Janet Schlarbaum, Mark Schlarbaum Tools

The Basic Tools of Public Speaking

By: Jim Casasa

The basic tools of public speaking will help your speech, voice, and communication skill. You are most likely doing some of these already. It is the one you are not doing that can make the difference.

Here is a list of tools to have well before you do any speaking. They will assist you in making stronger, clearer, and more effective public speaking presentations. They are easy to use, and easy not to use. Apply them to make a difference in your speaking ability.

Tip one. Always have a notepad and pen available. Public speaking is part art and that art is creativity. Use a notepad to write down your creative ideas which will make up the content of your speech.

Tip two. Use a tape recorder to tape your voice. This is one of the best public speaking tools ever invented! An audio recording shows you a true picture of your voice. It shows your strengths and weaknesses.

Tip three. Have a good dictionary handy. Before you say your speech you will write it out in full. A dictionary helps with spelling errors.

Tip four. Have a good thesaurus ready. Skillful word choices make what you say sound interesting to the listener.

Tip five. Slowly yet steadily build a small library on the English language. Metaphors, quotations, and verse all enrich your skill and speaking ability.

Tip six. Speak as often as you can. Confidence grows when a skill is used. It is an upward spiral. The more you do public speaking the better you get at it.

Tip seven. Before an important speech drink squeezed lemon juice in some warm water. I got this one from professional public speakers. It helps keep your voice clear if you have to speak continuously for an extended period of time.

These basic tools of public speaking will help you. Maybe you only need one or two of the tips listed. Speaking is like sending a man to the moon. You are only successful if you have the basics covered. Now that you have the basic public speaking tools you can reach as high and be as successful with public speaking as you want to be.

Posted by: Nicholas Daniels by Direction Janet Schlarbaum

Public Speaking Tips to Give You an Edge

Author Michael A Jones

Thanks to Janet Schlarbaum for the post.

Here are some great public speaking tips for the introduction, body, and conclusion of your next presentation. To progress towards being a skilled public speaker, constant practice and improvement are necessary. It helps to get a partner to offer an honest appraisal or play back a video of your presentation and do a self-analysis. It can be very beneficial.

Here are some key public speaking tips to enhance your next presentation:

Introduction

Take a moment to stand before the audience, take a deep breath, and look around you. Don’t start speaking the second you arrive at the speaker’s stand. That initial pause can make you appear poised, relaxed, confident and in control. It can also help suppress initial nervousness. Deliver the first couple of sentences with an increase in power and volume. You want to grab the attention of the audience right away. A commanding voice is needed to do that, not a soft, apologetic tone.

Avoid an introduction that goes on and on. You don’t want to go on and on so the audience wonders when you are going to really get to the meat of the presentation. The introduction is the funnel which directs attention to the body of the talk.

Body

The body of your presentation contains your main points, why you are taking time to speak in the first place, and why people have turned up to hear you. So be sure what you say has weight and is meaningful. This can only be done through thorough research and good preparation. Even when speaking on a subject familiar to your audience, in the preparation stage always be on the lookout for an unusual angle, extraordinary facts, or a story or anecdote that gets the audience to view a familiar subject in a different way.

Make sure the main points of your presentation stand out by discreet repetition. You don’t want to sound like a creaking door, but carefully planned reviews can really sink the main thoughts into the mind of the audience.

A progressive summary is an excellent tool to that end. At the outset mention your main points, perhaps 1, 2 and 3. After point 1 repeat it and then say, now for point 2. After point 2 you recap points 1 and 2 and introduce point 3. After point number 3 you can again review points 1, 2, and now 3. This kind of progressive review makes sure your audience leaves with the main points firmly etched in their minds.

Conclusion

Don’t leave this part of your presentation as an afterthought. Prepare the wording carefully, especially the last sentence, as it will be the part the audience hear last and are likely to remember.

