Today I’ll give you some more tips about public speaking, continuing that bullet list that I started yesterday. Hope to help people among you that are going to go on a stage for the first time. So, new tips for today:
- Find your style: everyone of us is very different from the others. And everyone of us has its own style he fits in, that makes him feel confident. You have to find the style of public speaking that fits you the best, that you feel truly yours. For example, I’ve discovered that I’ve to talk as I do in this blog: saying serious things, but in an informal way and with a smile on my face, showing enthusiasm. I’ve tried to be more serious in the past, but this did not fit me… and I ended up being un-natural and awkward. When I started using this style, I felt like being truly me and now I’m ok with public speaking. So, try different styles and find the one ideal for you;
- Use the damn mic: people have to hear you. You’re not there to confess your sins to a priest, you’re there to let all people of the audience to hear you, especially the ones in the last rows. So, talk out loud in the mic. This is VERY IMPORTANT. If people can’t hear you, you’ve failed anyway, even if you’re doing the best talk of your life. It is ideal if before the conference, you can give a try to the microphone and modulate the tone of your voice until a friend that’s in the last row says you that you’re ok. If you can’t do this, maybe you can start your talk with “Hello, can all of you hear me?” and listen to the people feedback;
- Dominate the public: this is a crucial point. There are lots of websites of personal growth that talk about how you have to dominate your life and don’t let external events make yourself get crazy. Here the concept is very similar: don’t let the audience influence you: while you’re talking, there will be people playing with their phones, people just getting up and going away, people looking at you like you’re saying stupid things… if you let the audience influence your mood, you’ll get depressed. Besides that, even if the audience is not hostile, you’ll stay there looking for a sign of approval by them and this would make you anxious. Remember: the audience is there FOR YOU. YOU are the boss. YOU are shaping the speech. YOU define how you want to talk. They have to go AFTER YOU. So, go there and make your speech with the maximum energy possible and try to make your audience conquered by it and come to your side. Ignore people that are ignoring you… maybe they’ve some bad stuff happening, maybe they’re just tired, maybe they’re going away because they’ve a train that they have to take. Be careful: this does not mean that you have to ignore the audience’s feedback, it does mean that you have not to be afraid of what every person in that room is thinking about you.
- Try to get feedback: if people is getting bored or annoyed, maybe you’re doing your job bad. Go on and try to understand what has gone wrong, so you can fix it next time. It is super-important to get better every time that you go for a pitch. The ideal is to have in the audience someone skilled with public speaking that can give you very honest feedback: during the DTC, for example, I had a life coach friend of mine that has listened to me and then said that I have to keep more eye contact with the people I’m talking with. I’ll fix it! Remember that without honest feedbacks you can’t grow, so get the most possible ones. Ah, of course ignore all the feedbacks of people saying that you went ok just because they’re friend of yours…
- Choose how to look the audience: there are different strategies on how to look the audience: someone likes to look at a certain people in the audience, maybe the most concentrated ones, while others love to don’t look in the eyes of people (they look at an imaginary point between the seats)… just find your style in this, too. One thing that is very important is that you have to look at the public. Don’t look down. And look ALL the audience: move your eyes and you’re head as you were talking to anyone, from left to right, from front to last row… you have to involve all people!
- You’ll be scared anyway: that’s the truth. Even the most skilled presenters are just scared the minutes before going on the stage. A bit of adrenaline is normal, deal with it…and it gives to the moment a beautiful thrilling touch 🙂
- Have fun: as I’ve said, I love to have a non-formal approach to my public speeches, so just go on the stage, smile a lot and have fun 🙂
Hope to have given you some useful advices… if it is so, please like and share this post!