Trying to improve your public speaking ability? Whether it be for a school assignment, a campaign, or a public speaking event that you plan on speaking at in the near future, I got you covered! Here are my top 14 tips for delivering an impactful and mesmerizing speech!
1. Do not fear! The audience is on your side. It’s just like having a conversation.
First and foremost, are you scared of public speaking? You surely are not alone, as this is an extremely common fear. Overcoming this fear takes practice and experience in order to get used to the atmosphere of speaking in front of a large group of people. With this being said, there are a few things that I have learned from my public speaking experience that might offer you some insight.
First of all, believe it or not, the audience is generally on your side. They want you to make a good speech, you are the good guy, the protagonist, they are rooting for you! If you mess up, but pick yourself back up, they will not look terribly down upon you.
Secondly, while you might not be able to see this at first, public speaking is ultimately like having a conversation, but with many people. While there are some structural differences, such as the fact that the audience will most likely not respond to you unless you ask them to respond in some form, you are ultimately talking to people. People, just like you and me. And you are talking about something with them, whether it be about why you should be elected to the student council, or why you feel that the government should take greater action with regards to climate change, talking to others is simply talking to others. People may judge you during your speech, just like they may judge you during a conversion, or by the way you dress, who you are friends with, where you live and go to school. Judgment is everywhere, so who cares if anyone judges you! Live freely, and do not worry about what others think about you. They are probably more concerned about what you and others think of them and their own speaking abilities (even if they are not giving a speech).
2. If you think you are talking at a normal pace, you are probably talking too fast.
Due to the intense-pressure environment that we usually face when giving a speech, it is absolutely normal for us to end up talking particularly fast without even paying much attention to our speed. However, you must always remember that it is essential to give the audience enough time to fully comprehend each word that you are saying. Make sure to always keep your pace in the back of your mind, and constantly remind yourself to keep your words slow and steady, and you will be sure to win the race!
3. Express yourself through your voice. Show that you are interested in the topic, as that will help the audience gain interest in what you are saying.
Being monotone during a speech gives off the message that you ultimately do not care and put minimal effort into your speech. Public speaking is like a show, you must entertain the audience. In order to entertain the audience, you must be entertaining with your deep passion for the subject matter. By speaking with confidence and passion, you are also showing the audience that you are a knowledgeable and reliable source of information in the subject area that you are speaking about.
4. Always remember body language!
Expression in your voice is not the only type of expression that is required for an excellent speech. Body language is an absolutely essential part of giving a good speech. Not only does it show that you are passionate about the matter you are talking about, but it helps the audience interpret what you are saying. Have you ever heard of visual learners, auditory learners, and kinetic learners? Your body language contributes to the visual component of your speech, it is a way of expressing your emotions to what you are saying, so that the audience is able to visually interpret these emotions.
5. If possible, use visuals! But do not make slide shows too verbose.
The audience should not have to spend a lot of time reading through your slide, nor should you be reading the slide word for word to them. If slideshows were meant for reading, then why are you speaking? It is important to remember that this is about your speaking, not your reading ability. With this being said, short jot notes on your slide show are very helpful! They are an easy way to guide your audience as to what you are saying, and give them some important points. Visuals are also extremely important! As mentioned in the previous tip, just like body language, images are very helpful to engage your audience on a visual learning level.
6. Why should they care about what you are talking about? It is your job to teach the audience this!
Explain why your subject matter is so important! Who does your subject matter affect? How and why does it affect them? Why should the people in the room take action? How can they take action? These are all very important questions that you MUST ask yourself while writing your speech, as they are an essential component to creating both an impactful and meaningful speech.
7. Quote reliable sources! Use statistics!
Read the following statements:
Many people between the ages of 18 and 24 use the social networking platform Instagram.
Approximately 75% of people between the ages of 18 and 24 use the social networking platform Instagram.
According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2019, 75% of survey participants between the ages of 18 and 24 use the social networking platform Instagram.