Also think about what you want to accomplish in your conclusion. Do you want your audience to take action? Then spell out clearly what needs to be done. Do you want to touch the hearts of your audience? Then weave some emotion into your last few sentences. Once you have identified your goal, you can create a motivating conclusion that will leave your audience very responsive.

These are just a handful of public speaking tips that can greatly enhance your presentations. Make sure you clearly understand the three component parts of any speech, and then work to accomplish a specific goal with each one. Pay attention to good thought content, and also your manner of presentation.

Janet Schlarbaum Public Speaking

By Fran Watson

Have you ever watched a speaker and said, “Wow, I wish I could speak like that”? or “That person was just so wonderful. I could never do that.” Well, I’ve got some good news for you. You too can be a public speaker. Public speaking is a learned skill, so anyone can do it. You just need to follow some simple steps and practice, practice, practice. If you know how to talk, you can become a public speaker.

Becoming really good at public speaking requires some risk, but you have been taking risks all your life. When you were a toddler, you risked falling down when you took your first steps. You risk scraping your knees or falling when you start roller blading. You risk falling off when you start bike riding. You risk being rejected when you ask someone out on a date, and you risk getting into an accident every time you drive your car.

If you gave up after your first fall, you’d still be crawling. If you were afraid to fall off your bike, you’d still be riding with training wheels. If you were afraid of getting into an accident, you’d never get behind the wheel of a car. And guess what, you’re still here - you’ve survived all of that. You’re risk takers!! You’ve proved that by coming to Toastmasters. The greatest fear is that of public speaking and here you are - wanting to learn how to do it.

How many of you enjoy watching figure skating? Now, you wouldn’t expect to be a world class figure skater the minute you put on a pair of skates, would you? No, you’d expect to have to practice for years before becoming that good. Nor would you expect to make the NHL without years and years of winter and summer hockey.

How many of you enjoy watching racing? Would you expect to be another Mario Andretti the minute you get behind the wheel? Now, I will admit that there seem to be a few drivers out there who think they are Mario, but most people would expect to have to practice for years before reaching his status.

Now, I think everyone here knows how to walk. When you think of walking 25 miles, it seems like a long distance, but it is actually only putting one foot in front of the other a number of times and you know how to do that. It just takes practice to go the distance. It’s the same thing with public speaking. It just takes putting one word after another.

The key to getting up in front of an audience is believing that you have something to share with them that may make a difference in their lives - by entertaining them, warning them, encouraging them, or giving them direction or information.

The great thing is - you all do have something to say that people would be interested in hearing. Each of you has come through life in a different way. You may have encountered difficult circumstances and survived. Your experience could help someone else in the same situation.

If you remember jokes or enjoy telling stories to your friends, practice a little more and soon you can be telling your jokes and stories to large audiences. If you are really good at something, consider sharing the steps of how you got there.

By following the steps outlined in the Toastmasters’ manuals, and with the encouragement of fellow Toastmasters, you can learn how to craft a speech and how to deliver it. You can learn how to use props, how to modulate your voice, and how to use words that your audience will understand.

You will often hear the words “stage time” used by Toastmasters. That is the only way to get better. In order to be good at anything, you have to practice. Winston Churchill overcame a speech impediment to become a master orator. He had to practice for hours to deliver a speech.

You can get very discouraged if you expect to be as good as Zig Ziglar right away. But if you listen to his story, you will find that it took a very long time before he was able to do what he does so well.

The thing to remember is that the only person you need to compare yourself to is you. You are working for your personal best, so when you are preparing your speech and practicing, all you need to ask yourself is - is your second speech better in some way than your first? Did you learn something new as you prepared for your speech? Did you learn something from the evaluative comments of others after you gave your speech? Then, that’s all you need to do. You can use what you’ve learned to make the next speech your best to date and then use the same process for each speech you give. Just take one step at a time.

