Toastmasters - UK and Ireland :: Toastmasters - UK and Ireland :: Tips for Successful Speaking
Author Forgotten User Date 23 Mar 06, 18:04 Views 2321
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Description Tips for Successful Speaking (2)

Tips for Successful Speaking 

Tips for Successful Speaking

Good speaking skills are within everyone's reach. For many people, speaking and presenting can be a daunting and unpleasant experience. It needn't be, so here are some simple tips to help you in two areas - involving your audience and structuring your presentation.

Working your Audience

Converse - have a conversation with your audience. They may not actually say anything, but make them feel consulted, questioned, challenged, argued with; then they will stay awake and attentive. Your job as a speaker is to stimulate your audience into wanting to get the information you have, not just to present that information at them.

Interact - engage with your present audience, not the one you have prepared for. Look for reactions to your ideas and respond to their signals. Monitor their reactions; it's the only way you'll know how you're doing and what you should do next.

Show conviction - give an expressive and enthusiastic speech and your audience will respond, which is what you want. At the very bottom line disagreement is preferable to being ignored. Use your excitement, pace yourself to give an exciting speech and use something you know you feel strongly about to build up to an important point or as a springboard to another idea.

Get some perspective - the odds are that someone in the audience may disagree with you. There will probably be someone else out there for whom you can do no wrong. As a rule of thumb, the majority of most audiences want to like you and what you have to say - they want you to be good. They didn't come hoping to be bored or irritated by your speech.