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Success Advice

3 Effective Strategies To Deliver A Solid Public Speaking Performance

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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

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Success Advice

How to Alter Your Business Approach With Technological Advancements

Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner.

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altering business approach
Image Credit: Midjourney

Technology’s evolution has impacted everything, and business is no exception. Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner. Entrepreneurs unable to do so are being wiped out of the market.

There is no doubt that AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) have taken over the business world. These technological advancements are impacting decision-making, success percentages, and other entrepreneurial aspects.

Adapting to these developments is integral to business success. Let’s explore how you can accomplish these milestones.

Embed the strength of AI and ML.

AI has modified business operations in major ways. For instance, companies have employed bots for customer support. These bots go through an effective learning process via Machine Learning before being able to answer like humans.  

Bots can also perform detailed data analytics and make business moves with high success percentages.

ML is used more for the analysis of data chunks and generating successful predictions. This simply means that business owners do not have to worry about large-scale financial losses. 

In terms of deployment and usage, a reputed company like Netflix employs machine learning for decision-making.

Blockchain is increasing the count of business opportunities

Tampering of financial transactions is quite common and causes severe monetary damage to customers. With the rise of digital payments, this risk has increased. 

Blockchain is used to elevate your experience for monetary transfers. It combats penetrating events to extract confidential customer information. 

Most business sectors are using block chain but finance and supply chain management sections have a higher count. These two corporate sections have several monetary deposits and withdrawals taking place. 

In terms of percentage, approximately 72% and 5% of finance and supply chain firms have implemented block chain successfully.

Dedicate Yourself to Continuous Learning and Individual Development

You invest in learning some of the very important skills, including digital marketing, financial management, and how to gain customers as an entrepreneur.

You need to set up your knowledge base about doing business on Coursera and Udemy with the basics that are necessary for the business, building further by networking with experts through webinars.

Besides, Agile methodology will introduce elasticity to your company: this review and feedback system with further correction regularly will allow for enhancing efficiency and promptly reacting to the market.

Developing key skills to achieve goals

Running a business successfully is not only about having niche/domain knowledge. Business owners need to have communication / soft skills as well in addition to niche information.

Here are some key technical/domain-related areas that business owners should have a strong grip on.

Data Storage on Cloud: These days, companies do not store their data on physical servers. Therefore business owners should know how data is stored/edited/removed/updated via AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and other platforms.

Data Analysis/Interpretation Qualities: These days, data is as precious as gold. Business owners with data analysis abilities make correct predictions. As a result, their ventures grow in volume.

Development/Coding Knowledge

Programming knowledge gives business owners an edge whether the application is developed in-house or outsourced. It assists in getting updates deployed and handling application underperformance without getting professional support every time.

Hacking proof framework

There is no benefit of having an advanced automated system if can be penetrated. Successful business owners have above-average knowledge of cyber security and hacking attempts. They are able to choose top-notch anti-hacking software without much of an ambiguity.

Communication Abilities/Soft Skills

Here are some key communication qualities that business owners should have:

Communication/Conversation: Business owners should use to-the-point sentences in both written and oral communication.

Issue Resolution Abilities: Business owners should be able to drill down to problems and solve them. This is done successfully only if an entrepreneur has in-depth business domain knowledge.

Agile Implementations

It is mandatory for business owners to have knowledge of iterative/agile models. With such a competitive environment, it is impossible for business owners to succeed without adopting an agile framework.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

A productive business venture starts with a clear vision. The first factor making a business successful is the idea behind it. It helps with endless growth and combating competition successfully. Katherine Philips once mentioned that business goals are inevitable if goals are set concretely.

  • Goals should be based on smart achievements instead of complexity. Focus on the value that each one of them adds. 
  • Business objectives should not be vague. Key indicators should be constructed to measure the success/failure of each milestone.
  • Be realistic when setting goals. Do not aim at impossible milestones since they can be demotivating.
  • Milestones/goals need to be time-bound. Set a completion deadline for each one of them. 
  • Business goals should not be alien. Owners can think out of the box but not be obsolete / unrelated.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

Business owners cannot succeed without having a network. Some tips help in this case. Attend conferences and professional gatherings to connect with other entrepreneurs.
Here are some other related points business owners should pay attention to.

  • Attend meetings and conferences to stay updated with trends and meet business owners who already have well-set ventures. This helps in enhancing the learning curve of new / growing entrepreneurs.
  • Being a part of business communities/groups is very productive. When one shares opinions and discusses decision-making tactics, it helps in preventing errors and enhancing success rate.
  • Even the most experienced business owners have mentors as learning never stops. Take part in mentorship programs so there is an assurance that you are following the correct roadmap.

Conclusion

There is absolutely no doubt that business dimensions have evolved with technological advancements. Successful entrepreneurs have grabbed these changes in due course of time and continue to evolve. On the other hand, people following old paths and conventional steps fade out of competition. In a nutshell, keep an eye on the processes and practices you follow as these factors decide success rate.

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Success Advice

Understanding the Power of Yes and No: How to Create Boundaries For Success

These words have a significant impact on how our success unfolds

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Creating legal boundaries
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The two smallest yet most powerful words in life, “Yes” and “No,” have a big impact on our growth on both personal and professional levels. In addition to affecting the choices we make every day, these words have a significant impact on how our success unfolds. (more…)

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Motivation

From Couch Potato to Go-Getter: A Step-by-Step Motivation Plan for Everyone

By understanding what motivates you, you can turn your dreams into reality

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How to be motivated
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Are you tired of feeling like a couch potato? Do you want to transform your life and become a go-getter? You’re not alone! Many people struggle with motivation, but the good news is that change is possible. (more…)

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Success Advice

10 Micro Financial Habits for More Wealth and Peace of Mind

The World Economic Forum still reports that half of U.S. adults lack financial literacy

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micro financial habits
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You’ve heard about developing financial habits, but what about micro-financial habits? Micro habits are the tiny things you can do every day with minimal effort that, together, transform your future. (more…)

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