Thanks to Janet Schlarbaum

By Nancy Daniels

That which makes the voice truly interesting to listen to is color. Color is the life, the emotion, the animation one exudes in talking, be it at the lectern, in the sales meeting, over the phone or in a one-on-one conversation. Through my many years as a voice specialist, I have discovered some very interesting correlations between the professions we choose and whether we speak with color. At the top of that list are athletes, research scientists, and CPA’s who often exhibit little or no expression in their delivery. (Please understand that I am generalizing.)

Color is heard not only in the voice but is seen in one’s facial expression as well as one’s body language. Harrison Ford is a wonderful example of excellent facial expression, excellent body language. The tone of his voice is somewhat static - he doesn’t display a lot of variety in his voice - but as an actor in the types of roles he plays, he almost doesn’t need vocal variety: his face and his body display or ’speak’ every emotion he is feeling.

Step 1

To see just how expressive you are (or aren’t!), watch your face in a mirror and say the following statement - She said yes - as if you were delighted. Now say those words again - She said yes - as if you were disappointed. Did you notice a difference in your facial expression between delight and disappointment? If there was no difference, then you probably need some work.

Step 2

Let’s work with - She said yes - again. This time when you look in the mirror, smile when you say it and nod your head up and down just a bit. (Don’t overdue it.) Did you notice a difference? Now when you say - She said yes - I want you to frown and shake your head back and forth as if you were sad or disappointed. Was there a difference? If you noticed a difference, then you’ve just taken the 2nd step to speaking with color.

Step 3

Record yourself saying - She said yes - the first time as if you were delighted (you just found out you won the lottery) and the second time as if you were disappointed (your mother-in-law is coming to visit for 6 months). Play back the recording. You should notice quite a difference if you can ‘act’ in those two manners. I’m not advising you to act in normal conversation; however, expressing some emotion after finding out you just won the lottery or discovering your mother-in-law’s impending visit is normal. It is natural. It is what most people do.

When I teach color I explain to my clients that I want them to straddle the fence, meaning too much color is as bad as not enough color. Sometimes a client will exaggerate his/her ‘color’ which is not what I’m looking for. Exaggerated color is seen on the stage. That is the only place for it. Exaggerated expression sounds ridiculous because it is inappropriate. So if you already express emotion when you speak beware that you don’t go too far in improving on your delivery.

At the lectern, however, I often find that many people who are normally quite expressive have a tendency to lose their life, their color, their emotion. They are so overcome with panic and fear, that they don’t allow themselves to be expressive. Their voices become flat and their faces pale as they spit out a pile of words with little or no emotion. If this sounds like you, then you need to change.

Appreciation to Janet Schlarbaum

Tips For Writing the Perfect Rehearsal Dinner Speech

By: Angela Wade

Many people have already heard of the speeches that are given at the wedding reception. These speeches are usually given by the father of the bride, the groom, and the best man. If you are a member of the wedding party, then you may not have considered that there may be an additional speech that you may be asked to give.

This is the after dinner speeches at the rehearsal dinner. This is not nearly as stressful as the wedding day speeches. This can be difficult if you are one of the people who has to give a speech at both the reception and the rehearsal dinner. It can be difficult to think of topics to discuss at both. This article is going to give you some tips for writing your rehearsal dinner speech.

*Since the rehearsal dinner is in a relaxed setting, unlike the reception speeches it is appropriate to give a short personal story at the rehearsal dinner speech. This can be a humorous story or a story about one of your personal relationships.

*Make sure that you keep your speech short and charming.

*Avoid drinking too much before presenting your speech. This could be a big embarrassment not only to yourself but the bride and groom as well.

*You should prepare the speech beforehand and practice it in the mirror. This will ensure that the speech looks and sounds just right.

*It is appropriate to use quotes or poem when delivering the rehearsal dinner speech.

This article was written to give a few tips for preparing a rehearsal dinner speech. Just try to relax and speak from the heart.

Posted by Janet Schlarbaum Pennsylvania

By Tom Fuszard
Selected by Janet Schlarbaum Philadelphia
For many business people, public speaking is a basic component of the job. Whether leading staff meetings or speaking before civic and trade groups, owners and managers give countless speeches and presentations.

