giving your views on the political system or the World Cup. A good teacher will help you to expand your mind and broaden your interests. You may find yourself in the public library swotting up on a totally new subject and actually enjoying it as you visualise yourself impressing your classmates. It doesn’t take long before you are hooked on the challenge of captivating your audience. It won’t matter to you whether they are classmates, members of the local chamber of commerce or even the world synod of bishops.

That’s fine when you can prepare your speech days in advance. Speaking off the cuff is a totally different but part of public speaking is teaching you to think on your feet. So try to imagine what you would say about forks, Santa or the sky at night without any time to prepare. A simple one-minute off the cuff talk can seem like endless torture. Eventually though you master the idea of making a riveting start, interesting context and a thought-provoking conclusion, even if you don’t know the first thing about the subject. You are on your way to being a competent public speaker. Obviously though you will speak with more passion and zeal when you are inspired by the topic. So if you love sport you will find that your sports speeches will have that extra something and that’s good.

All through your life this skill it will be an asset to you. You may have to speak on graduation day, at the office party, when your best friend celebrates his birthday or even at your daughter’s wedding. Your audience may be schoolmates, the local historical society, a computer convention or simply the parish youth committee.

You learn to use a microphone so that it doesn’t catch the knocking of your knees. You will have learnt how to emphasise a point, how to use notes, how to chair a meeting. You master nervous habits such as hand twisting or foot tapping. Most importantly, you learn to write to be said aloud rather than read. You will find yourself listening critically to other speakers whether they are on radio or television or in a local club. You will start saying to yourself, "he never mentioned X" or "He should have said something about Y". You become, In fact, the original armchair critic. Above all though you will learn that public speaking is great fun.

Public speaking is a very personal thing. It gives you confidence and it makes you more articulate. It teaches you how to put your ideas in sequence. It also helps you to make new friends. Many public speakers join groups such as Toastmasters and make it a lifelong hobby. Others are simply satisfied to be able to give their viewpoint at a local meeting. If you are really lucky you might even find yourself being paid to lecture on a pet subject!

Being able to speak well in public helps your self-esteem. You may find you are welcomed to parties, invited to functions and it might even help you to impress your boss. Certainly it will expose you to lots of new ideas you hadn’t considered before. You might, like one speaker, learn to think of income tax as today’s equivalent to the tithes once paid to the church to support the poor. Now that’s what’s called a persuasive speech!

Some people of course are naturals and can address any audience anywhere with enthusiasm and ease. Most of us though consider public speaking as a fate worse than death, until we learn to master it. The problem then is that by then it will be like the weekly crossword, you’ll just have to keep at it until you get it right.

There is absolutely no feeling like that of holding an audience in the palm of your hand. So go on grab their attention, entertain and inform them and send them away with your words ringing in their ears.

Whether you call it oratory, rhetoric or public speaking it will enhance your life and help you to make lots of new friends. Like learning to ride a bike it is a skill, once learned, that you never forget.

You may wobble a bit if you get out of practise but soon all the skills you have learnt will soon come back. Then you’ll be freewheeling all the way and your audience will be delighted to come along for the ride!

About The Author

Niamh Crowe is the CEO of the web’s leading speech site (http://www.speech-writers.com) according to Alexa.com and Ranking.com. Online since 1994, her site has thousands of speeches for every event and occasion including birthdays, weddings, graduations etc. She lives in Ireland where she is married to Fred. The have 5 children.

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Niamh Crowe
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