Janet Schlarbaum, Mark Schlarbaum Tools - 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: 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