As they prepare, most speakers focus only on the subject matter, and give little thought to the fundamentals of speaking. Study these tips for a more effective presentation next time.

Vocal variety Vary the pitch and volume of your voice. A monotonous tone will lull people to sleep. Use volume or enhanced speed to emphasize certain points. But also back off on occasion. The sudden drop in volume causes listeners to take note. Pauses are useful tools as well. They signal that what’s coming is important, and give listeners a chance to digest what you’ve stated.

Body language Your body speaks volumes, even when you don’t. Like your voice, body language should vary throughout your speech. No need to do jumping Jacks, but you also don’t want to stand there like a 2 x 4.

Start by freeing up your hands. Keep them out of your pockets and detached from the lectern. Hands learn remarkably fast how to complement a speech. You’ll quickly see that they tend to flow with your subject matter (palms open in a waving gesture, for example). When making a point, you’ll notice that you point somewhere as well.

Turn your entire body as you scan the audience. Move in a slow, uniform manner. Your hands will participate for a nicely choreographed action. If appropriate, move about the front of the room. This will help reduce the jitters and give your audience some visual variety.

Eye contact Scan the entire audience regularly throughout your speech, and remember to include anyone at the head table. To avoid the “bumble bee” effect, give each person two or three seconds of eye contact. Instead of counting out the seconds-which can be distracting-try what I call the Phrase Method.

Let’s say your comment is, This new sales program allows us to generate a significant increase in sales with no addition in staffing. As you’re speaking, you will unconsciously break it down like this:

This new sales program

allows us to generate

a significant increase in sales

with no addition in staffing.

You will naturally shift your attention from one person to the next as you deliver each part of the sentence, thereby providing the proper amount of eye contact. Don’t fret over this. Concentrate on your delivery, and your eye contact will come naturally.

Every speech is comprised of several important components. These include research, preparation, practice, and delivery. As you build the skills discussed here, you will become a more confident and accomplished presenter.

Don’t let a little nervousness get in the way of a great speech

Nervousness is common with all speakers, even the most experienced ones. Put that anxiety to work for you by channeling the extra energy into your delivery. You will be more animated and come across more forcefully. Your confidence builds as you notice the effect this has on your audience.

You may still notice a little nervousness creeping in from time to time. Much of that is self-induced, as we are naturally self-conscious. While in front of groups we are assessing our performance and wondering what the audience is thinking. We assume they are finding fault with every aspect of the presentation. This leads to self-doubt, which breeds nervousness.

Fact is, if you have prepared well, the audience will pay attention. Those who appear to be distracted probably are, due to outside problems or concerns. Concentrate on your presentation, and you will do well.

By Leandro Moreira
Selected by Janet Schlarbaum Philadelphia Pennsylvania
Speaking in public is not easy for vast majority of us, almost everyone gets anxious when you publicly speak, the main key about speaking in public is the fear (a feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger), we must get rid of it.

There are three main points of public speaking fear:

1 - Lack of knowledge on the subject

If you do not know enough about the subject, during the presentation, you will be always following for an unknown way, fearful of forgetting some important data or of appearing somebody in the auditorium knowing more about it than you do.

2 - Not Acquainted with speaking in public

if you don’t have experience of speaking in public, you will be fearful of not presenting it well, then your professional career could be harmed.

3 - Lack of self-knowledge

if you do not know yourself, specially in front of the public, you will be fearful of not knowing your actions during the speech.

Since we know the causes of public speaking fear, it is a little bit easier to get rid of it:

1 - Get acquainted with the subject

You must know very well the subject. You should know what you are going to present, do not need to speak during one hour or two hours. Study about the subject, get confidence on it. Plan a sequence of the presentation, you should know what people are expecting from that you about the subject

2 - Practice and Acquire Experience

Try to speak in public as much as possible, practice at home for your family, at school, etc… Attend to more Speeches, post more questions during presentations, try to speak more when you are in public. Try to expose your opinions. You need to practice for getting confidence.

