You can be a better public speaker.
Peter Zapfella.
Snakes? Not a problem. Flying? All the time. Confined spaces? Bring it on. Public speaker? No way!
Just thinking about public speaking, often described as the most common of all phobias, can make your blood run cold and your palms sweat. Yet phobias are irrational fears – hallucinations. Fear of public speaking is a social phobia.
Whether we’re talking in a team meeting or presenting in front of an audience, we all have to speak in public from time to time.
No one was born a great public speaker. The good news is that speaking in public is a learned skill.
You might have to make a speech after accepting an award, or to give a presentation. You may be asked to make a speech at a family or friend’s wedding, or give a eulogy for a loved one, or thank a group of volunteers at a charity event.
Being a good public speaker can enhance your reputation, boost your self-confidence, and open up countless new opportunities.
However, just as good public speaking skills can open doors, poor speaking or avoidance altogether can close the doors of opportunity forever.
So how can you be a better public speaker? Here are a few secrets I have put together to help you do just that. public speaker, public speaking
I used to perform a Comedy Hypnosis Show on stage before a paying audience of anywhere between a dozen and perhaps 2000 people. The show was an unscripted audience participation show. It was certainly a good basis for developing my public speaking abilities.
Listening is arguably at least one-half of all communication, so you should be an active listener. public speaker, public speaking
Learn to become an active listener by practicing these 4 simple techniques:
- Suspend any biases you may have about the speaker.
- Quiet your own mind chatter by focusing on what the speaker is saying.
- Listen to their semantics and how they influence the listener.
- Engage with the speaker by using your own body language and asking open-ended questions when appropriate, to encourage the speaker.
Before you speak to an audience get to know who they are. When I performed my shows, I always asked the organiser about the audience. I wanted to know the age group, the gender balance, and the interests of the audience. Was I performing for a ‘bucks party’ consisting of young adult males? Children? Aged pensioners? A sporting or corporate group? What was the occasion? Why was I there?
For example, I played before a large group of Irish people for Saint Patrick’s Day. Another show was in a Jewish Synagogue. I regularly performed an X rated show in a swinger’s club. Obviously, each show was molded to suit the audience and the occasion. public speaker, public speaking
Learn as much as you can about your listeners. Then craft your message. This will assist you to structure your delivery, including semantics and content.
Consider launching your presentation with a ‘shocker’ to get their immediate attention. It could be a statistic or amazing revelation. It could be a personal story, and if it is leave it off in a cliff hanger and suddenly change the subject. Only finish the cliff hanger at the conclusion of your talk. It is a great way to ‘open a loop’ and keep them listening to your every word. Then ‘close the loop’ just as you close your presentation. public speaker, public speaking
‘That reminds me of the time I was ice skating on a frozen lake, and I fell though the ice. The freezing cold water was up to my chest as I found an unstable footing on a rock.’
Think about how you can logically structure what you want to say. Introduction, body and conclusion. How can you reveal your message in simple to understand steps, that keep the audience interested? Not too slow and ‘hum-drum’ boring and yet not too advanced and ‘over their heads’.
I remember giving a lesson about radio propagation to infantrymen in the Army. I saw their eyes glass over and thought to myself – ‘I lost them somewhere’. I thought they would understand but I had aimed too high. They did not have a clue what I am talking about. So, at the conclusion I asked their Captain if he thought they understood the content of my presentation. He said they did. Maybe he did, but I had serious doubts about his soldiers.
The semantics you choose to use are important. Are you speaking to professionals in their field who expect you to speak at their level of understanding, with appropriate terms and pronunciations?
Are you speaking to a particular age group or gender who expect you to communicate using their jargon or slang? Choose semantics to suit your target audience. Choose the right words and expressions. Be sure to pronounce them correctly. public speaker, public speaking
I remember having a conversation with a teenager back in the 1980’s. He commented that something was ‘sick’. I interpreted that as a negative when in fact he was commenting it was ‘bitch’in’ or ‘gorgeous’ to a child of the 1950’s.
Just be aware of cultural differences. Just as some positive words used in one language can be negative, even insulting words, in another – so can body language. p
Great speakers can create vivid pictures in the mind of their audience, they use emotive, energetic language. They use color, size, and shape — to create mental images of objects, actions, or ideas. Select lively verbs and speak in an active voice.
