ARTICLE: TIPS TO BE A CONFIDENT SPEAKER
Confidence is
built, step-by-step, from our previous successful experiences, and can be
boosted and improved as time passes. A confident speaker is someone who,
first and foremost, feels confident in his own mind and heart about his ability
to deliver a good speech or presentation. If you mess up or make mistakes
during your initial attempts, learn from these mistakes and move on. Remember,
even the most renown speaker has started as a beginner. Practice by yourself in
front of a mirror or your own video camera at first. You can practice in front
of a small, trusted audience. You can even practice in front of your pet, in
the absence of a trusted human audience. Anyone can become a good speaker
provided he agrees to work on it. Even professional public speakers have to deal
with nerves but they have techniques to cope.
1) CONNECT WITH YOUR AUDIENCE
• Choose like-minded people who are likely to have the same orientation as you have regarding the subject of your talk.
• This could be a group of colleagues, acquaintances, members of your community, or other social groups that you deem appropriate.
• You would be able to gather knowledge and techniques on how to capture and engage even an audience who is just hearing about the subject of your talk for the first time.
• Many speakers are very self-focused when they are on stage.
• A good speaker has to know what happens in the room, at all times.
• If you want to connect, the audience must feel you like them.
• Once you show you are enjoying yourself on stage, the audience will become part of that and they will feel closer to you.
2) MANAGING NERVES
• Preparing music or a podcast that you can listen to on the way to the presentation.
• Find a mindfulness exercise you'd feel comfortable doing as you travel to the venue.
• Master controlled breathing beforehand so you can engage in this right before going onstage.
• If you have time, engage in exercise beforehand.
• Exercising releases endorphins which reduce stress levels and make you feel better.
• Recognize that it's unlikely that the audience will know that you're feeling nervous you do not look as anxious as you feel.
3) PREPARATION AND ORGANISATION
• Be prepared and organized for your presentation because this increases your control and less things can go wrong.
• Visit the venue and room you'll be presenting in beforehand.
• Ensure you print any materials you need at least the day before.
• Prepare for technical faults, such as, having a back-up in case a video does not play.
• Arrive early for your speech.
• Prepared the script and title for the speech.
4) CONFIDENT BODY LANGUAGE
• Professional public speakers look relaxed and confident, they talk slowly and make positive body movements.
• Maintain eye contact with the audience.
• Use gestures to emphasize points.
• Move around the stage.
• Match facial expressions with what you're saying.
• Reduce nervous habits.
• Slowly and steadily breathe.
No comments:
Post a Comment