Public Speaking Tips to Nail Your Next Presentation

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Have you ever felt like you have a great idea and want to present it, but are unable to do it in the end because you are not sure about your public speaking skill? No worries, you are not alone in this internal battle! According to research, a staggering 80% of individuals suffer from speech anxiety, which frequently leads to difficulty sleeping the night before they have to speak in front of others. With some insightful help and guidance and a lot of practice, you can conquer your fear of public speaking. Here is how.

Why Public Speaking Skill is Important

You just cannot escape public speaking for the rest of your life, be it for a team meeting, a seminar, a conference, or somewhere else altogether. If you aim to advance your career, it is duly noted that most professional-level positions need some sort of public speaking. Activities such as presenting results, pitching projects, training workers, and conducting meetings are commonly performed. Good public speaking skills may help both your personal and professional life, and they are worth practicing for two main reasons.

1 . Boosting Overall Confidence

Overcoming your fear of public speaking brings you confidence and reduces your nervousness in a social context. This skill is an awesome means of expressing your point of view. Either to promote an influential subject or simply to share a hilarious joke to a group of friends, strengthening your public speaking skills makes it simpler to deliver your message and eventually, influence public reaction.

2 . Career Advancement

Effective public speaking skills are vital for those who want to climb the corporate leadership ladder. It helps you perform better in the interview process or nail a major presentation. Others will want to interact with you if you are able to deliver your points through concise and interactive communication. The confidence you get from developing your public speaking skills also increases your likelihood of approaching and conversing with prospective new colleagues and strategic partners.

How to Improve Your Public Speaking Skill

The best way to start honing your public speaking skill, no matter how much of an introverted and reserved person you are, is to start with small steps. Here’s how to improve your public speaking skill to nail your next presentation:

1 . Prepare Carefully

Everyone has physical reactions such as beating hearts and shaking hands. Do not link these feelings with the fear of doing poorly or making a fool of yourself. The adrenaline rush that causes you to sweat also makes you more attentive and ready to put in the effort. It is really critical to spend enough time preparing for your presentation, such that you will not be panicky in the spur of the moment.

Before drafting your speech, consider who it is aimed for. Learn everything you can about the audience. This will help you determine the wording, level of content, organizational pattern, and driving statement. Once you have created a framework, you can start creating relevant visuals, note cards, and other supporting materials you need to get through your speech.

2 . Practice Before the Presentation

Walking into the ‘presentation battleground’ without first practicing can easily induce anxiousness. Even after preparing the materials and conducting your research on who your audience is, you still need to practice with yourself. If talking in front of a mirror is not comfortable for you, try recording yourself when doing a presentation. 

Speak as if you are speaking with your real audience and once you are done, listen to your recording. From there, you can spot which part of the presentation you stutter or find hard to explain something. Take notes on these parts and try to evaluate your wording before going to another practice and record. If you feel like you have done better with your practice, try recording and speaking in front of a mirror. Although it may look overwhelming at first, this type of practice will help you feel more comfortable looking at yourself, thus enhancing your confidence. 

3 . Maintain Your Body Language

Nonverbal cues have an equally important impact on how your audience perceives your persona. Showing appropriate body language throughout the presentation can turn a somewhat mundane talk into an interesting and engaging discussion. Ground your feet, take a deep breath, and only then you can start speaking. This helps you set the right pace for your body language to adjust in your presentation. When presenting, make an effort to walk about rather than standing motionless or attempting to hide behind a podium. Moving around and making active hand movements not only builds energy to keep your audience's attention, but it also helps you look more passionate about the issue you are raising your voice to.

4 . Establish a Habit

Mastering the art of public speaking is a long journey, you cannot achieve it overnight and succeed. Even after successfully delivering an important presentation, you need to make sure that your public speaking skills are here to stay and can be put into practice whenever needed. Hence, you need to keep practicing public speaking in its simplest forms through your daily activities, such as becoming the one to pick up the phone when the office phone rings or to start a conversation during office lunch break. The more you rehearse public speaking skills, the more effortless they will become. Although rehearsing may not be as effective as practicing in front of an audience, it does help you get more adapted to your skills.

In the end, efforts will never betray you. Spending time and learning genuinely to enhance your public speaking can help you ace your presentation as time goes by. You may not be able to entirely sweep your stage freight and worries, but you can learn to actually reduce them!

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