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Public Speaking: 6 tips to improve your speaking skills
Some experts estimate that 77% of the population has some level of anxiety regarding public speaking. Are you a part of that 77% of the population that has anxiety regarding public speaking?. Once upon a time, I was part of that 77% of people and I was scared to even climb a stage. lol. Along the line, I took interest in debating, and in order for me to debate properly, I had to develop public speaking skills. And now, I can speak in front of an audience without sweating profusely
Public speaking is the art of effective oral communication with an audience. Whether it’s in front of people you already know, or complete strangers, your ability to communicate to them confidently and with clarity is known as Public speaking. Everyone should learn how to speak publicly because, at one point or the other in life, it would be useful. It could be at a job interview, or when you tell people about your manifesto for a position, it could be in church.
IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
- It demonstrates your knowledge
- It demonstrates your confidence
- Helps you lead better
- It allows us to communicate with others and express our thoughts and feelings
- It creates new opportunities
- Effective practice will make you an overall better communicator
- It influences people and motivates change
PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILLS
- Clear articulation: Public speakers must be able to speak well. Speaking well includes enunciating clearly, speaking loudly, and using proper grammar.
- Presentation style: A good presentation style can make a boring talk become interesting. The presentation style includes timing, facial expression, body language, and vocal tone.
- Assessing the needs of the audience: Some audiences enjoy humor; others don’t. in order for your talk to be successful and to adopt the appropriate presentation style, you need to be able to assess the needs of the audience.
- Composition skills: You must be able to construct talks that are rational, coherent, easy to understand, and ensure you cover all the points that you want to hit.
- Maintaining eye contact with the audience and providing an energetic presence.
- Memorizing enough content so that the speech doesn’t come off as reading from notes.
- Modulating voice tones to emphasize important points and avoid monotonous presentation.
- Telling stories to illustrate points.
WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILLS
- Study great public speakers
- Practice voice and breath control
- Prepare talking points
- Relax your body language
- Know your audience
- Rehearse
