While the exact content or tone of public speeches may vary, many of the top communication skills and techniques are the same.
Students that take courses in public speaking tend to learn the following ten tips and techniques, to help improve their confidence and delivery.
1. Practice your speech in front of an audience. Before the big day, it can be helpful to practice your speaking and presentation skills in front of friends or family members for support and feedback.
2. Test your audio and visual equipment ahead of time. A common reason why presentations can go wrong is with faulty equipment. This will help you focus solely on your speech, without worrying about the visual aids.
3. Make your speech fun for the audience. Presentation skills courses will help you to try to connect with the audience, using humor when necessary or relaying facts that are relevant to their lives. This will help keep them interested in your message.
4. Focus on a strong opener. Courses in public speaking will help you learn how to begin your speech with a way to capture your audience's attention. A startling fact, a personal story, or amusing anecdotes are all good ways to achieve this.
5. Practice your delivery. A good speaking skill is the ability to deliver your speech with a confident, yet conversational tone. You don't want to sound like you are preaching to your audience.
6. Don't forget about body language. Well-placed gestures can draw the audience into your message and help emphasize a point.
7. Slow down. A major factor that you will notice through your courses in public speaking is the tendency for amateur speakers to rush their speech, usually due to nervousness.
8. Don't apologize to your audience. If you make a mistake, just keep speaking. Chances are that no one will even have noticed your flub, and if they do, it will make you appear more confident if you keep going.
9. Anticipate your audience. Any information that you can gather ahead of time on your audience will help you tailor your speech to their needs.
10. Videotape or record your presentation. It's remarkable how much you can learn from courses in public speaking and when watching your own speech later. This will help you make adjustments if you are speaking too fast, using pauses inappropriately, or making other mistakes that you might not be aware of at the time.
The best courses in public speaking allow students to work at their own pace. This is why speaking courses that are downloadable can be so helpful, as they often include speaking tips and techniques available from public speaking experts.
