Want to become a member of Eat My News? You can enrol for EMN membership now from here.
Who is the best orator you have witnessed? It could be some politician or some celebrity, maybe you have seen a TED talk by a great speaker. What makes them so good at standing in front of hundreds of people and presenting their thoughts. It sounds like an easy task; you have to speak a little louder, right?
No. Here comes 'stage-fright', or the fear of public speaking. It has been the biggest obstacle for numerous people. The anxiety can be nerve-wracking. Public speaking is often considered one of the most crucial skills for improving one's career, and stage-fright is the speed breaker. Learn how to get rid of the fear of public speaking.
Nevertheless, people who have conquered stage-fright are not necessarily great speakers. Everyone has seen terrible speakers who are unable to get even a small percentage of what they are trying to convey across to the audience.
To give you a better picture, some teachers are great and explain concepts in a crystal clear way, and some don't even come close to doing so. They are not afraid of speaking in public and they are very knowledgeable in the subjects they teach. What is missing is the ability to get their point across.
In this article, we do not talk about stage-fright. We talk about what to do after you have defeated it. How do you speak publicly in a way that not only enthralls the audiences but also gets the message across?
1. Grab Attention
A study showed that the average attention span of a human being is about 8 seconds. So essentially, as a speaker, you only have 7-8 seconds to hook the audience's attention. That is a very short amount of time. What you do in these initial moments of your speech or presentation will decide its flow throughout its entirety.
Here are some ways to kick off your presentation to grab the attention of your audience :
- Start with a Quote: This is a ubiquitous way to begin a speech or presentation. It gives a glimpse of what the whole speech is going to be about and makes the entrance into the topic smoother.
- Show a Video/Picture: This way, the listener's attention is pulled not only through sound but also through visuals. Humans remember more and are more attentive towards visuals.
- Ask a Rhetorical Question: Asking such a question makes the audience answer it not out loud to you but to themselves internally. This makes the audience internally involved with the topic, and they are more inclined to follow you along.
- Use a Prop: Like a photo or video, the prop acts as a visual aid, and the people's attention gets fixated on the object.
Your goal is to do something unexpected, something out of the ordinary. This establishes the initial connection you need between you and your audience.
2. Audience Interaction
Next up is to make sure you do not lose the attention that you now have. One of the ways to do so is to interact with the audience. I am not talking about a Q&A session with the audience after you are done speaking. But preferably during the speech, you ask a question or make a one-on-one interaction with someone in the audience.
When I was in school, we had an educational visit to Delhi's Mother Dairy milk factory. We were shown into a small auditorium, and someone in charge of our trip came and initially showed us a video. After that, he began explaining how milk was made, and in between, he would ask random statistics questions and ask us all to guess the answer. No one knew how many liters of milk were sold every day, but I remember the answer and the speech even after eight years.
Interacting with your audience makes an imprint on the audience's mind, and they remember you and your message for longer. Being memorable is the trait of a good speaker.
3. Tell Stories
Storytelling is an interesting way to make an otherwise bland and monotonous talk more engaging. It makes the audience relate to the story and gives their brains more creative space. Telling personal stories also gives you the chance to explain your perspective and experience better. Thus, you have a chance that the audience would understand you better.
Even I wrote a personal story in the previous section. Although listening to a story is very different from reading it, the basic concept behind them is the same. But, there are good storytellers and bad storytellers. Even while telling a story, you have to make sure your audience is not getting bored. The next point takes care of that.
4. Body Language
This topic must be expected when one talks about public speaking. Body language is the non-verbal form of communication. But it is equally important as the verbal part. Without talking much about the basics of body language, here are some tips on how to use body language in public speaking.
- Energy and Enthusiasm: While giving a presentation or speech or telling a story, what's important is that you have vigor in your voice. This excites the audience and assures them that if the speaker is excited about what he is talking about, maybe the topic is worth listening to after all. You don't want to be dull and make your audience fall asleep.
- Gesticulate: Many speakers use hand gestures. They would keep their hand joined at the fingertips and folded at ninety degrees at the elbow, with the occasional wave here and there. This is not how a great speaker uses his/her gestures. Move your body, leave the podium, use bigger gestures. These actions ensure that the audience follows you more, understands you more, and their attention does not wander off to someplace else.
- Control the Space in Between: Occasionally move closer to your audience. This makes the listener more attentive after this even after you step back, the listener has his gaze fixed on you, and his/her attention is concentrated on you.
- Make Small Noises: Occasionally, you can snap your fingers or clap or do something else, emphasizing something you say or a point you are trying to get across. This, as the above points, grabs the audience's attention.
Overall you must have an open and friendly body language. Don't cross your arms or turn your back towards the audience. Keep your palms open, make eye contact, and put a smile on your face.
5. Voice Modulation
When you speak, what people note is the voice. Having a soothing and gentler voice is preferred to be an orator. But that is mostly genetic, and some of it is based on vocal exercises. What we are going to talk about is what changes you can do while speaking.
- Slow and Steady: Being a slow and regular paced speaker depicts more patience and authority over the topic. You don't want to blaze through your speech just to get over with it. The audience won't retain anything, and there would be no point in speaking. I am not saying to be slow throughout. Maintain a pace and tweak it according to the necessity of the situation.
- Pause at the Right Time: Small and long pauses can make a speech much more captivating when used in the right manner. A pause at the precise place leaves the listener hanging and wanting for more. Mastering this art can take lots of time, you should check out speeches online.
Keep your voice confident and speak with a purpose. Speak clearly and all shall be good.
In the end, you have presented your idea. Now you should conclude by giving out the moral of the story as one may call it. Tell the audience what lesson, in the end, you want them to take away. Strike when the metal is hot so that you leave an impression on the public.
Written by - Mayank Tak
0 Comments