Have you ever felt dissatisfied after giving a speech? Have you ever felt dejected because you could not create an impact on your audience? Do you feel something lags in your public speaking skills?
Public speaking is an art that demands time and patience. It takes dedicated and creative effort to deliver a well-crafted eloquent speech. There are some who have perfected the art of public speaking while there are others who're aspiring for the same. However, not everyone manages to capture the attention of the audience everytime.
Even the greatest of speakers were awful in the beginning. Nonetheless, with every performance their content became structured, their self confidence increased and gradually they reached at the zenith of their careers with a voice which impacted billions all around the world.
The basic requisite for public speaking is audience. Hence, it is very crucial for public speakers to attain and retain the attention their audience from starting till the very end. A minor carelessness in content or body language can cost bazillions under public eye.
Following are the mistakes that the budding speakers often commit without realising the depth of it:
1. Not preparing
There is no such thing as an impromptu speech. From the Prime Minister of the country addressing millions of people to the Principal delivering a speech in the morning assembly, everyone has to prepare for their speech first.
Confidence is good but being over-confident and thinking that you'd easily be able to address a large audience without preparing for it at first is sheer foolishness.
Even Mark Twain used to say, “It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.” Whether you note down your entire speech word by word or just pen down few important pointers on the subject, it is important to be prepared for your speech in advance.
A healthy preparation for the speech in advance is of utmost importance to prevent yourself from any potential embarrassment which you'd otherwise surely commit without proper preparation.
2. Not rehearsing
Preparing the speech will be of no value if you do not rehearse what you've written. Theatre artists rehearse day and night on the same script everyday for weeks and months. It is done to get the perfect dialogue delivery on stage. Similarly, Public Speaking also requires extensive rehearsal.
Now that you have your speech in hand, it is important to rehease it before going on to the stage. Whether you speak it out loud in front of a mirror or rehearse before your friends, it is crucial that you practice extensively. This helps in boosting your confidence on stage and also gives you an idea of your body language so that you work on it accordingly.
3. Giving Long speeches
We all have been in sessions where we were about to doze off during the session itself. Now imagine yourself giving a speech and seeing half of your audience either asleep or distracted. Isn't , it disheartening?
Longer than required speeches result in the same outcome as mentioned above. Deviating from the topic and droning on and on about irrelevant things is an ideal way to completely lose the interest of your audience.
It is a misconception that longer speeches are good. Beating about the bush was never good and never will be. Hence, you must always try to make your speech as short, as crisp and as impactful as possible.
4. Speaking Boring and Unrelatable Content
Not studying the audience beforehand is probably one of the biggest mistakes that a speaker can commit.
Your content should be interesting as well as relevant to the listeners. You must realise that people are giving you important time of their lives. Hence, it falls on your shoulders to leave them satisfied with their decision of listening to you.
Talking to them about the matters that are irrelevant to them is not going to win you any browny points and will also leave a bad impression. You can only connect with your audience if they are able to relate with your words.
5. Unmindful of Language
You do not speak to your boss in the same way as you speak with your family. Similarly,you cannot address a room full of people with different sets of ideologies and mentality without respecting all of their sentiments.
You must always strive to be as politically correct as possible which does not mean you become diplomatic and boring. Rather, it means you express your opinions in such a way which does not offend anyone in any way.
6. Not interacting with audience
An interaction-less speech or session is a mistake that budding speakers often commit.
As much as it may seem like, public speaking is not only about speaking. Audience’s role is as important as a speaker's role for without any audience, there would have been no such thing as public speaking.
Listening to a speaker reading from a script is not only frustrating and boring but also disrespectful for the audience who have taken time out of their lives to listen to a speaker who does not even appreciate their presence.
Therefore, as a speaker, you must always try to build an interactive atmosphere in public speaking by maintaining consistent eye contact with your audience and addressing them as a whole.
If not individually, you can occasionally ask basic yes/no questions related to your speech to make the session more engaging. Adding humorous elements also works wonders in attracting attention and interest from your audience.
7. Not Dressing for the Part
What you wear and how you present yourself is of vital importance in public speaking for it forms the first impression in the minds of your audience and to some extent determines their interest in you.
Dressing shabbily with unprofessional clothing is bound to cost you a lot in a formal set up. People nowadays spend a fortune on their clothing because they realise its importance which can either make or break their image.
Dressing aptly and suitable to the occasion builds your own self-confidence and gives you a headstart to impress your audience. Hence, avoid making last moment decisions about your clothing and plan it out in advance for Public Speaking events.
These are some mistakes that budding speakers generally commit without realising the seriousness of it. A wrong impression in your early stages can shake your entire Public Speaking career up. Hence, it is important that you exercise caution right from the beginning itself.
- Isha Jain
Source: https://mindgrad.com/free-reads/f/7-mistakes-that-budding-speakers-generally-commit
Want to get published on EMN and join the community? Here is an opportunity to join the Board of Young Leaders Program by Eat My News. Click here to know more: bit.ly/boardofyoungleaders
Source: https://mindgrad.com/free-reads/f/7-mistakes-that-budding-speakers-generally-commit
Want to get published on EMN and join the community? Here is an opportunity to join the Board of Young Leaders Program by Eat My News. Click here to know more: bit.ly/boardofyoungleaders
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