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If you find public speaking as your worst nightmare, then you are not alone. Everyone in their lifetime faces this nightmare. But it is very important to overcome it.
In this article, we are going to talk about ways in which you can improve your public speaking skills.
1. Speed of Speech
Many inexperienced speakers tend to speak a lot more quickly than they think they are speaking. And it happens because when you are on stage, you go through all the anxieties and all the materials stored in your head.
So, you just try to get through your speech as quickly as possible and get offstage where you don’t have to face eyes. And thus, your rate of speech increases. But the problem is when people are sitting in front of you, they want to listen to you. So, you need to slow down and give them some breathing room so that they can easily contemplate what you have said.
2. Take Pauses
The rate of speech isn’t the only thing you can control while speaking. You can also employ strategic pauses while highlighting your points. Pauses help you in inhaling and exhaling which we usually miss out on while speaking. It helps in better understanding your speech and helps you to emphasize the importance of your speech.
3. Body Language
You need to pay attention to your body language. Your body language forms a more significant part of the non-verbal communication that complements the verbal communication of your words.
The way you hold yourself, the way you are using your hands to highlight important points, all of these go hand in hand. Also, the unconscious body language used by the inexperienced speaker can harm you.
For example, an inexperienced speaker puts his hands in his pockets or pace around frantically on stage. These actions can distract your audience from the main point of your speech.
4. Make Eye Contact with Your Audience
Improve your ability to make eye contact with your audience. One thing that a rookie speaker will do a lot of times is that they will fixate on one section of the audience, and they will stay there during their entire speech because they are nervous.
But you need to gain attention from every person present in the audience. It can be difficult to make eye contact when you are already nervous about being on stage, so we will provide you with a classic speaker’s tick which is that you simply need to look over the heads of the people in the back row how are far enough where they can probably be able to tell you that you are not looking at them directly in the eyes.
5. Practice
Practice, practice, practice. Practice makes a man perfect. And this theory can be applied everywhere. Even if you think that you have practised enough, do it again. The main idea of practising isn’t that you practice till you get it right.
But you should practice till you don’t get it wrong. This is because total control over anything helps you to get through any fear and anxiety. Thus, try to practice as much as you can.
6. Speak in Front of Mirror or Camera
It is related to an instrumental add on to your practice. Whenever you practice, take a video camera and record yourself or speak in front of the mirror. Recording yourself in the mirror while practising helps you to get a hold of your faults easily.
And thus, it gives you opportunities to improve. Also, when you speak in front of the mirror, it helps you to know your body language and your way of speaking. It is a huge upgrade from just practising your room.
7. Know Your Audience
Your audience always consists of people in two categories. One who is waiting for you to speak and invest themselves in your speech. And then others who have no interest in listening to you.
So, you need to focus on your real audience. Also, when you go to a place to deliver any speech, have a basic idea of the background of your audience. This will help you to connect to your audience more.
8. Focus More on Topic
Focus more on the topic than your appearance when you are delivering your speech. You should be more invested in what you are talking about. Stick to the points. It is very commonly seen that while speaking, speakers get distracted in different aspects. But you need to know that you have to put forward a point before your audience, so stick yourself to the topic.
Talking beyond the tips and tricks
Although we have mentioned many ways in which you can make yourself a better public speaker, the most important thing which you need when you aspire to be a better public speaker is your confidence and your motivation. You can’t improve yourself without these attributes.
And I don’t think it is a nightmare for you anymore. Be confident and face the stage. You will improve yourself with each performance. Write to us in the comment section if you have more ideas. And let you know if these steps have helped you in any way.
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