3 - Identify your skills

We could say easier about our speaking problems, it is more difficult to say about our qualities of speaking. Therefore it is necessary that you identify your skills.For instance: if you have a good voice, or good vocabulary, or good corporal expression, sense of humor. After identifying them you should explore them.

The Fear does not disappear, but you will be able to fight and dominate the fear of speaking, but it always could be close.

Author: Glyn Powditch

If you are booking a keynote speaker, then follow the 7 key points in this article. It will save you up to 20% of the fee you would have been charged by going to a bureau. The bureaus offer little benefits for their expensive charges and its easy to gain the small benefit of their experience by just calling them and asking their advice for free. With videos now on every professional speaker’s website, anyone can judge the quality and appropriateness of a specific speaker. Follow these 5 tips and you will be assured of a positive experience at your event:

1) “Try before you buy” - Only book speakers with a show reel on their website, Youtube or another video channel.

Its simple, good practice to have seen a speaker in action before you book them for an event. You are personally responsible for the success of your event, function, or conference. A video will allow you to not only judge the competence and likely impact of a speaker upon your audience but will also enable judgment as to the appropriateness of the speaker to the event.

Many speakers, even of poor quality, feature a show reel on their website. Therefore you can quickly eliminate speakers that are not up to scratch. Are the audience engaged? If they are out of shot, could it be staged? Any professional speaker will have countless performances at live events and should have no reason to “can laughter” or fakery. And if they don’t have a show reel, don’t book them.

Also examine what are their typical subject areas? Their videos should give a good guide and don’t expect them to deviate too much from their areas of expertise. If you want an HR speaker, look for one rather than a business speaker. Like comedians, many speakers rarely stray from the same stories. They will tend to try and mold the subject to their material which is not ideal for you. Therefore, I would urge you to really think about who you want.

2) Don’t book “celebrities” for business events unless…..

you can think of a really good reason to do so - and I can’t! I almost always hear that celebrities speeches go down like lead balloons at business conferences and events. Why? Well firstly a lot, and I mean a lot, turn up half cut. And this is whether we are talking big current names, sports stars, or c-listers and even those with tea-total reputations and bastions of health seem to succumb. Nerves, enjoying hospitality, or just part of a wider problem, consumption of alcohol affects speaking performance and audience enjoyment. Secondly, they are not speakers and whilst some are obviously good, a lot of them are not. Thirdly, you pay through the roof for them on multiples that are just absurd for the initial excitement of the audience as their name is announced before the typically crashing disappointment that follows when they open their mouths. Many toastmaster level speakers are much better and that’s not saying much.

3) Pick the brains of the bureau’s but don’t use them

Bureau’s are so expensive and do nothing to ensure you get the right speaker relative to their exorbitant fee. So by all means I recommend that you give them a call, ask for recommendations on speakers, and budgets and glean whatever valuable information that you can. If you do get a name, go direct. Any speaker worth their salt will have a website that is easy to find. You can even bypass management companies by going to Facebook and Myspace pages - it pays to be resourceful. Many speakers, especially good ones, will not make use of bureaus as many of the agencies engage in unscrupulous business practices and will host multiple websites pretending to be different companies and feature celebrities to whom they have no connection nor ability to book.

4) Set a decent budget and stick to it

Don’t get tempted to stray beyond your budget but make sure that your budget is sufficient. For any business event, I wouldn’t want to stray below £2000 / $4000 plus reasonable expenses. If you do your research, you should get good value for money.

5) Know when to use a speaker bureau - there is one time its essential

So I’ve told you to avoid using them and now I am telling you to do so! Well, in my opinion the only time to use a bureau is when you get an eleventh hour cancellation. Now this rarely ever happens in my experience. Most professional speakers will move heaven and earth not to let you down. But if it happens, then this is the time to use them.