Deliver your message with rhythm, pace and tone. Never use a stale monotonous voice. Your audience will quickly become bored, look at their phones or fall asleep. Worse still, they could heckle you, or walk out.
If possible, stop hiding behind a lectern. You can use the whole stage or platform to make a point, to drive a message. Even to create emotional triggers in your audience.
I watch standup comedians work the stage. The inexperienced stand in one place or walk up and down the stage, back and forth is meaningless wanderings.
The professionals walk to a certain place to make a certain point, such as a moment in their own childhood. They may act a child’s tantrum or fane crying. Then they will move to another position, turn and ‘play the part’ of a parent. Each position on that stage becomes associated with that time, place, emotional state, or person.
To reassociate the audience into that state all they need do is walk to that position on stage. That is a sign of a real professional, indeed an actor. It is dynamic delivery. You can use the same technique yourself as a dynamic public speaker.
Add a physical stance to suggest a character.
Pay attention to your own facial expressions and nonverbal body language. Nothing annoys me more than a speaker who waves their arms around for no apparent reason. I see inexperienced TV news reporters on location waving their arms about, as if they cannot get a word out of their mouths without pumping some invisible crank. It is really distracting.
Learn to keep your arms and hands still unless you are using them to make a point. Such as pointing. It takes a lot of practice to speak without moving hands and arms for some people. Perhaps practice your lines while holding something heavy, which is difficult to wave about in the air.
Do not cross your arms unless you want to convey a nonverbal message that you disagree or refuse to be involved. Do not put your hands in your pockets unless you want to indicate a relaxed attitude or fane disinterest.
There are so many nonverbal facial expressions or body language ‘tricks’ available. You would benefit from doing some research so you can better ‘read’ other people and influence nonverbal communication.
Body language is a two-way street. You can use facial expressions and body language in your presentation to make it more effective, and you can read the facial expressions and body language of your listeners or audience for immediate feedback.
- In discussions and while giving body language feedback to them, you could smile and nod your head in agreement – if you agree. Looking directly at the speaker you could give them a thumbs up.
- If listening to a speaker and giving body language feedback to them, if you are questioning statements they make, tilt your head (as if trying to look at it from a different angle in an attempt to better understand). Mouth slightly open. Looking directly at the speaker.
- In discussions, or if listening to a speaker, if you disagree slightly move your head back and chin down, with a grimace expression on the face. Glazing at the speaker with a fixed stare as if challenging their statement.
- When in discussions, or if listening to a speaker you disagree with their statement move your head slowly from side to side. Silently mouthing the words … ‘No’, or ‘Fucking bullshit”. Look defiantly in the eye of the speaker. Do not be surprised if they question your challenge. So be prepared to ‘put up or shut up’. To avoid a direct confrontation, look down and away from the speaker, turning your head from side to side as if say “No, no, no. This is so bad I cannot even look.”
- If listening to a speaker, you find their presentation boring you could look at your watch and then look around as if trying to find the exit. Appear totally distracted as if not listening to a word they are saying. To send an absolute (and somewhat rude) message of boredom take out your phone and look at it. You can use these body language signals to send a nonverbal message to the speaker that their communication is boring. You can be a better public speaker.
- ‘Click Here’ to see the ‘Plaid Shirt Guy’ using his facial expressions to question false statements by Donald Trump during a Montana Rally.
They say body language and nonverbal cues are 70 per cent of all communication. As a game you could play nonverbal conversation with someone just by using body language. It is a great way to hone your nonverbal skills after reading all about body language.
Research shows that people believe nonverbal, body language over spoken words. Listeners trust the nonverbal message. Today I saw a TV interview where the reporter asked a performer “Are you looking forward to going on tour?” The performer said “Yes. I am” as he shook his head “NO!” Who did I believe? His conscious words or his unconscious body language? He was obviously incongruent. He either had mixed feelings or he was an outright liar. The takeaway from that is to watch your own body language and be consistent with your message.
Effective nonverbal communication includes:
- Appropriate neat attire for the event.
- Good posture.
- Control of those flapping arms and hands, with purposeful movement.
- Appropriate energy and enthusiasm.
- Connecting with the audience through appropriate eye contact, and perhaps questions and answers (audience participation). Some standup comedians do this well.
