Public Speaking

Public Speaking OpportuniesProducts Relating to 'Public Speaking Opportunies'

There are many public speaking opportunities for those who dare to start on this route. Some people become after dinner speakers, some can become motivational speakers and some become keynote speakers in their chosen area of expertise.

There are also business speakers, celebrity speakers and sports speakers. How do these speakers become as fluent, coherent and full of confidence?

Unrestricted utterance chances, for most people can be so intimidating that they will do their utmost to shun it. Their hands may perspire and their mouth go dry. Their knees may shake and their voices quiver.

Their heart may race and there are butterflies in their stomach. They do not think of getting their message across in a convincing and attractive way; they can only think of getting off the stage as quickly as possible.

Why do we feel this way when facing public speaking opportunities? It seems that the fact that we are in the spotlight is sufficient to activate every fear, anxiety and phobia we have about public speaking. The following explains why:
* We feel we may be judged by all the people watching us, and judged badly
* We may feel like a fool
* We are frightened that we may make mistakes and lose our way
* We are frightened that we may be totally embarrassed
* We tell ourselves we'll never be as good as .....
* We feel 'they' won't like us
* We are scared 'they' won't understand what you are trying to say

To conquer our nervousness of public speaking opportunities, we need to focus on anything other than ourselves. We need to pay attention to our surroundings and see how we can make it work for us. Once we're in front of the audience, we need to pay heed to them.

If possible, we could notice how people are dressed, who's wearing glasses, who has bright colours, etc. There are innumerable things we can notice - this will ensure we are not noticing what's going on with us and this, in turn, will lead to us to feel confident.

Remember:
* Our audience can be our friend; take heed of their reactions
* We need to keep the audience awake
o Ask rhetorical questions
o Keep eye contact
o Be provocative
o Be challenging
o Change the pace of your delivery
o Change the volume of your voice

Those people who try the stating prospects out find that there are real rewards to be gained. They wonder what all the bother was about. If people are given some back-up and some high-quality instruction almost anyone can build up the skill for delivering a fine speech in public.

There is no instant change. No-one can turn you into an instant speaker who has no terror of speaking to a packed house. What can happen, however, is that the mystery is taken out of the process and you slowly gain in confidence as you take part in public speaking opportunities.

Article Published: Monday 15th January 2007