Top Public Speaking Courses Reviews

Hello friend,  I want to share what I have learned about public speaking because it was a journey that greatly rewarded me  for my efforts.  I use to be such a quiet, introverted person who quaked at the thought of talking to someone I didn’t know.  That was the past, it is no longer the case.  I will use this blog to provide help and information to anyone who has an interest in improving  their skills and ability as a speaker.

An experienced speaker could talk for days about everything that goes into making a good public speaker, however I have found a simple formula that if followed can ensure your success.

The one in our equation refers to the most essential element in public speaking; the content of your talk.  When I was new at public speaking my knees trembled because I had stage fright and was afraid I would forget my speech and my mind would go blank.  Once I had my talk down pat so that an unexpected interruption didn’t throw me I started to relax.  You must have the information down so well that you can talk off my head about your topic.  Another thing I learned the hard way was that less is more.  Much of my early talking was in teaching situations where I had to get across a lot of information in a short period of time.  I found that if I could slow down and present the information verbally and visually the group achieved greater understanding.

Now we must add the other needed components to achieve our success.  The first thing I concentrate on after content is my voice and what I do with it.  A monotone voice will put your audience to sleep.  You must experiment with modulating your voice, the pitch of it, the speed you talk and how you emphasize your information.  Pause to create an effect.  A pause is uncomfortable for the listener and causes them to become alert and psychologically want you to continue.  talk in a clear, crisp voice and project out to your audience so everyone can hear what you have to say.  Walk around the stage if that is comfortable for you and the speech is not formal.  An excellent tool is a tape recorder.  Record yourself and listen.  Do you use any ha-a-a-’s ?  Do you stumble in areas?  Where can you add excitement to your information by raising your voice or pausing?  Once I am happy with my efforts here I move on to the second piece.

The second thing is your physical body  and how you use it.  Unless we have given tis our attention few of us are aware of our body language.   We are not always aware of how we are communicating through our body.  Your expression, your gestures, your stance, posture, movement all tell your audience things about either you as a person or the subject you are speaking on.  Make sure it is saying what you want to project.  Watch people and observe what they are doing.  Watch television or a movie with the sound turned off and figure out what is happening.  A good speaker would probably be a good actor as well.  A tool that helps me is a video recording.  In component one you listened without seeing.  Now you will watch yourself without hearing and observe.  Rehearse your talk over and over until it is second nature.

The third thing is what I think of as the “goodies”.  These are little stories, jokes and antidotes you will use to enrich your speech.  They wake up an audience starting to nod off, build a rapport with your audience and convey information in a way that can be easier to understand.  I collect these for the time when I might use them.  With friends insisting that I read their email humor it is easier then ever to compile jokes.

The fourth piece helps bring everything together: media.  This could be anything from a projected picture of my cat (if it is cute and relevant to the topic), a PowerPoint slide show, a movie clip or even a recording of someone famous quoting something.  It adds interest and changes the pace of your speech adding freshness.

Six Steps To Control Your Stage Fright

I stumbled across this video in YouTube.  He has some excellent suggestions to make on this subject.  Stage fright with time will turn into excitement.

If the video screen doesn’t come up click on the link above.

Since being laid off nine months ago, I’ve had a few interviews, but they haven’t gone well. The problem has been that the interviewers don’t seem to know much about technology, and so they have no way of evaluating the validity of my responses. I’ve begun to wonder, though, about the people they end up hiring. Are IT jobs going to less technically adept people who know how to talk to these people?

More than ever, IT jobs are being filled as much on “soft” skills like communication, teamwork and cultural fit as they are on pure technical capability. Many interviewers (myself included) are not part of the interview process to assess your technical skills, but rather to evaluate these type of factors. I think it’s always important to know (and it’s perfectly fine to ask) what each interviewer is looking for from the interview so that you can tune your responses to fit their needs. Talking about bits and bytes to a person who’s assessing your cultural fit with the team or organization is a natural mismatch of expectations, so work hard to understand each person’s role and background before you show up to interview.

