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Before I launch into this, I just want to state that I am by no means an expert at public speaking! In fact, Im relatively new to it all, having only recently joined a local chapter of BNI. In this post, which is as much for my benefit as hopefully yours, Im going to outline five things you can do to dramatically improve your public speaking. I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences on presentations in the comments below.

5. Don’t fidget while you talk

This is really irritating for people listening to you and watching you whilst you present and consequently distracts them from what you’re talking about. Its also a dead giveaway that you’re nervous. Ive witnessed people tapping on the back of their chair as their stood behind it in the middle of a short presentation and also others examining their finger nails whilst telling everyone about their business. When I do presentations I always hold my notes in my left hand, and then have I just have my right hand to worry about!

4. Use effective body language

Gestures are important when you present as they help to emphasis what you’re saying. You don’t want to go overboard with them, but using them sparingly and in the right places will add authority to the points you’re making. The way you stand is also critical. Make sure you don’t have your arms crossed, or both hands in your pockets. I think you can get away with one hand in your pocket, and thats something I do. It would be quite interesting to hear your opinions on this in the comments at the end of this post.

3. Speak slowly & clearly

Im guilty of this one, as like most people I tend to rush when I get nervous. That coupled with the fact that when I speak for a long time I speak quickly anyway, means I really have to consciously make an effort to slow down. Im not sure what it is but lots of people, myself included, seem to think that if you take pauses it sounds worse, and gives the impression that you don’t know what your going to say next. However using pauses can be really effective and add weight to your points. Also if you pause after you’ve said something important it enables the audience to fully take in what you’ve said and it helps to calm you down too.

2. Lighthousing

Lighthousing is a bit of a strange term, and Im not sure if its a recognised one. Its basically making sure that whilst you’re talking you engage your listeners. To do this simply cast your eyes around the people listening to you, so that your basically moving your head from left to right and right to left as if your addressing the whole room. Don’t hold eye contact with any of the people in the audience, just try to pan round in everyones direction. I find it particularly uncomfortable if the speaker chooses me as the person they’re going to speak to, and focus on for the whole duration of their presentation. If you’re speaking on a stage, you can try looking into the top right, top left and middle of the audience to achieve a similar effect.

1. Prepare & Practice

Preparation along with practice are the two most important factors in improving your public speaking. Lets start with preparation first. If you take time to prepare your presentation you’ll be so much more confident than if you went in and tried to ‘wing it’. Its also all to easy to tell if you’re listening to someone speak who hasn’t prepared. In a business light this can make you look really unprofessional and you wouldn’t want that would you?

The only way to nail all these tips is to practice, practice, practice. If you’re like me and hate public speaking you’ll be pleased to know that it does get a little easier with each presentation you do. For me personally I always try to look forward to the buzz I get after a presentation to prevent me getting anxious and worked up before hand - although I still do! Even though I don’t enjoy public speaking, and I think very few people do, it is great afterwards feeling like you’ve really accomplished something.

Final thoughts…

I hope from this post you might be able to take these points and use them to help you improve your speaking. Or, that they give you the confidence to start going to networking events and telling people about your business. On a personal level I believe that slowly but surely speak in front of people is really benefiting me. I’d love to hear your tips and ideas for improving presentations too - I could use them!

Places to visit

I recently came across a fabulous website - Public Speaking Expert. They have some great articles on the subject of public speaking, and I would highly recommend a visit to their site to anyone, whatever there public speaking experience.