Posted by Janet Schlarbaum of Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Author: Otto Kreistler

There is hardly an event that people fear more than a round of public speaking. The mere act of facing a crowd of people who are hanging on every word you’re saying can bring jitters to even the most confident individuals. So if you find that you have to deliver that all important keynote address then what can you do to make sure that the speech is an absolute success?

It all boils down to preparation, preparation, preparation. In short, the better prepared you are and the more time you spend rehearsing what you’re going to say, the better it’s bound to come out. Keep in mind the following details though when you are writing down and preparing your speech for public consumption:

1. Know what you’re talking about: You can’t go into a room and talk about a topic you barely know about. So what can you do as to not be torn to shreds at the open forum? Read up! You should be familiar with all the things concerning your topic and it wouldn’t hurt if you knew a lot of extra stuff not exactly related to it. This not only makes you knowledgeable but more importantly: qualified.

2. Know your audience: Most likely, your final production is going to look like what it was intended for. What this means is that knowing your target audience is important in writing an effective speech. A lecture addressed to children that sounds like the Gettysburg Address would probably not be very effective. And one that is addressed to a group of senior citizens would hardly be understood if it had a lot of teenage terminology. So know your audience and attract them with something that appeals to them.

3. Know the occasion: You can’t just say anything that comes to your mind when you’re up there, right? So it’s best that you understand exactly what the occasion calls for and stick with it. Make it something that people will definitely relate to and that what you’re saying is definitely related to the subject.

Posted by Janet Schlarbaum of Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Posted by: Janet Schlarbaum, Pennsylvania

Author: harvey clifford

Here are five essential tips to consider when writing your best man speech:

1. Make sure that your best man speech is prepared several weeks before the day of the wedding.

2. Practice reading your speech a few times before finally performing it at the wedding reception. Read right through to a couple of friends before the big day.

3. Keep it to around five minutes in length.

4. Be careful not to offend anyone in your speech.

5. Make a copy of your speech in case you lose the original.

At a wedding the best man speech is a time-honoured tradition when he can tell all those wonderful and funny stories, even bring a tear to the best man’s eye, but it can also be a frightful experience especially if the best man really does not like speaking in public.

However, giving the speech is probably the easy part, delivering the speech is more of a talent and one of the best ways to learn about the delivering is by watching others ‘perform’. But there really is no need to fret, it’s a skill that can easily be learnt.

The best man speech is the perfect way to put the icing on the cake for the bride and groom on their wedding day and to share with everyone present how you came to be friends.

The speech can be made more interesting by adding some inspirational quotes or a short story and should also carry a message of congratulations.

Remember that the wedding day is a family occasion, so keep any humour or one-liners clean, also keeping any dubious language out of your speech is a good idea, remember a lot of weddings these days are video taped, you don’t want to look a prat for all time!

Give yourself at least one month to start slowly preparing by writing down notes on what you want to cover in your speech.
You owe it to the bride and groom, their families, and yourself, to present the best speech you possibly can.

Length of the best man speech is another important consideration. The ideal speech should be between two and seven minutes. Keep the speech short and sweet, and to the point, don’t waffle on.

A sense of humour and the ability, or at least the nerve, to get up in front of a room full of people and give a speech loud and clear is your objective.

Make sure if you are going to drink alcohol to take it easy until after the best man speech is over and you are not in the spotlight, it will be obvious if you get too drunk, you’ll slur your words or sway around.

People remember only a few things about a wedding; the way the bride looks, the ceremony and lastly the wedding speeches. The best man speech is a tradition at every wedding, and like all traditions, it has developed a set of rules and standards that are expected of anyone giving the speech.

If you aren’t naturally a funny man, then you can find some funny speeches or quotes in books, the Internet, friends and family.

If the standard of your jokes are along the lines of: ‘The wedding was a moving affair, so much so, even the wedding cake was in tiers’ then you probably won’t reach the required standard on your own!

Most people can’t deliver a successful speech without some help and assistance and one of the best places to get it these days is online, and, for a very modest fee Dan Stevens, author of ‘Best Man Speeches’ can help.