10
Tips to Becoming an Effective and Engaging Public Speaker
You are an expert in the field of forest management and
resource conservation.
As guest speaker at the Boy Scouts’ jamboree however,
you now find that despite your expertise and the importance
of your talk, your audience seems uninterested; even slightly
confused. Here lies the big difference between knowing
a subject matter well and communicating it to others effectively.
These 10 helpful nuggets should help you get your message
across.
1. KNOW YOU AUDIENCE
- Be aware of the general demographic of your audience.
The factors of age, educational attainment and economic
background should dictate the level at which to design
your talk. Your doctorate gobbledygook won’t be helpful
to the rural agricultural workers waiting to hear you.
In the same light, a graduate school audience may become
bored with a simple linear presentation. Younger audiences
may need conceptual statements to be broken down into
concrete examples they can relate to.
2. LEVEL-OFF AT THE BEGINNING
- As you begin your talk, spend some time introducing
the subject matter and your personal involvement in
it.
- Use the introduction as an opportunity to define terms
and spell-out any acronyms that may be specific to your
field.
- Try to gauge topic awareness among members of your
audience by asking for a show of hands on questions
that begin with “How many of you have heard of…” or
“How many of you have ever wondered about…”. This is
also a good way of breaking the ice and engaging your
listeners.
3. MAKE USE OF VISUAL AIDS WISELY
- In some instances, an image can speak more clearly
than words. When appropriate, present photos to depict
important aspects of your topic. When dealing with abstract
ideas or the relationship between processes, show them
a diagram to physically represent the interactions involved.
- Allow a slight pause, for the audience to absorb a
visual. Once they’ve had a few seconds to take it in,
you can continue speaking and they’ll be ready to listen
to you again while mentally connecting the visual aid
to your point.
- Avoid wordy PowerPoint slides that mimic verbatim
what you’re already saying in your speech. Instead of
enhancing the talk, the visual aid becomes redundant
and tempts students to just read the slide instead of
listen to you.
4. USE NOTECARDS WITH BULLET POINTS, DON’T MEMORIZE
- Outline the flow of your key points on note cards.
Small index cards are better than whole sheets of paper
because it’s easier to keep track of where you are in
the talk.
- Use bullet points to highlight your ideas. Don’t write
out entire sentences on your notes that you might be
tempted to memorize. It’s easier to remember your outline
and expound spontaneously if you memorize the ideas
instead of the exact words
5. USE HUMOR IF SUITABLE, BUT BE TACTFUL
- Everyone loves a laugh, so it may be helpful to inject
some humor into your speech. Before doing so however,
analyze the subject matter and check if it won’t be
inappropriate.
- If you choose to employ humor, make sure to remain
tactful. Stay away from slanted jokes that may offend
certain sub-sectors within your audience, such as gender,
religion, race, politics and economic status.
- Keep the comedy in check. Well-timed snippets may
help you establish rapport with your audience, or make
monotonous stretches a bit lighter. Too many laughs
however may divert the audience’s focus from your key
points.
6. MAINTAIN EYE CONTACT
- Looking at members of the audience in the eye keeps
them involved in your talk. Research has shown that
information is more easily received when the listener
has both visual and verbal contact with the speaker.
Make sure to distribute your attention to audience members
in different parts of the room.
7. SPEAK CLEARLY AND MODULATE YOUR VOICE
- While the topic is all too familiar to you, it may
be a new subject to your audience. Speak slowly and
clearly, at a pace that allows your audience to follow
your meaning. Make sure you speak loud enough to be
heard by the person at the back of the room. For emphasis,
briefly pause before and after important ideas or say
key points twice before elaborating.
8. KNOW THE SUBJECT MATTER
- Nothing beats knowing what you’re talking about inside
and out. Research your facts and make sure you have
a good grasp of the issues involved. Have a comprehensive
understanding of your topic. Where it applies, be aware
of both sides to a polarized discussion about your subject.
Anticipate questions the audience might raise.
9. ENCOURAGE Q & A
- To further nail down the message behind your speech,
encourage questions and clarifications through an open
forum after your talk. Before you begin the forum, set
a time limit or a predetermined number of questions
you can accommodate. You may want to discuss this beforehand
with the organizers to make sure that you can fit everything
within the time allotted for you.
10. SUMMARIZE and DISTRIBUTE HAND-OUTS AFTER
TALK
- Before you end, summarize your most salient points
and repeat the ideas you want your audience to take
home with them. You can outline a summary in the form
of a hand-out to be given to the audience afterwards.
Don’t pass the hand-out into the audience before or
during your talk t because you want them to listen to
you first and not just be reading distractedly.
- With these 10 pointers in mind, you’re on your way
to becoming a much sought-after resource person, known
both for your expertise in your field and your skill
in communicating. More importantly, you can be sure
that your message is getting across to your public loud
and clear.
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