When you speak, engage your audience. It makes you feel less isolated as a speaker and keeps everyone involved in your presentation. If appropriate, ask leading questions targeted to individuals (the technique is to ask the question, then nominate the person to answer. This keeps everyone engaged because they don’t want to be asked to answer a question when they were not listening) and encourage people to participate by contributing comments and asking questions.
I used to make out that someone in the audience had made a comment I had overheard. I used that as a segway into a topic or to make a special point, as if I was responding to something someone had said. If you can get away with it, I think it is better than saying “people ask me …” it suggests engagement with the audience.
Be direct, spontaneous, and animated. Use vocal and facial expressions to make a point and liven things up. Use the stage or platform, use body language. Be prepared to fall into character using voices and stance. But do it with purpose so that it has more impact. It is possible to overdo a good thing.
I suggest you record or better still video your own rehearsal, then listen or watch back for improvement and development, such as filler words, up talk, monotone, and run-on sentences, as well as any habits, such as lip smacking, that sound or look awkward or uncomfortable. Tweak your words so they flow smoothly and naturally for you. How can you improve your stage craft? Identifying the problem is the first step towards tackling it.
I am reminded by something said by one of Australia’s leading television personalities. He records all of his performances. Then listens back while going for a ride on his bike. He can critic his own performance and perfect it just a little more. Sometimes he finds an unconscious gem he was unaware he had said. So, he consciously incorporates it into his routine. He never stops reviewing and improving his own performances. He admits he can always do better.
If possible, do a ‘dummy run through’ in front of a small audience: this will help make you feel more comfortable with the material, and calm your jitters. Your audience can also give you useful feedback, both on your material and on your performance. Record it and play back to yourself.
You can research and rehearse your work beforehand to organise your ideas in a logical sequence. Understand your audience and how best to communicate to them in a way they will find it informative, entertaining, even transformational. It will make you a better speaker. If your listeners are bored or confused, modify your verbal and nonverbal message — inject some humour, or even change direction if that is what it takes.
As a speaker I am prepared, and know what I want to convey, however I am also ready to toss it all to the wind and take an uncharted course. I have for example, had to do that when the audio visuals failed. I needed the images to keep track of my steps through a presentation, in logical sequence. Without them I had to ‘wing it’.
That’s when you need a timekeeper to signal how many minutes you have left, so you can give a completed conclusion. Someone holds up a card indicating how many minutes you have left. Or, as I used in my Comedy Hypnosis Shows, a ‘cuckoo clock’ sound effect would come through the speakers to signal how many minutes I had left in the show.
Perhaps you could use an easily visible count down stopwatch? But this can only work for you if you look at it from time-to-time. A vibrating alarm in your underpants would get your attention!
A flexible style not only helps you get your point across more effectively, but also keeps everyone on their toes and actively engaged.
If you’re nervous, you may be inclined to talk quickly. This increases the chances that you will trip over your words or be misunderstood. Slow down by breathing deeply. Gather your thoughts; pauses are an important part of good communication. They can be used for dramatic effect, to emphasise what you say next, and to make you sound more confident, natural, and authentic. Look around and smile toward someone in the audience. “Nice to see you back here again.” Without looking at someone person in particular. Never-the-less, it’s a great personal touch.
Politicians often repeat what they just said as they scramble their thoughts for the next words.
Avoid standing at a podium, face down, reading word-for-word from your notes. Instead, know your subject, make a list of important points, memorise the key points of what you want to say – you can still refer back to your cue cards or audio-visual aids to keep track when you need them.
When performing my Comedy Hypnosis Shows I would stick my running sheet of routines on the floor or behind a curtain or speaker, where the audience could not see it. All I had to do was glace down to read the next routine I was about to perform. My crew had the same list, so they could cue music, sound and lighting (including smoke and bubbles) FX.
Use affirmations and visualisation to raise your confidence. Visualise having just given a successful presentation and imagine how you feel now it’s over and people are complimenting your performance.
I listened to positive affirmations every night for weeks before I performed my first Comedy Hypnosis Show.
At Internet Hypnosis dot Shop you will find a great collection of inspiring subliminal affirmations and hypnosis to help prepare you.
Affirmation Text: Confident Public Speaking
“You know your material and you know your audience. You practice- practice-practice your presentation. It is interesting, informative, and entertaining.
You speak from the heart because you have passion. You are positive and fearless.
You know body language is an important part of communication.
You engage the audience as you smile and make eye-to-eye contact as you speak.
