Public speaking is a skill that holds immense significance in various aspects of life. Whether you’re delivering a presentation, addressing a crowd, or simply engaging in a conversation, the ability to communicate effectively can greatly impact your message’s reception. In this article, we will explore some essential techniques shared by renowned speakers to help you become a better public speaker. From mastering the art of listening to utilizing metaphors, we will delve into the key strategies that can elevate your speaking prowess.
Section 1: The Power of Listening and Storytelling
When it comes to public speaking, one crucial aspect often overlooked is the importance of being a good listener. The best speakers are often the best listeners, capable of connecting with their audience on a deeper level. By actively listening to things that touch their heart, speakers can incorporate these insights into their conversations and presentations. Moreover, telling stories is an effective way to make your point resonate with the audience. Stories have the power to evoke emotions, capture attention, and convey complex concepts in a relatable manner.
Section 2: Embracing Public Speaking as a Necessary Skill
Warren Buffett, a prominent figure in the business world, emphasizes the significance of becoming comfortable with public speaking. Although it may take time, developing this skill is an asset that can last a lifetime. Avoiding or feeling uncomfortable with public speaking can become a liability, hindering your personal and professional growth. Recognizing the necessity of this skill is the first step toward honing your public speaking abilities.
Section 3: The Impact of Quotes and Silence
Studying quotes can be a valuable practice for public speakers. By internalizing and using quotes appropriately, speakers can enhance their messages and connect with their audience. Constantly exposing yourself to different quotes and incorporating them into your conversations can contribute to your growth as a speaker.
Silence is another powerful tool in the public speaker’s arsenal. Neil, a seasoned speaker, exemplifies the art of using silence to create tension and captivate attention. Strategic pauses before completing thoughts can keep the audience engaged and eager for more. Additionally, a speaker’s vocal range plays a vital role in conveying emotions and maintaining interest. Varying pitch, speed, and emphasis adds depth and authenticity to your speech.
Section 4: Metaphors as Bridges of Understanding
Metaphors serve as bridges between complex concepts and the listener’s understanding. They allow speakers to communicate ideas by relating them to concepts already familiar to the audience. By employing metaphors, speakers can illustrate the desired shape of a pattern, making it easier for listeners to grasp new information. Testing your talk with trusted friends can help identify confusing parts and refine your use of metaphors for greater clarity.
Section 5: The Power of Body Language
Body language is a crucial aspect of effective public speaking. It complements verbal communication, adding depth and emphasis to your words. Paying attention to your posture, gestures, and overall body movement can significantly enhance your message’s impact. Proper body language helps convey confidence, sincerity, and conviction, reinforcing the words you speak and leaving a lasting impression on your audience.
Conclusion
Becoming a skilled public speaker requires practice, dedication, and a willingness to continuously improve. By incorporating the techniques shared by successful speakers, you can enhance your ability to connect with your audience, deliver compelling messages, and leave a lasting impact. Embrace the art of listening, utilize storytelling and metaphors, and pay attention to both your vocal range and body language. With time and perseverance, you can unlock your full potential as a public speaker and inspire those around you. Remember, effective communication is a powerful tool that can propel you toward success in various aspects of life.
We’re gonna talk about five effective public speaking techniques, and helping me this week is my YouTube friend, Dr. Bruce Lambert. So let’s get into it. (upbeat music) If this is your first time on this channel we are all about helping you with your professional development and communication skills, and that’s why I asked Bruce Lambert to share his five secrets for doing a great presentation.
He is a college professor like me and has a great YouTube channel called How Communication Works. I’m honored to have him on this channel. But before we get into his tips, Bruce, can you tell us a
little bit about your channel? – Hi, Alex.
Thanks so much for having me. My channel’s called How
Communication Works. It’s a channel for
people who wanna improve their communication skills
so that they can improve their relationships, succeed
at work, be more confident, and lead a more fulfilling life.
– Excellent. I’ll be sure to link to
Bruce’s channel below so you can take a look. So Bruce, tell us your five tips on how we can become more
effective presenters, and be sure to give us that bonus tip at the end that I was asking about when we were talking
about this over email.
– What I wanted to share with
your audience today, Alex, were five tips that I think
are absolutely essential for being successful at public speaking. These five tips taken together will make anyone a more
engaging, entertaining, and effective public speaker.
The first of my tips is to use movement. Get out from behind the
podium and move around. If you think of some of the most effective public speakers you’ve ever seen, unless they’re having
to stay behind a podium for television cameras like
sometimes politicians have to, really effective public
speakers tend to move around.
That’s because the movement
provides dynamic energy to the audience, and it also
gets you out from behind the podium where you might be tempted to look at your notes
and read from your notes, and kind of hide from the audience.
So get out from behind the podium and walk around. Now you don’t want to pace back and forth like you’re really, really nervous, but you wanna kind of move with natural energy back and forth across the stage or in front of the audience or even walk up and down the aisles if you’re in a classroom kind of a setting, and let people know that you’re comfortable and engaged, and want to kind of have a conversation with them.
