How to prepare for a public speaking engagement

How to prepare for a public speaking engagement

How to prepare for a public speaking engagement
Defending a thesis or presenting a product to a wide audience requires thorough training. Writing a successful text is only half the battle that does not guarantee success. It depends on the submission of the material, whether the speaker can interest people and convince them of his own right. There are several simple but effective methods to prepare for public speaking to achieve the desired result.

Train and rehearse.
No matter when the performance is scheduled for tomorrow or next month, regular rehearsals will help you to become more confident on stage. Doing it in front of a mirror is good, but by front people or strangers is even better. Listeners can even be children or pets, the main thing is to take the lesson seriously. Repeating speech over and over again, you will probably want to fix some things – one more thing, another to clean up. After a few adjustments, a good text will be great. After a short break, start training again. Don`t you want to make new corrections? The result is really perfect.

Visualize .
The audience better perceives information when they hear and see it at the same time. Make sure you do not overdo it. Too many pictures will distract you and a small one will seem inappropriate. The optimal number will have to be picked out by yourself. And the simpler the picture, the better, because in trying to see the small incomprehensible details, a person will be distracted from the performance itself.

For visualization are suitable:

slides on the subject of the lecture
the drawings on the flip charts;
real object demonstration
It is not necessary to prepare for this part of the performance in advance. A successful improvisation can become a kind of anchor, which will remain firmly in the memory of the audience. Do not abuse the animation and use charts and graphs instead of tables.

Tidy appearance
Perfect oratory skills will fade away against the background of untidy appearance. Tidy up straight ahead with your speech and pay special attention to your clothes. A crumpled or dirty jacket will discuss more than the topic of your presentation. The public should be pleased to watch you, especially if you plan to benefit from the event.

Brief and informative
Preparations for the public presentation of the report should also include the calculation of time. Pay attention to the main issues, and do not dwell on secondary issues. Even if you fail to fully disclose the essence of the information, you will have the opportunity to do so while answering listeners’ questions. If you are to be called a successful speaker, learn to speak briefly but in an informative way. Start with a minute self-presentation and share your experience. Then get right to the point. During the rehearsal, take 1/5 of the time available, and try to fit in the remaining period. Clearly following the plan is a rare success, so you need to be prepared for unforeseen circumstances.

Highlight the important points
In the written text, we see numbered paragraphs framed in quotes, highlighted with bold phrases. To get a similar effect in oral form, do the obvious things:

say to the audience, “After considering the first item, we move on to the second item.
actively gesticulate, emphasizing the most important details;
change your tone;
give advice
Given the pre-written text, it is not difficult to prepare for such moments. Make the appropriate notes. Do not stand in one place and do not allow boring narration. One minute is enough for the viewer to lose interest in what is happening on stage. There will be no benefit to a public performance in this case.

Take a break.
Reading a text written in a “sheet” is as uncomfortable as listening to a non-stop speech. And to understand the information provided, the listeners will have to work hard.

No matter what you talk about, the report should be step-by-step and understandable even for those who are not eager to get to the bottom of it. Make small pauses between the points, lasting no more than 5 seconds. To keep silence from being awkward, drink water, prepare slides. In the process, ask a question and answer it after a short hitch. From the outside, you’ll seem to be thinking about your decision. At the same time, you make the audience think about the task.

Answer the questions.
In most cases, public speaking involves communication with listeners. Do not ignore questions coming from the audience, even if the time for them has not yet come. A person is puzzled by something, so he is passionate about what he hears, and you did not do the job in vain. Don’t put off the answers for later. There will be no time left at the end or the person who asked will lose interest

It is not possible to prepare for all the turns, people can ask what concerns the report indirectly. For successful interaction with the public, it is necessary:

Know what you’re talking about – every word in your speech needs to be clear;
not to be distracted by topics that you don’t know very well;
prepare in advance a couple of neutral or funny stories, sometimes they help to get out of the situation “beautifully”.
The purpose of public speaking is to get the hall to react. The more you interact with people, the better.

How to prepare for a public speaking engagement

Please be kind.
A friendly welcome and a smile are the perfect start to any performance. Keep a positive mood at all times, no matter what the circumstances. Irresistible questions can be easily knocked out, but aggression and nervousness will not help to establish contact with the public. Raise all the patience, use psychological techniques when you start to get nervous: smile, act calm, take a deep breath and exhale.

Do not stingy on gratitude and compliments. Say “thank you” to the audience for what you have met. Praise her for her attention and interest. Everyone here will be pleased to hear a kind word addressed to them. But know the measure. Excessive encouragement can cause backlash, just like excessive jokes.

You can prepare for public speaking quickly and effectively in Oratoris School’s Speaking Skills Courses. We will teach you how to lead discussions, keep your audience’s attention focused, improve your diction and help you develop confidence in yourself.