Connect with us

Success Advice

3 Effective Strategies To Deliver A Solid Public Speaking Performance

Published

on

Public Speaking

I love public speaking, despite the fact that it scares the crap out of me! There’s something about the ego-boosting thrill of being able to speak your mind to a captive audience, sharing your own unique vision of the truth with people who are listening. And in all humility, I’m pretty good at it, but this was not always the case.

I remember speeches for school assignments, shaking like a leaf while time simultaneously flew past and dragged its feet. It seemed like no matter how many times I practiced my speech, I would fall apart on game day. Often from the perspective of others it went OK, but in my mind I was a complete mess.

But over time I have been exposed to many public speaking opportunities and learned a lot of confidence-building techniques along the way. Through these experiences I have designed a strategy that works really well to prepare for public speaking, make sure you deliver well, and actually enjoy the experience.

So these tips are for those of you who want to market their business through oratory methods. Public speaking is any type of verbal presentation to a group of about three or more, and for this article it’s particularly specific to a public speaking event which you feel anxious or intimidated about.

 

3 Effective Strategies For Public Speaking

 

1. Prepare but don’t script

Trying to remember an entire script may seem like a safe option, but it’s actually a trap. Your brain will remember how each line/sentence links with others, which means if you forget any or trip up, there will be a complete blank in your mind. If the bridge from one part to another gets lost, so do you.

A safer option is actually to learn the material well and then simply speak off the top of your head. Of course, this should be done in a structured way so you don’t just ramble on. I recommend bullet point-type prompts. So try using cue-cards points or a minimalist Powerpoint presentation rather than a full script. Set a timeframe for each point using a timer application of some sort, then practice free-styling and cutting it down to the key information. You’ll be much better prepared on the day for any brain-freezes or other distractions.

This will also develop your longer-term skill of freestyle talking, which always comes across as far more genuine and charismatic. This kind of delivery sells a darn sight better than prepared pitches.

 

2. Meditate

Mindfulness meditation is simply a great way to remove anxiety. Have you noticed how you can know a speech inside and out and yet on the Big Day you can’t remember a word? This is not a memory issue, this is anxiety shutting off pathways in your brain in order to inappropriately prepare for fight or flight. Most of the time, if you know your topic well you can completely make up a speech on the spot from scratch, as long as you’re completely calm. A calm mind is also a creative and confident mind!

Research a Mindfulness meditation exercise and start doing this daily. It can be as quick as five minutes. Particularly do it on the morning of the day. It will help you release anxiety (which only exists in the future – worrying about potential outcomes) and will also train your mind over time to stay in the present. If you think meditation is just some sort of hippy-spiritual thing, get over it! Mindfulness has a strong backing from psychological neuroscience research and is quickly becoming the key insight of our time regarding productivity and success.

 

3. Stay focused by getting into the right state of mind

On the day of the event and in the days leading up to it, you will be at your most anxious. One way to practice mindfulness in everyday life includes making sure you are focused on present-time activities. So particularly on the day of the event, make sure you don’t sit around fretting about how it’s going to go.

The absolute best way you can avoid this is to socialise constantly! Public speaking is really nothing more complicated than talking to people. So make sure you talk to as many people as you can in the time leading up to your presentation. This may mean waiting ‘back-stage’ and talking to other speakers, or it might simply be ‘working the room’ before you go on.

This will make sure your mind is in a ‘social state’. The pathways in your cerebral cortex that are most closely linked with speaking, creativity, humour and body-language will get warmed up, quite literally. Then, when you get up on stage (or stand up at the meeting etc.) you will simply be continuing to speak. Going in from cold, such as being quiet and introspective before you speak, is an unpleasant comfort-zone breach for your brain and will create anxiety. It’s much better to take the time to build up a socialising momentum prior to delivering your presentation.

The more of your audience you can talk to before-hand, the more people you will be able to identify during your presentation as allies rather than strangers. You can focus your eye-contact on these people and in doing so will feel much more comfortable – like you’re just chatting with friends rather than presenting to a crowd.

Stay in the moment during the presentation itself as well as mindfulness preparation beforehand. Worrying about how it’s going is not the same as being in the present. It’s still worrying about the future, i.e. wondering what people will think about the presentation afterwards. Take your time, consciously try to enjoy the experience, rather than trying to get it over with.

 

 “You can speak well if your tongue can deliver the message of your heart.” – John Ford 

 

I hope all this helps you out with your next big presentation, please comment below with your experiences.

Public speaking is recognised as one of the most common phobias people have, and often people are more afraid of it than death itself! That means using strategies to conquer this fear will make tackling other fears so much less intimidating. It’s like the big-game hunting of self-development!

Enjoy.

Dan is a lifestyle and success coach, with his own company The Inspirational Lifestyle Ltd. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand, and loves to share his advice and opinions on how to attain success. Make sure you checkout more of Dans articles at: TheInspirationalLifestyle.com

Advertisement
11 Comments

11 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Success Advice

How Your Beliefs Can Supercharge or Sabotage Your Success

Your life is dictated by beliefs and biases that drive your thinking, behaviors, and decisions

Published

on

Your Beliefs Can Supercharge or Sabotage Your Success (1)
Image Credit: Midjourney

Pause for a moment and ponder two pandemic-era beliefs: First, closing schools will control the spread of a serious virus. Second, the consequences of such school closures—particularly social interruption and the prevention of immunity—are worse than becoming sick with the virus. (more…)

Continue Reading

Success Advice

How to Break the Cycles of Mediocrity and Manifest Your Greatness

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity

Published

on

Image Credit: Midjourney

In just a few weeks, we will be wrapping up 2023. Can you believe it? This year has been absolutely incredible for me.

