Posture – you must stand tall,but look relaxed. Roll your shoulders back, raise your head so you grow an inch and rise slightly onto your toes when you first start speaking. This is the 'power' stance and make you look in charge and keeps you on your toes.
Stance – when you're up there speakering your body is split into two halves. Your bottom half, from your waist down, should be still. And you should move your top half, from your waist up, to show passion. Take your hands out of your pockets and try not to move your feet. In particular don't shuffle from one leg to the other, don't do a little nervous dance and do not pace up and down in front of the audience. That's called the 'trainer's trek and completely distracts them. However you can move closer to them so you are more intimate with the audience at key moments.
Gestures – you should use arm and hand gestures to emphasise points and show passion. But never point at the audience as it a sign of aggression. The larger the audience, the bigger you need to make your gestures so the guy at the back can see them.
Eye Contact – look at everyone in the room for a couple of seconds in turn. Make sure that you move your head so they see you looking at them. Eye contact tells the audience that you're connecting to them and it also gives you feedback on how well you're doing. If they're nodding off or look bored, change the pitch, and volume of your voice.
Pace – take it slowly as we always speak fast when we're nervous. Slow down and emphasise your key points with one or two second pauses. Although it's always better to go slow than fast, vary the pace of your talk and slow right down in the important parts.
Speaking in public is a skill that can be learnt, but practise makes perfect. So the professional speaker's mantra is 'practice, practice, practice.'
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
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