How To Improve Your Public Speaking Skills

Many people dread the day that they are selected to give a speech or presentation to a group. The experience can be nerve wrecking and everyone fears that they are going to make a mistake or embarrass themselves. Giving speeches with confidence takes a lot of practice and patience, the steps below will help you build up your confidence, allowing you to give more comfortable speeches and presentations.

• Read aloud – Read your speech out loud and in front of a mirror. Pace yourself correctly and don’t rush through your speech. When there is a comma, take a small break. Don’t ignore the punctuation; it is there to help give your speech the correct tone and pace, and is therefore an important part of your speech. Practicing your speech out loud will help you decide if you need to speak louder or if you are pronouncing words clearly and precisely. If you are struggling to pronounce a word then it may be best to change the word for a close alternative.

• Avoid reading – If you are giving a presentation or speech using a program such as PowerPoint then ensure that you aren’t just reading off of the screen. It may be best to put the key details on the presentation and when you talk about them you can then add as much detail as you feel is needed. It is important not to add too much detail because your audience won’t be able to take all of the relevant information onboard.

• Practice in front of friends – You could also practice in front of family or friends to build confidence. After your speech you can then ask them for feedback to help you improve. See how much of your speech they remember and if they thought it was effective. If they don’t remember much of your speech ensure that they remember the key points. Don’t feel the need to add lots of ‘bulk’ or ‘fluff’ words to make the speech seem longer as you will only be making it harder for your audience to take everything in.

• Keep eye contact – Try to look towards your audience whenever you can; keeping this eye contact will show that you are confident in what you are saying. Speaking with open palms also shows that you are honest and are not trying to deceive the audience. Make them feel that they are part of your speech and that you are willing to listen to them. Don’t spend your whole speech telling them that they need to do this or not do this, tell them why.

• Improvise – The vital step to giving a confident speech is to believe what you are saying and know it well. You don’t have to know the speech off by heart because sometimes it is easier to change words around and improvise on the spot. A speech should flow freely so don’t feel the need to stick exactly to a script.

• Ask for feedback – If you have given a speech previously then you may be able to ask your previous audience for feedback. You could use questionnaires to ask if they thought the presentation was effective, what they would have changed, what they liked, what they didn’t like and so on. Getting feedback is the best way to improve because feedback is targeted directly to help you and is personalised to show you exactly how you can improve.

Everyone knows how nerve wrecking giving a speech can be, so people won’t judge you if you make a few mistakes. Learning and improving means making mistakes and learning from them, so don’t be scared to make a few mistakes when you first start out. With every speech you give you will feel more comfortable and confident within yourself; everyone had to start somewhere and there are definitely lots more people who have been in your situation, so just practice, practice, practice!

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