How to Practice Public Speaking

Sorry if I came over a bit holier-than-though. What I was trying to imply with the word 'professional' was that I've done this a lot.

I can see what you mean about practicing as though you're talking to a friend - it's a good idea to get feedback from friends for that very reason!

S

Has anyone asked if you have tried Toastmasters yet?

The best practice is the practice with a real audience. Toastmasters is the best and most cost effective way to get where you want to be.

You're absolutely right - TM is a great tool. But remember that you can get some pretty dodgy feedback at TM as well as brilliant stuff too. It's only peer review after all, with all the strengths and weaknesses of that.

I often tell clients that once they know enough to be 'on the floor' TM is a great way of buying 'floor time' but that they should listen to themselves at least as much as listening to each other.

(For example TM have someone who does nothing but count Umms and Errrs!)

S

simonr wrote:You're absolutely right - TM is a great tool. But remember that you can get some pretty dodgy feedback at TM as well as brilliant stuff too. It's only peer review after all, with all the strengths and weaknesses of that.

I often tell clients that once they know enough to be 'on the floor' TM is a great way of buying 'floor time' but that they should listen to themselves at least as much as listening to each other.

(For example TM have someone who does nothing but count Umms and Errrs!)

S

I agree that the feedback can be somewhat over positive, but once you've been in a club a while people tend to get a little more honest. Not sure the relevance of the umm and err counter is to your point, but without joining Toastmasters practice and therefore improvement will be hard to come by.

Sorry - I was a bit vague... I've been blogging a lot recently about ums and ahs in presentations so I assumed everyone was telepathic!

I was just using the example of the Um-counter as a silly thing that TM does and feedback that you can get which doesn't necessarily help.

YMMV, of course, because each TM is different! I suggest (ex)clients try a few to find a good one that fits their needs best.

Hi Simon,

Yes the ah/um counter. It can be useful information to have but without putting it into context can seem a little harsh. Someone who did a speech should be more concerned about them than someone who did a table topic for instance.

As to trying different clubs - very worthwhile. My club meets in a pub and is a friendly environment. I have visited other clubs which are much more business orientated and full of men in suits. I know I would have been less likely to join them.

The first step is to write out your speech word for word. Write it as you would say it or would intend to say it. Include every piece of information including what you would say about your visual or audio aids. Every word you put on paper will impact what your audience picks up in your presentation.

Read your written speech out loud. Record yourself to get some idea of what your presentation sounds like. Note the length of your presentation and also if the points you want to emphasize are actually the ones being emphasized. Refine and retune your message until you are confident the message you are sending is the one you want to send. Also, practice speaking your presentation the way you would want to say it - with passion and enthusiasm. Yes, enthusiasm does have to be practiced.

Condense your written speech into outline form. Once you've created your written speech and you've taken the time to revise it, the next step is to turn your written speech into a condensed outline with notes. You don't want to read your speech to your audience. You want to speak spontaneously and make your presentation flow. The key is to have notes that are easy to read. Remember to also make notes about the flow of your enthusiasm levels during the presentation.

Once you've created your notes, record your spontaneous speech. In this recording, review the timing of your presentation. Listen for the number of times you've said filler words like "umm", "er" and "ah". Work on eliminating these words and re-record yourself until you speak smoothly and confidently. Also work on presenting your speech with the emphasis and passion that you intend to deliver it. Working the emotions of your audience will help them feel more connected with you and your material.

Practice your presentation in front of a practice audience. The primary goal of this section is to get constructive feedback. You will want to find out if you made your points clearly and accurately. You will also want to know if you were speaking too fast or too slow. You'll also want to know if there were too many of those distracting words in your presentation. A secondary goal is to gain more confidence and feel more comfortable in making your presentation.

Rehearsal is the key to your success as a professional speaker! Practicing more than just your topical information, you'll need to practice the method of delivery you choose. Here's to your success!

simonr wrote:... But remember that you can get some pretty dodgy feedback at TM as well as brilliant stuff too. ...

Oh, I am very disappointed to hear this. My experiences with TM have been stellar, but I suppose my sampling of clubs is too small to allow for generalization.

The clubs with which I've interacted have all been affiliated with top-tier universities. Perhaps university-based clubs are a good starting point?

I appreciate that each club has its own personality, although I never considered that there would be significant disparity in the quality of feedback. It seems as though the advice presented here - to sample a few clubs - would we worth heeding.

Cheers!