You visualize yourself speaking clearly and confident with a smile. You visualize your enthusiastic audience smiling and applauding.
You are now more clear in the mind, more relaxed in the body, you are more confident and coping better with everything and everybody, you confidently look forward to public speaking forever and ever.”
Affirmation Text: Free From Stage Fright
“You know pre-performance jitters is normal. It is part of the excitement and anticipation of performing. You can transmute those negative feelings into enthusiasm and eagerness.
You know those ‘nerves’ always disappear the moment you step onto the stage. You thrive under pressure, because you love the energy of a live audience
You are now more clear in the mind, more relaxed in the body, you are more confident and coping better with everything and everybody, now that you welcome life beyond stage fright.”
‘Click’ on album cover image above to open the web page.
Before you speak in front of others, we are inclined to envision embarrassing, even humiliating things happening. Even the most accomplished performers and speakers suffer some nerves shortly before they step out before the lights and a microphone. But they disappear in an instant as they launch into the performance.
Have you ever seen a speaker so nervous they mess up completely? I think the only place you will see that happen is at comedy ‘try outs’ where they come along ill prepared and really have no idea what they are doing.
No. I am wrong about that. I once attended a much-advertised performance in my hometown by a guy who had a comedy hypnosis routine at the concert hall, so I went along. It was the most disorganised, haphazard routine I had ever seen. He obviously had no idea what he was doing in front of a paying audience. He could not hypnotise any of his volunteer performers (whom I suspect were friends), so he sent them back to their seats in the audience, and then called for more volunteers. But they were not the problem – his routine was crap. He had not done his research. He had not prepared. He did not know what he was doing. He crashed and burned in an overhyped, under performed show. I never heard or saw anything about a repeat performance from him. I think it was his first and only attempt.
You can learn from his mistakes. Before you stand up and give a speech to any size audience – research, prepare and practice.
People cite public speaking to an audience as their greatest fear. Fear of failure is at the foundation. The “fight or flight” response kicks in: adrenaline courses through the bloodstream, the heart rate increases, thumping in the chest, clammy hands wringing wet with sweat, a dizzy feeling and a burning desire to run away.
However, those same hormones that cause all that distress also drive exhilaration. It is that feeling that ignites the buzz that elite sports people and entertainers talk about. Yes, they feel the nerves at first and then it changes into something incredible.
It is as if pressure builds before the performance and then transmutes into something that enhances the experience. By changing your mindset, you can use nervous energy to your advantage.
The microphone is your friend.
Focus all your attention on your audience: you’re there to entertain, inform and educate them. Your message is why they are there. They are ‘with you’, not ‘against you’. Just before you speak take deep breath right down into your belly, hold it for a couple of seconds, and let it out slowly. As you do, visualise letting all the fear and anxiety leaving with the breath.
You can be a better public speaker:
- Remember nervousness is normal before any presentation or performance.
- Prepare, practice, and then practice some more.
- Know your audience.
- Tailor your material specifically for them.
- Use audience feedback and be flexible.
- Audiovisual aids should enhance or clarify your content or capture and maintain your audience’s attention without distracting from it.
- Be dynamic and memorable.
- Do not wave your hands and arms about like a drunk bird. Put your arms down and only use gestures to reinforce what you are saying. Nothing more.
- Use language (semantics) appropriately and effectively for your audience.
- Use humour. Tell stories. You could inject a funny anecdote in your presentation, and you would certainly grab your audience’s attention. Audiences generally like a personal touch in a speech. Grab at something, as I did, and pull yourself up and out of the hole in the ice lake. Get into warm dry clothes as soon as possible, and feel good.
- Do not stand behind a podium, with head down and reading every word with a boring monotonous voice.
- Grab attention at the beginning. Insert an ‘opening loop’ story. Give a logical, easy flow body followed by a conclusion that wraps everything up into a nice bundle. Close the loop and throw in a dynamic end.
No one was born a great public speaker. Even the greatest performers and presenters were ‘bad’ when they started. They prepared and practiced. Then they practiced some more. They started early so they had time on their side – Never rushed. Never panicked. They took their time and made mistakes which they learned from as they perfected their craft.
A magician once told me that you have to do 100 magic shows before you can become proficient as a magician.
Now you have been given the secrets of success as a public speaker. Put them into practice. Visualise it. Do it.
