Public speaking is a pretty important life skill. If you can master it, it’ll help you ace job interviews, giving presentations at work or school, and even help your social life.
But just the mention of public speaking can send folks running. In fact, nearly 30 percent of Americans say that they are afraid of public speaking. That’s a lot of people!
It’s understandable, then, that mastering public speaking shows up on plenty of bucket lists. So if you’ve got public speaking lingering on your bucket list, here are some tips to help you gain confidence in your public speaking and master your stage presence.
Prepare for Your Speech Early
I know, it’s obvious, but it’s important! When getting ready for giving a presentation, or even a speech at a wedding, you need to make sure that you are fully prepared. Surprises are just going to add to your anxiety.
Don’t procrastinate on prepping your speech. Start as early ahead of time as you can. Decide if you need to write out your whole speech, or if you’re just going to create a few note cards. Do you need to make PowerPoint slides to accompany your presentation?
Practice Makes Perfect
Okay, maybe not exactly perfect, but it will help you feel way more prepared. Practice will help you get extremely familiar with the contents of your speech and make you more confident when giving your presentation.
If you’re able to memorize your speech, great! If it’s not possible to memorize the whole thing, even just memorizing the main points will help tremendously. You can then make yourself some note cards to help jog your memory and help you along as you give your speech.
Research Your Audience and Venue
Depending on where you are giving your speech, this could be friends and family, or it could be coworkers and upper management, or it might even be strangers. You want to be able to work in references to help your audience relate and connect with you. It’ll probably also help ease your anxiety if you know your audience before walking in.
Are you familiar with the venue? Will you be behind a podium, on a stage, or using a microphone? Knowing these things ahead of time can put you at ease when you arrive to give your speech.
Don’t Forget Your Nonverbal Behavior
Nonverbal Behaviors during public speaking, such as hand gestures, body language, smiling, and tone of voice are essential for captivating audiences. It’s going to make your presentation more entertaining. Pay attention to these things while you are practicing your speech. If possible, you might want to try filming yourself giving the speech so that you can see your behaviors from the audience’s perspective.
Study the Experts
Watch great public speakers give presentations on YouTube. Study the way they speak, their delivery, and their body language. It’s a great way to see what works (and what doesn’t), and try to incorporate those qualities into your presentation.
Don’t Read the Speech Word-for-Word
Whatever you do, don’t stand up in front of everyone and just read your entire speech. Not from a piece of paper, not word-for-word from PowerPoint slides, not from anywhere! Not only will you give off a really nervous, anxious vibe, but you’ll never make eye contact with your audience. I guarantee that your audience will find it boring, and you’ll never capture their attention.
Kat Sweet
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