J.L. Retlaw wrote:

simonr wrote:... But remember that you can get some pretty dodgy feedback at TM as well as brilliant stuff too. ...

Oh, I am very disappointed to hear this. My experiences with TM have been stellar, but I suppose my sampling of clubs is too small to allow for generalization.

The clubs with which I've interacted have all been affiliated with top-tier universities. Perhaps university-based clubs are a good starting point?

I appreciate that each club has its own personality, although I never considered that there would be significant disparity in the quality of feedback. It seems as though the advice presented here - to sample a few clubs - would we worth heeding.

Cheers!

I would say its not that the feedback is dodgy, remember these are individuals - there is no club approved feedback style, just that in many clubs the feedback tends to concentrate on the positive.

Some members need this kind of support to begin with, whereas other members want a more honest appraisal of their skills. Also members past performance also has a lot of relevance. A new member doing a speech which is mostly read from notes will not get such a hard time as a member who has done 10 or so speeches and gives the same speech.

Practice Makes Perfect!

Professional speakers rehearse their material. Killer presentations don't just fall out of the sky! They're worked on and fine tuned and honed to perfection right up until the time that they are delivered into the hands of audience members. As a result, presentations like these are effective at reaching many people!

Rehearsing your presentation is your key to delivering a successful presentation. Even if you've been doing the same presentation for years, you'll want to practice the different aspects of your delivery in the fine tuning process of rehearsing. Here's what you can do to have successful practice that will make your delivery a success every time.

The first step is to write out your speech word for word. Write it as you would say it or would intend to say it. Include every piece of information including what you would say about your visual or audio aids. Every word you put on paper will impact what your audience picks up in your presentation.

Read your written speech out loud. Record yourself to get some idea of what your presentation sounds like. Note the length of your presentation and also if the points you want to emphasize are actually the ones being emphasized. Refine and retune your message until you are confident the message you are sending is the one you want to send. Also, practice speaking your presentation the way you would want to say it - with passion and enthusiasm. Yes, enthusiasm does have to be practiced.

Condense your written speech into outline form. Once you've created your written speech and you've taken the time to revise it, the next step is to turn your written speech into a condensed outline with notes. You don't want to read your speech to your audience. You want to speak spontaneously and make your presentation flow. The key is to have notes that are easy to read. Remember to also make notes about the flow of your enthusiasm levels during the presentation.

Once you've created your notes, record your spontaneous speech. In this recording, review the timing of your presentation. Listen for the number of times you've said filler words like "umm", "er" and "ah". Work on eliminating these words and re-record yourself until you speak smoothly and confidently. Also work on presenting your speech with the emphasis and passion that you intend to deliver it. Working the emotions of your audience will help them feel more connected with you and your material.

Practice your presentation in front of a practice audience. The primary goal of this section is to get constructive feedback. You will want to find out if you made your points clearly and accurately. You will also want to know if you were speaking too fast or too slow. You'll also want to know if there were too many of those distracting words in your presentation. A secondary goal is to gain more confidence and feel more comfortable in making your presentation.

Rehearsal is the key to your success as a professional speaker! Practicing more than just your topical information, you'll need to practice the method of delivery you choose. Here's to your success!

I like your outline plan for getting a presentation together with one fly-in-the-ointment...

It's the first bit, where you say 'write your speech'. It's REALLY hard to write a speech as you would say it - almost everyone writes differently to how they speak. If you don't, you should be a professional speech-writer!

My suggestion would be go try recording it first, then transcribe it to paper, then clean it up by taking out the stuff you don't want, then edit it etc. That way you'll have something that sounds a little more natural.

William,

Practice speaking in front of a mirror! It helps for me and it can sure help you. This helps for several reasons: It makes you look into the eyes of someone, helps you recognize your posture, and helps you see what you do with your hands. This are all important aspects of public speaking. Practice makes perfect!

william3252 wrote:Hi everyone, I'm new to these forums and it's one of my goals to become a great public speaker. I'm looking for activities/exercises that are useful for practicing public speaking skills. Please share any tips! Thanks.

You like to become a great public speaker? Join "Toastmasters", if you are not familiar with the club google it and find one close to you!

Buy a webcam and practice, practice, practice

Speak at every opportunity. Service clubs need a speaker every week. Develop a 20 minute topic and then contact them. Video tape yourself and look at it. Record your voice and listen to the recording. Speak up at every meeting, conference or lecture. Offer to introduce the speaker at an event. Much easier than giving a full speech and good for getting over nerves.