How to be a confident, compelling public speaker

Whether we speak in a team meeting or present before an audience, from time to time, we all have to speak in public.

We can do that well or poorly, and the outcome has a direct impact on the way people think about us. Precisely why it creates stress and fear in public speaking.

The news is you can overcome your nervousness and perform exceptionally well with proper training and practice.

Even if you do not have to present regularly before a team, there are circumstances where good public speaking abilities help enhance your career and create opportunities.

For example, you might need to talk about your organization at a conference, speak after an award gets accepted or coach new recruits. Online presentations also include talking to an audience, such as training a virtual team or talking to a group of customers in an online meeting.

In other areas of your life, excellent public speaking skills are also significant. You may be asked to speak at the wedding of a friend, give a tribute for a loved one, or motivate a group of volunteers at a charity event.

In short, being a great speaker improves your credibility, increases self-confidence, and opens endless possibilities.

While good abilities can open doors, bad ones can shut them. For instance, sitting through a poorly delivered presentation, your employer might decide not to promote you. If you are unable to connect with a prospect during a sales pitch, you may lose a valuable contract. Or you might make a weak impression with your new team. Ensure that you learn how to speak well!

It is a learnable ability to speak in public. As such, the following techniques can be used to become a better speaker and presenter.

Make sure your communication is planned well. Think about how relevant the first paragraph of a book is when you do this. If it does not catch you, you will probably put it down.

The same principle applies to your speech: you have to impress your audience from the beginning.

For example, you might start with an interesting statistic, headline, or fact about what you are talking about and resonating with your audience. Storytelling can also be used as a powerful opener.

There's a good reason they say, ‘Practice makes things perfect!".  Without training, you cannot be a positive, persuasive speaker. Look for opportunities to talk in front of others to get coaching. You may also get into situations that require public speaking, such as cross-training a group from other department or volunteering to speak at team meetings.

Positive thinking can make an enormous difference in your communication success because it makes you feel more confident.

Fear can lead to negative self-talking, especially right before you speak, while self-sabotaging thoughts like ‘I am never going to be able to do this!’ or ‘I am going to embarrass myself!’ diminish your confidence and increase the chances you are not going to achieve what you are capable of.

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