Public speaking is a critical skill that is valuable to anyone, regardless of their general duties or responsibilities. It’s critical to be able to clearly articulate a point of view, proposal or solution to those who are impacted, and I’m sure you will be surprised by the number of times you will be called on to make these kinds of presentations. As a “back-room IT guy” I can think of many occasions where you’ll be called upon to speak — gaining approval for a major infrastructure purchase, or outlining the need for and details of a necessary system outage, for example. Adding public speaking ability to your personal toolbox will be a very worthwhile investment.Since being laid off nine months ago, I’ve had a few interviews, but they haven’t gone well. The problem has been that the interviewers don’t seem to know much about technology, and so they have no way of evaluating the validity of my responses. I’ve begun to wonder, though, about the people they end up hiring. Are IT jobs going to less technically adept people who know how to talk to these people?

SpeakingPublic Speaking from Zero to ExcellencePublic Speaking Courses

Half of the message you deliver to your audience comes out of your mouth. When you give a talk your choice of words, your tone, pauses and annunciations support and enhance your information, but your communication to your audience doesn’t stop there. The other half comes from your body; your gestures, stance, facial expression, movement and energy. Most of us think that this would come naturally, but not so. Video taping yourself as you practice your presentation will often reveal surprises. Not only do you have to have your speech, statistics, humor and anecdotes down pat, you have to be aware of what you are communicating with your body.
In order to connect with your audience, build credibility and rapport everything about your communications has to have the same purpose. Have you ever been to a cocktail party and seen someone in conversation cross their arms in front of themselves and lean back slightly? What about someone you work with agreeing with you but holding their body rigid and closing one or both hand s? These two examples are pretty easy to figure out. Many of our gestures are more subtle but are still picked up by others subconsciously.

I once had a repair man come to check out my furnace for the coming winter. I had an immediate negative reaction to the main despite his friendly smile and manner. He told me I need to buy a new unit. I told him I would think about it. Within a week we had a cold spell and sure enough no heat. I got a recommendation about a local handyman and had him look at it. He reported that some wiring was wrong, it looked like it had been switched. The furnace worked just fine once he changed the wiring back. I don’t know why I was suspicious but some how I picked up something that was incongruous.
As a speaker never cross your arms unless you are in a political debate as it shows resistance and defensiveness. Similarly don’t hold props or notes in front of yourself longer than necessary. It acts as a barrier between you and your audience and can suggest the need to protect yourself.

Hands are to be held with your palms facing the audience. Pointing fingers are a big no. If you need to select someone from the audience use several fingers. Men in particular feel more comfortable with their hands in their pockets. I remember Johnny Carson always doing this. Try not to do it because it draws the eyes of your audience to your pocket and distracts from what you are saying and indicates nervousness.

Keep your elbows slightly away from your body. An open presence indicates flexibility, honesty, receptiveness. If you hold your arms and legs close to the center of your body you are taking a closed position which indicates the opposite.

Gesture with your hands; the larger your audience the larger your gestures need to be. You can at times put your hands on your hips as this indicates power and authority. If you have a podium the edge is a good place to rest your hands.
The stances you take, before you even say your first words, are important because it speaks for you. Balance your weight on both of your feet with your legs about shoulder width apart. To learn forward lightly tell the audience that you are excited to be there and looking forward to this experience. You can move around on the stage but utilize your movement for a purpose. Some speakers will “anchor” one side of a stage by talking about negatives on one side and “anchor” the other side of the stage with positive or uplifting statements. Don’t sway or move from side to side if you stay in one position. That suggests you don’t want to be there or maybe you have to go to the bathroom.
Your eyes and facial expression are the most important part of your body language. As you speak look at individuals and talk directly to them then move on to another. To look over the head of an audience demonstrates aloofness and an attitude of not wanting to be there. Smile, with your whole face! Let your feelings show.
Watch You Tube videos of famous speakers with the sound turned off. See if you can figure out what they are trying to get across with just their bodies.

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If you have had the opportunity to use this product please share your opinion.

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If you have had the opportunity to use this product please share your opinion.

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