And this movement should include not only you walking around and getting out from behind the podium, but also movement in your upper body, movement in your head, your face. You want, generally, not to be fixed like a statue because you’re so nervous, but moving in a relaxed and comfortable fashion like you’re having a conversation with friends.
Number two is to be
passionate and enthusiastic. One of the keys to
effective public speaking is not to bore your audience. You wanna keep them engaged, and you do that with
energy and enthusiasm, and nothing comes across with
more energy and enthusiasm than if you have passion in the topic that you’re talking about.
The best way to do this is
actually to speak about topics where you genuinely feel this passion where you don’t have to fake it because you really are
passionate and enthusiastic about the thing you’re talking about.
That won’t always be the
case because sometimes at work and at school we
have to give public speeches about topics where, let’s face it, we’re not exactly naturally
enthusiastic about them. But we have to find something in the topic that allows us to be
passionate and enthusiastic, and then you have to share that passion and enthusiasm with the audience.
That will keep them engaged. Then they’ll be hanging on every word. So you’ll see that I tend to speak with a certain amount of intensity. That’s because I really
do feel passionately about these topics.
I really want you to improve
your communication skill. I really want you to learn
these five techniques to be a better public speaker, and that comes across in the way I speak. The third tip is to use humor.
Now, this doesn’t always mean telling a conventional joke that has a traditional setup and then a punchline. Some people are really good at telling jokes. If you’re good at telling jokes and you know some good jokes that are appropriate to the audience, then go ahead and tell a joke.
But a lot of us aren’t like comedians good at telling standard set up jokes. So in that case, if that describes you, then tell funny stories. People love to hear stories, and people love to hear funny stories.
Even better if they’re
funny stories about you or things that have happened to you. So work hard when you’re
developing your speech to find something humorous
in the topic itself or in the way that it relates to you or in the way that it
relates to your audience.
Something humorous. Humor can be a double-edged
sword because some humor borders on being inappropriate
for certain audiences. So you have to use your
professional judgment to only use humor that’s
appropriate for your audience or else humor can really backfire, and you can leave a very bad impression if you use profanity or
humor that in some way offends part of your audience.
But most of the time, a
funny story about yourself on the topic will be a huge winner. Step four is to use surprise. Try to surprise your audience with a fact that they didn’t know, with an anecdote that they didn’t know, with some sort of twist on the topic.
Most topics that we have to talk about have a kind of conventional set of facts that many people know
maybe a little bit about. Try to find that one thing about the topic that’s counterintuitive,
that’s unexpected, that’s surprising, and
save that to the end.
Lead people along. Lead them to believe one thing, and then hit them with that surprise. Surprise has a great way
of engaging an audience, drawing them in, and
keeping them interested. So find that surprising fact or story and include it in your presentation.
Tip number five, Alex, is to
use a conversational tone. You can tell in the way that I speak that it’s like I’m having a conversation. Well, you and I are having
a conversation, Alex. But for those of you who
are out there watching, next time you’re giving a public speech, I think this is the most
important advice I can give you.
Try to speak like you’re having a conversation with the audience. Try to bring down any
artificial wall or barrier which exists between
you and your audience. You can tell many of my other tips are related to this tip.
So getting out from behind the podium, being passionate and enthusiastic, using humor and surprise, all of these are trying to break down the formality of the public speech. Most of us don’t have to
give formal public speeches like the State of the Union,
like a politician has to give.
Most of us are giving public speeches in relatively informal
business and social settings. So in that case, have a
conversation with your audience. Talk to them as if you’re
talking to them one on one.
This lowers these boundaries of formality, opens up people’s minds,
gets them engaged, and because a conversation
involves turn taking, they’ll always be on the edge of the seat as if you’re about to
ask them to contribute to this conversation that you’ve started.
So be conversational. – Okay, Bruce. Now hit us with that bonus tip. – One last quick tip. Show some vulnerability. This will draw the audience towards you, and make them feel closer to you, and make them appreciate you more.
One of the best ways to show vulnerability is to use a little self-deprecating humor, to tell a joke at your own expense, to tell a story about when maybe you did something embarrassing. To just be a little bit
vulnerable reveals something slightly personal about yourself.
Reveal a flaw or a foible or something that you’re not completely
proud of that allows you to show a little
vulnerability to the audience. Alex, thanks so much for
having me on your channel. You know that you’ve been a role model for me here on YouTube, and I’ve been a big fan
of you and your channel ever since I first
discovered you on YouTube.
So thanks again for having me on. – Great tips, Bruce. I love them all, especially that last tip about being vulnerable. It’s really like a secret weapon. People love authenticity. Bruce, I’m honored to
have you on the channel, and if you would like
to see more from Bruce I’ve linked to a popular
video on his channel about how to listen better.
Also, Bruce will post a comment, and I’ll pin that comment to the top of that section so you can go to his channel just by clicking on his name, and make sure to say hi. So God bless, and I will see you soon.
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