The best way to improve public speaking skills

**Posts:** 2 · by **charlitto** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 2:52 pm

how to improve public speaking skills is a question that many people in corporate working environments, and other high powered jobs ask all the time. Public speaking skills are valuable both in your personal life and leadership possibilities in you career. Even if you don’t regularly engage in public speaking, developing skills in this area will increase your confidence and reduce fear of public speaking in situations in which you may be called upon to perform an effective public speaking speak to an audience. Here are some great public speaking tips that are used by all members of toastmasters international.

Good public speakers appear confident, friendly, enthusiastic and energetic. Confidence comes from choosing a topic you like and researching it well. At the start of any speech, it is always best to talk about self in terms of introduction as this helps relax and get familiar with the audience and their reaction to the performance. These are the tested and proven communication strategies and tips used by the best in the world. Friendliness can be conveyed simply by smiling at your audience. Enthusiasm and energy will naturally flow when you enjoy your topic and are ready to present it well.

Charlitto

**Posts:** 1 · by **AlexHM** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 2:17 pm

"Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth." - Oscar Wilde

I believe one trick for better public speaking is to not be yourself, at least not that much. Think of public speaking like acting in front of an audience. You know your script well, you act. Imagine yourself acting out someone with a lot of confidence and charm and charisma. People are often afraid of making a fool out of themselves if they mess up in public speaking. What if it's not YOURSELF that you're making a fool out of, what if it's just a part, a role. So then even when you mess up it's not really you, it's someone else. I know it sounds complicated but I just wanna put my 2 cents in

G'luck all.

**Posts:** 2 · by **charlitto** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 2:31 pm

I am sure there are some truths in what you are saying but the facts remains that the key to be accepted and appreciated is to be natural. that is my view. take care my friend.

**Posts:** 14 · by **TTim** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 8:52 pm

What if it's not YOURSELF that you're making a fool out of, what if it's just a part, a role. So then even when you mess up it's not really you, it's someone else. I know it sounds complicated but I just wanna put my 2 cents

That's an interesting observation AlexHM, we already play different roles in life such as father, brother, husband, friend, owner/employee, etc. So why not just add a different role and call it public speaker? That's not a bad idea. You also mentioned that it's like acting and it is in a way. Back when I was younger I used to perform at a few local country music shows locally and I certainly did have a different persona shall we say. So I would say it's similar to that but still there was part of me there too.

**Posts:** 14 · by **TTim** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 8:56 pm

Also, if someone needs to improve their public speaking skills it would help if you do more public speaking. You know like the quote says, "How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice." So you've got to find a way to do that. It might be that you take a continuing ed class, an actual college course, or clubs that specialize in the topic, but regardless of how you do it you have to simply do more of it.

**Posts:** 29 · by **Lance06** » Mon Feb 02, 2015 10:49 am

charlitto wrote:Good public speakers appear confident, friendly, enthusiastic and energetic.

Yeah I agree, confidence really a big factor.

**Posts:** 14 · by **TTim** » Mon Feb 02, 2015 8:23 pm

Confidence is certainly a factor which is why it's such a good idea to do more speaking whenever there is a possibility for it. The more you do, the more comfortable you'll feel, and the more confident you'll become.

**Posts:** 41 · by **vdystonia** » Sun Feb 15, 2015 7:07 pm

A lot of truth in your text

**Posts:** 14 · by **TTim** » Wed Feb 18, 2015 4:00 am

When was the last speech that anyone here gave? I did one this previous Saturday about a U2 concert that I attended in 1997, it was on their PopMart tour.

**Posts:** 9 · by **bogdan27** » Mon Feb 23, 2015 11:26 am

1) Beingness..

The beingness is much more important then the content..

Key things to work on
> Enthusiasm
> Confidence
> Expression
> Authority

**Posts:** 16 · by **DianaMarlowe** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 12:58 pm

Hi Charlitto,

Some people are born with the raw talent of speaking in public. For those who don’t the best way to gain the skill is to practice it. That’s true that you can grab any opportunity to speak in public for you to gain the confidence over time, but every time you do speak in public, there’s one thing you have to keep in mind. You have to be knowledgeable about the topic you are going to talk about. That’s why you have to read and keep yourself informed. That’s the best way to make sure that you don’t just speak well in public but that you actually make sense.

**Posts:** 14 · by **TTim** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 1:52 pm

Love it Diana, yes, yes, and yes. Can you tell that I agree?

**Posts:** 16 · by **DianaMarlowe** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 8:33 am

Thanks, TTim.

**Posts:** 14 · by **TTim** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 2:29 am

To echo Diana just a bit, enthusiasm, confidence, expression and authority are important but the content is as if not more important. If you don't have something to say then people are not going to want to listen to you. For example, there are people who talk simple to hear themselves speak. I am privileged to experience this a few times a week where I am employed. If, however, there is some point to what you are talking about that will keep an audience's attention if you are able to tell it in a story. We naturally enjoy stories. When I am giving a speech I like to convey whatever my message is to my audience with a personal story if possible. If you don't have a personal story to tell that fits your message then perhaps you tell a story about a friend or relative which fits with your message, that is still close enough to you to borrow from their credibility and still get across your message. Inspiring and funny stories are great and I enjoy using them and hearing them. But the content is very important.

If you are knowledgeable or expert about a particular area of specialty, then your preparation on the topic may not be as needed as some provided you have a good opening, middle, and closing.

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