Here´s some of the essential public speaking tips that helped me at the JCI World Public Speaking Championship in Budapest and will help you in situations where you need to prepare a great speech in short notice and own the stage by speaking with passion.
Apply them now and reap the benefits of becoming an outstanding speaker.
1. Prepare your speech – get the point
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Define your audience – who they are, what the are interested in, what would inspire them?
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Define your topic and get some initial ideas with brainstorming or other creativity techniques.
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Define your outcome – what do you want to achieve through your speech? What kind of action do the listeners need to take?
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Ask yourself “Am I passionate about this subject?”. If the answer is no, then skip this performance or create your passion for it, otherwise you´re just wasting other people´s time.
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Develop your initial ideas to concepts, find interesting quotes, alliterations and personal stories to spice up your content into a holistic experience.
Remember: There is one radio-station that everyone wants to hear – it´s called WIIFM – What´s In It For Me? Tune your message to that frequency and inspire your audience.
2. Prepare your presentation – make it stick
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Take your speech and make it 2 times shorter by throwing out everything that does not support your expected outcome. Use better words and expressions to pass your message to the audience. Clarify what are the specific things you want the audience to remember after the speech.
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Create a visual aid – a mindmap or illustrated story board with important keywords and visuals to help you remember. This will give you a big picture for your mind and help you remember the key things much more effectively than any regular script that is dull.
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Use your body to clarify your message – you can practise making the speech with muted voice, using only your body, hands, facial expressions and other aids to convey the message.
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Create an exciting beginning (a story for example) to attract attention and an effective ending (call to action) to be remembered by.
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If you intend to use PowerPoint, then get acquainted with this: Death by PowerPoint slideshow and Presentation Zen blog for effective visual presentations.
Remember: come prepared or learn to improvise like an actor. Better yet, do both, because over-preparing will drain the passion and spontaneity out from your speech. Focus on your message, not the script.
3. Tuning in – get into the right state
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If possible, then check out the room, stage and facilities in advance. Visualize yourself successfully performing in rich detail and with strong positive emotion. This will enhance your self-confidence.
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Ground your body to relax – visit the toilet and slide your hands over your face (this is something that actors do before going to stage, it releases their tension).
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Release your tensions and get enough oxygen – go outside and stretch yourself to get the life moving inside of you. Warm up your voice by speaking to someone in a passionate manner. You can also use a vine-bottle cork, stick it between your teeth and try to speak very clearly for a minute. After removing the cork you really do sound more clear.
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Do not eat nuts or chocolate just before the speech, because it will affect your throat. Instead drink optimal amount of water to keep the throat clear.
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Focus on positive aspects and success – if possible have some laugh in a fun conversation with a friend before the speech. The endorphine will give you a positive attitude. Whenever you see yourself concentrating on your fears, take your focus on breathing.
Get into the state of your ideal performer. Breathe, stand and develop the look of your ideal performer. Become the passionate performer.
4. Own the stage – keep the energy
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When going on a stage do some powertalk in your mind, saying for example “every day and every way I get better HEI!”.
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Take your position on stage, relax your shoulders, breathe deeply in and out, achieve the contact with the audience and THEN start your speech.
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Keep your eyecontact with the audience (don´t get lost in your materials or other aids), involve people by using questions and use pauses after saying the important stuff.
When getting on the stage, ask yourself “what for did I come here?”. Then do as the answer tells you to.
So what happened on the stage? Check out the secret spy video footage:
Inspiring speech “Global Impact Through Local Action” from Harald Lepisk on Vimeo.
This is the beginning. How far are you actually willing to go? If you wish to become a true master in public speaking, then get coaching and training. You can also invite me to bring power, passion and energy into your speech. Are you ready for that?