7 Tips for Public Speaking

Some people might have more natural abilities , but like in most of the skills you have developed, 10% is genuine and 90% comes from practice and preparation.

Effective public speaking is an important skill to develop in your personal and professional life and, when it comes to doing it in English, of course it will be harder at the beginning. I’ve taken part in many speaking events with hundreds and thousands of attendees in my career and I would like to share a few tips which I hope will help you develop your public speaking skills.

You have 3 minutes from when you start speaking to get the audience’s attention. No more. You need to make a good first impression, Perhaps by being provocative with a major claim. 

90% of your presentation’s success will depend on your closing. Make it big, impress, wrap things up and, if you make people smile, even better. Everything you’ve said during your presentation rests on the last 3 minutes.

It’s normal and healthy to be nervous. Do not fight this but instead embrace it and learn to perform with it. Public speaking anxiety get better after the first 5 minutes. Then you start enjoying yourself. So don’t panic for only 5 minutes of stress. The only key to overcome these moments is being well prepared from practice, practice and more practice so when things get complicated, you go into autopilot.

This is one of the most important points that inexperienced speakers miss. Who is your audience? How much do they know about the topic of your speech? Did you give them context? Adjust your vocabulary and messages to them in order to connect with the audience‘s needs and reality.

First of all, you should never ever just read from a paper or from any visual support you use, otherwise, it’s better to just send the document. Do not limit yourself to listing facts because it’s very likely you will miss the context and momentum. You should tell a story with a beginning, development and ending that engages your audience. Stories will be retained 100 times more than just facts. It’s very likely people will remember your story, but not the numbers or facts you provide. 

Be careful with classic Power Point presentations. You don’t want people to focus their attention on your presentation material, but on you. Audiovisual elements should be there primarily to reinforce your message. One image, one number, perhaps a sound, music or a short video is sufficient, but do not abuse it or people might get distracted or overwhelmed. For all written material, avoid long texts or small characters, as everything needs to be highly infographic and minimalistic.

Body language – the way you move, your posture, where you place your hands or where your legs stand – will tell your audience as much as your own words. Below are some good practices to follow:

• Don’t walk right and left all the time. 
• Show your hands. Do not hide them. 
• Do not look at your notes or the floor. Look at the people.
• Bring a glass of water to have in case you need it.

You need to find the right balance between being formal and informal. Prepare interactive activities for the audience to participate by answering your questions, raising their hands or saying “Yes!” all together. The more they become active, the more they will become engaged with your message.

I hope these 7 tips will be useful for you to become a good public speaker and that you learned new vocabulary and English expressions in the process.

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