Out of these statements, which one sounded the most trustworthy? I’m going to assume that your answer is “c)”, as it not only gave an accurate percentage, but it also stated the exact source where this statistic came from. When using statistics, make sure they come from a reliable source, such as a government website, a research report from a post-secondary institution, or a study conducted by an established research centre. By adding reliable statistics, you are supporting your arguments with factual evidence. With this being said, the way you present a statistic is extremely important to its reliability, because as you can clearly see the three statements above are all truthful and bring up the exact same point, yet one is more reliable than the rest due to its greater amount of given information (not only does it give you the statistic, but it names the institution where this study was done, as well as the year this study took place in, both of which are very important pieces of information).
8. Ask rhetorical questions, especially towards the beginning of your speech.
By asking the audience meaningful rhetorical questions, you start to get them thinking about your topic, but on a personal level. By capturing this personal level at the beginning of your speech, you are engaging the audience by letting them know how your topic affects them, but in a way for them to discover in their own, personal minds.
9. Get the audience involved, by adding statements such as ‘close your eyes and imagine…” or “raise your hand if…”.
Remember earlier how I mentioned visual, auditory, and kinetic learning? This tip plays right into kinetic learning! By asking questions that the audience members can physically respond to, you are engaging them on a physical level and engaging them through kinetic ways. By asking the audience to close their eyes or raise their hand, you are also engaging with them on a personal level. You are quite literally showing them how the subject you are speaking on connects to them (or possibly even those around them as well).
10. Teach your audience about what you are talking about. As a general rule: do not expect for your audience to be experts in your topic.
You must understand that while you may have done tons of research on your subject area or know all about your campaign for student council, your audience cannot read all of your thoughts, you must explain as if everyone is decently new to the subject/idea that you are talking about, and guild them to your thoughts and ideas. It is your goal to take them from their current amount of knowledge, to understanding your topic to an in-depth level. You are ultimately an instructor teaching them on your topic of speech.
11. Stay within the time limit!
I learned this the hard way, when I lost marks on a speech I gave in elementary school as I went about 4 minutes over the time limit (and it was my only fallback during the speech)! But on a very serious note, this is a very important thing to remember. Speaking overtime is looked upon as disrespectful, especially towards the other speaker/presenters. It also shows that you did not prepare to be within the time limit. This is a giant ‘no-no’ in the public speaking world.
12. Watch the Professionals and Take Notes!
To be the best, you must learn from the best. One of the best ways to learn from the best, is to simply watch them! Listen to famous speeches, and analyse what exactly makes them so special. How did they engage the audience? How did they use their body language and facial expression? If they used a powerpoint, what made their slides so captivating? By examining an expert, you can see what exactly you liked about their speech and try to implement their speech strategies into your own speech. Examine many experts, the more you analyse the more you will learn!
13. If you need cue-cards, make them short. Cue-cards are not meant for reading, they are supposed to give you cues.
The last thing that you want to do is look like you are reading directly from a piece of paper (that is unless you are supposed to, of course). This can negatively affect your speech for a number of reasons. First off, you seem unprepared. You appear as though you could not even partially memorize your speech, not to mention fully understand the given subject. By reading from cue-cards, you also lose the chance to make eye connections with the audience. By looking directly at the audience member, you gain a connection with them, as if you were talking to each one of them individually. By looking down at your cue-cards you automatically lose this person-to-person connection. Looking down to read notes also negatively affects your ability to project your voice. Have you ever had a teacher tell you to speak such that those at the ‘back of the room’ can hear you? Well, that is because those at the back of the room also want to hear you. By looking down, you are putting your posture in such a way that it will weaken the sound of your voice. Stand tall! Don’t read directly from your cue-cards! In total, making your cue-cards short and few will eliminate any chance of you even feeling tempted to read from them, because after all, what is there to read when you have most of your information memorized? Short cue-cards should make you memorize the main ideas of your speech, while providing you with a base to fall back upon if you ever get lost within your own speech.
14. Practice, practice, practice, and speak with confidence!
As silly as it may sound, the best way to grow confident with your speaking and hone your skills is simply through practice, preparation, and experience. Try rehearsing your speech in front of the mirror, in front of an audience of toys, and work up to practicing in front of your family or even your friends! By doing this, you are preparing yourself, and helping build yourself up for whatever ‘scary’ environment lies ahead for you, and making the jump from speaking in front of nobody to speaking in front of a full audience just that much smoother. Practicing your speech is one of the most important components of giving a good speech, as with proper practice, you are on the road to pure success!