I have seen amazing doors opened, new relationships formed and I am seeing dreams realized in my life. While this seems like the hallmarks of a great year, this has also been the most challenging year of my life. With all of the change happening in my life, I have been forced out of my comfort zone and challenged to grow in every area of my life.

I can truly say that I have made the most of my moments this year and I have used everything as a catalyst for maximizing my greatest potential.

As a revolutionary leader, I have the pleasure of consulting and advising leaders around the world to fulfill purpose, realize their greatest potential and make an impact.

I want to share some insights with you that will help you to break cycles of mediocrity and manifest your greatness

Everything legal must come through the matrix

I am sure that some of you are wondering why I am using the term matrix. However, what you have to understand is that I am trying to make a highly complex spiritual principle practical to understand.

Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, every life has an origin and I believe that origin is divine and begins with eternity. You are birthed from eternity and into time to fulfill a unique purpose and assignment in your lifetime and generation.

The matrix is simply the portal or vehicle that brings something out of the invisible realm and into tangible form. The problem with much of the teaching today is that it excludes the matrix. We are told to believe that success is instantaneous and overnight.

Nobody talks about how a dream progresses through stages beginning with visualization and ultimately culminating in manifestation. Without a matrix or portal then everything that you attempt to birth and build will be illegal.

The matrix not only makes you legal but it gives you the authority and power to function as the greatest expression of who you were created to be. 

Every matrix has an incubation process

While many people admire and respect me today, I remember a time when nobody knew who I was or the significance of my message. How did I get to where I am today? I got here through an incubation process.

In other words, everything that has been destined for your life is incubating and awaiting a set time of manifestation. The problem is that most people live their entire lives idle and never initiate the incubation process.

What do I meany by that? Most people are living reckless and very few people are living intentionally. I am amazed at the number of people I have conversations with that have no vision, goals or strategies for their lives. They show great promise and they have undeniable potential.

However, without development they will die with their dreams still in them.

Everything that has been destined for your life must be incubated and converted to become realities born to time. 

“Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin to build.” – Robert Collier

You must give expression to that which is not yet born to time

When you think about a matrix or a prophetic incubation process, you have to understand that potential is often unrealized and untapped. In other words, your potential is in raw form and your potential cannot serve you as long as it is untapped.

The thing that makes me valuable is that I have the ability to convert potential into power. I have done it in my own life and I have empowered leaders around the world to do the same. How do you convert potential into power?

First, it is important to note that you have to perceive potential. If you cannot perceive your potential then you can never cultivate your potential. In addition, you must take the time to cultivate your potential. We often get excited about our capabilities; however, we never expand our capacity in order to realize our greatest potential.

In other words, the strength of your potential is only discovered through your willingness to stretch. The more we are challenged the more we are empowered to expand our capacity for greatness. Most of all, you must begin to express your potential. The expression of potential is different for every person.

For example, the expression of my potential is best demonstrated through the thoughts, ideas, products, services, books, etc.

For another person the expression of potential may look like a screenplay, artwork, sports, scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, etc.

Regardless of the form of expression, I know that you will live empty and unfulfilled until you make the decision to express your potential. The expression of your potential gives voice to your dreams, life to your vision, significance to your moments and activates your true power.

You must manifest your greatness

As a revolutionary thinker and leader, my work has impacted people around the world. I am grateful that my life is a source of empowerment to so many people. However, before anyone could ever benefit from my life, I had to make a non-negotiable decision to become who I was born to be.

I wish I could tell you that this journey is easy and that you will get there overnight. However, in a world that celebrates us for doing we are often criticized for being. As a result, I wasted a lot of time trying to be who other people wanted me to be instead of being who I was born to be.

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity. It is through our bravery to be vulnerable that we ultimately manifest our greatness. We do not bless the world by being a duplicate. We bless the world when we honor our difference. When you honor your difference you honor your potential.

Ultimately, your difference is how you manifest your greatness.

When you present anything but your authentic self to the world, you are playing small and you are robbing the world of your significance. Manifesting your greatness requires you to master your gifts.

Continue Reading

Success Advice

Here’s a Young Man’s Antidote for the Uncertainty of the Modern World

Why do a lot of young guys lack confidence in today’s world? 

Published

on

How to boost your confidence
Image Credit: Midjourney

We all have been told that confidence is a key factor in achieving success and happiness in life. But what is it exactly? (more…)

Continue Reading

Success Advice

Toxic Leadership: 5 Ways to Identify a Bad Leader

if you have a leader who displays any of the toxic traits, it’s time to move on to greener pastures.

Published

on

Toxic leadership
Image Credit: Midjourney

Let’s be honest, we’ve all crossed paths with a toxic leader in our careers at some point. Unfortunately, while some toxic leaders don’t even bother to hide their behaviour, some know very well how to conceal their true selves behind a strong-built facade. The latter is the most dangerous of the two. (more…)

Continue Reading

Trending