ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Tips for Speaking in Public

Updated on October 4, 2013

When You're Asked to Speak in Public

We'll all be asked to speak in public at one time or another. Some people are natural public speakers, and for others it's extremely uncomfortable. Even if you manage to avoid public speaking, there comes a time when almost everyone has to step up to the microphone (weddings, retirement, funerals, business meetings, social clubs, church, etc.) and face a large group of people.

I have some simple tips that will help keep the occasion fairly pain free, and you may even find that you're actually quite good at addressing an audience.

Photo: Krista Neher, a polished public speaker.

Question?

What's the first thing you notice about the speaker in the above picture?

The answer will be given later.

type=text
type=text

I'm not an expert at public speaking. . .

But I've found myself doing my share of it.

I'm just a regular person who avoids public speaking as much as possible. When I have a speaking assignment I find myself rating how uncomfortable it is: How bad is this - would I rather be sitting in the dentist chair than have to speak before an audience? My answer was almost always yes! Can you relate to that? Over my lifetime I've had to give short talks, long talks, presentations and several seminar classes. And of course there are times I've had to say a few words at a wedding or funeral.

For most assignments you'll have time to prepare ahead, but occasionally you'll find yourself in a situation where you need to speak extemporaneously. Sometimes that's better because you don't really have time to worry or be nervous about it. On just such an occasion I received a heartfelt standing ovation from a group of strangers I was petrified to speak in front of. When I got up that morning I had no idea I would be speaking before two hundred people. Straight from the heart is always the best, but those times are rare, and are motivated on the spot by inspiration, strong emotion, or pure adrenaline.

My tips will be helpful for those speaking assignments for which you have time to prepare ahead.

Photo: learnex.in,.

type=text
type=text

Seven Simple Tips to Prepare Your Speech or Presentation With Confidence

If the first thing you noticed about the top picture is the speaker's smile, you're right! And that's my first tip.

1. Smile. If you start with a smile you not only have the audience on your side, but you actually put yourself at ease as well. People will smile back at you, and you'll feel a whole lot better. Along with this, take a deep breath just before you approach the microphone. Taking these two first steps are sure to get rid of that "deer in the headlights" feeling.

2. Introduce yourself. Unless the speaking assignment is to talk about yourself, you don't have to make it long. Just a couple of sentences to say your name and something about yourself. Here is an example: "For those of you that don't know me, I'm Jane Smith. I'm a mother of three students here at Concord Elementary, and I love being involved in the PTA." This not only introduces you to your audience, but it eases you into what you have to say.

3. Based on the length of time you've been given to speak, make an outline of what you want to say. For a talk fifteen minutes or less, I would break this into three parts - a beginning, middle and end. For a longer speech, simply divide each of those three parts into smaller parts. What is the main subject of your talk or point you need to make? For my pace of speaking, a ten minute talk is almost exactly three single-spaced typewritten pages. The first page introduces the subject, sometimes with an anecdote to lead in to the topic, and then covers in a general way the entire scope of what I'm covering. The second page goes into more detail and adds facts or more stories and illustrations to fully develop the point. The third page repeats the main points in a different way and draws conclusions or asks questions, something to make them think about your topic or drive home your point. Conclude with a strong statement and any action you would like people to take: "So I hope that these examples will help you understand our situation more clearly. Before you leave, please visit the display table and sign up or pledge a donation. Thank you."

4. Take the written speech and read it out loud several times. If you don't read out loud, you won't get a good idea of how much time it will actually take. Also, reading it out loud allows you to hear any awkward sentences or things that wouldn't be clear to the audience. If your tongue trips over a phrase, now is the time to reword it. You might even realize you've left out something important to the entire topic. Now, edit it for length and make any changes to the wording. Print out at least two copies of your final speech. Put one in your pocket, purse or briefcase right now. Keep the other copy to work with. If you make more changes, replace the one in your purse or briefcase. I have a few stories about forgotten speeches where the first one stashed was a lifesaver.

5. Now, this is where you practice and memorize, if you wish. I know it's better if you don't read a speech, but if it's for a less formal audience, it's okay to read. Famous people use teleprompters now, so I think it's okay for us regular people to use notes. Just know your material well enough that you can look up and just talk for some of it. In any case, be sure to have notes, an outline, or your whole speech with you in case you need it.

6. Many times I've been given the advice to look over the tops of the heads of the people in the back row if I'm nervous, or picture them all sitting there in their underwear. I've discovered that if I make eye contact and, again, smile, that it's far more comforting to see friendly smiling faces looking back at me and connecting with what I'm saying.

7. Have a small unobtrusive bottle of water in case you need it, and a tissue or handkerchief for sweaty hands and unexpected coughs or sneezes. You probably won't need either, but you'll be less nervous knowing you have them.

Photo: Public Domain Image - www.us.gov

Photos used with permission are credited in individual modules. Every other photo on this lens resides in original form in my personal collection.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)