People all across the planet find themselves wondering how to conduct effective public speaking. In fact, in the United States and Canada, fear of public speaking is the greatest fear of all, outranking even death! However, if you're one of those individuals stressing over being an effective public speaker, don't despair. The tips and tricks that we'll outline and illustrate for you here will have you well on your way to success!

 

Identify Your Purpose…

Before you can begin properly planning your speech (or hoping to understand how to conduct effective public speaking), you must first identify the main objective you wish to cover. And don't be vague either, it's not enough to simply say, "I want to communicate knowledge or express an idea." You have to be able to figure out what knowledge and idea you wish to express, as well as how you plan to go about doing it.

 

Ask yourself what type of public speaking you'll be doing. Is it a eulogy or a retirement party? Is it a PowerPoint presentation for the office or a sales presentation for a big client? Is it a public seminar or a graduation? Each of these scenarios will call for vastly different materials and quotations, as well as a different mood and attitude. So, before you start the research faze of your public speaking preparation, identify the overall audience and purpose of your speech.

 

Decide Upon a Topic…

Public speaking can be a great way to advance your career and improve your business. However, thanks to the Internet (with it's easier access to facts, figures, statistics and other bits of arcane info that are floating around), today's audiences expect more and better content than ever before. They're looking for speakers that offer animation, humor and pizzazz. They want visual aids to help them fully grasp your concept. They want to know exactly what percentage of people happen to agree with you, or are affected by the topic you're discussing.

 

Look for topics that will appeal to your audience. Scour current events, the headline news, poll results and water cooler conversations for possible ideas. Make sure that it's going to be a topic that catches your listeners' attention from the very get-go. And as your deciding upon a topic, constantly be on the lookout for surprising facts and figures that will be new and fresh for your audience to here. Don't simply stand in front of them and reiterate tired, dated information that they've already hear a hundred times before.

 

Structuring Your Speech…

Once you've figured out what type of speech you'll give and what topic you'll focus on, it's now time to begin actually preparing and structuring your speech. If you're wondering how to conduct effective public speaking, pay close attention to the following tips and pointers.

 

First of all, it's important that you keep any special time limits or other content guidelines in mind before you write the first sentence. If at all possible, obtain a copy of the speaker line-up so that you'll know who precedes and follows your speech. This may be able to help you insure that there's no content duplication between headliners.

 

Next, follow a simple, tried and true rule for writing speeches: Restrict yourself to a maximum of three main points to get across and give your audience a glimpse of what's to come in your speech's introduction. Speaking of introductions, while you're telling your audience what you're going to tell them, find new and exciting ways to capture their attention immediately. Look for surprising statements, powerful statistics and personal accounts or anecdotes that will get their minds going. Also, never underestimate the efficiency of a good, open ended question. Also, try to restrict each of your main points to no more than three supporting ideas. While you're writing, be on the lookout for opportunities to incorporate visual aids like graphs, charts, models, slides or live demonstrators.

 

Third, make sure that you offer clear transitions between points. This can usually be done quite effectively with preemptive words like, "First", "Second", "Next", and "Finally." This will help keep your audience from getting lost or letting their minds wander too far away from the topic.

 

Really Want To Wow Them?

One of the most widespread factors shared between successful speakers is their ability to integrate the "Wow!" factor into all of their speeches. Quite simply, the Wow! Factor is in action any time you're able to make your audience say or think, "Wow! I didn't know (realize, understand, believe, etc.) that!"

 

Another ability shared by successful public speakers is an upbeat and energetic attitude. They smile a lot, aren't ashamed to make eye-contact and vary their voice inflection and their movements throughout the speech. Also, never neglect the opportunity to connect with your audience via personal accounts, stories and testimonies. If you're ever able to tie an experience to your speech's content logically, do so, remembering the 5 W's : Who, What, When, Where, and Why.

 

If you'll be giving a persuasive speech and trying to influence the decisions of your audience members, don't forget to include enough supporting facts and figures from reliable, trustworthy sources and experts. Be friendly and don't fret over controversy or fear of disagreements with audience members. Steadfast courage and confidence can often be exactly what the doctor ordered to quiet the critics in your audience.

 

Finally, when it comes time to close your speech, end on a powerful, high note. Close with a question, scenario or "What if?" that leaves them pondering your message. Why? Because people remember best what they hear last. Make sure your closing packs a real punch!

 

Whether you're a full-time professional speaker or getting ready to deliver your first one, the guidelines provided here should be enough to insure that you know exactly how to conduct effective public speaking like a pro! And, as with everything, keep working at it! After all, practice does make perfect (at least nearly so!)

Speaking and Speeches Resources