Here are a few strategies pertinent to public speaking: - Be prepared. Know your topic well.
- Develop rapport. Smile and maintain eye contact
with your audience.
- Take note of your audience. Notice when your
audience agrees with you or looks puzzled or confused.
- Develop visuals. When it is appropriate, use
overheads, slides, handouts, and demonstrations. They can add drama, reduce
your stress, and reinforce your speech. Just make sure the type on your visuals
is large enough to read, the projector works, and you have practice working
with the visual aids.
- Prepare your prompters. Don't memorize the speech,
but be well versed on your topic that you are comfortable just talking about
it. Prepare notes to prompt yourself. Put key phrases down in large letters,
with stories and quotes on note cards.
- Practice. Rehearsal is everything! Practice the
speech several times out loud, in front of a mirror, an empty classroom, or
to friends. Practice speaking slowly and calmly, but louder than usual. Vary
the pitch and speed for emphasis.
- Avoid unecessary words. Use clear, concise words.
Don't use pauses as fillers, irritating non-words, or overused, annoying slang,
such as "uh", "um", "you know", "stuff
like that", "sort of", "like", and so on. Use pauses
for emphasis; then take a deep breath and go on.
- Review your performances. Ask your instructor and
other students for feedback. Be open to learning and strive to improve.
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