I write a lot about public speaking, but I find that it is an art in itself and not many people take it as seriously as they should.
Having the ability to captivate your audience is a remarkable feeling. I recently came across an article on Business Insider that provides some helpful tips to be the best public speaker you can be.
The first bit of advice is to “Present a clear, focused message.”
Not too much to report on here. It is a simple as it sounds. The audience wants to hear about concise information that has a clear message. Whatever that message intends to be, deliver it. People can only pay attention to you for so long. That leads into the next point…
“Keep it short and to the point”
You never want to lose the interest of your audience. If you do, you might never get them back and your entire presentation could suffer as a result. Keep it short and sweet, you’ll audience will understand you better and will be engaged.
“Don’t Use Slides”
Some people can’t make a presentation without slides, but that is only because they don’t believe in themselves enough. With practice and an attention to detail, you can deliver a speech without the aid of slides and you’ll have a more effective impact on your audience. Slides can be distracting, especially if they don’t illustrates clearly what you are depicting.
“Bring your audience through a broad range of emotions”
There is nothing worse than a monotone, non energetic speaker who makes people tired. Lighten up the mood a bit! Get into what you are talking about and take your audience on a journey. Make them feel different emotions. Take them on a roller coaster ride!
“Use humor strategically”
There is nothing worse than someone trying to make people laugh when it isn’t the opportune time. Humor can help win over a crowd, but you shouldn’t go overboard with it. Have fun with your presentation, but not too much fun otherwise you might be the only one laughing.
“Embrace the power of the pause”
Many people try to not have any breaks in the presentation because they feel like it would make things awkward. A pause can make things more impact full and can also help prevent you from rushing your speech. It allows for people to stop and process what you are saying so they can digest everything more easily.