Speak to a Group
When you're asked to speak to a group, are you nervous, sweaty, or panicky? Equip yourself to pass on your experience or skills to others, to better the world.
Contents
Steps
- Define what you have been asked to speak on. Tell yourself you have to do this, but it isn't so much a requirement as it is a chance to have fun.
- Consider how you feel about it. Are you nervous? Terrified? Totally calm? Indifferent? Whatever emotion you're feeling will affect the quality of your speech. This is why it is important to clam yourself and set those emotions aside.
- Concentrate on your message. You will develop more confidence as you do this, and less confident when concentrating on "how you feel" in this new situation. If you are too fearful of presenting it, then you will not be able to get your message across to the group effectively.
- Be yourself. An invitation to speak indicates that your message is meaningful to your audience. Do not try to be someone you're not and speak words that are not yours or use an unnatural tone. Be yourself, smile and have confidence in yourself.
- Practice, or join Toastmasters or Rostrum to become more confident and comfortable with presenting and talking to a group. This is if you have time, of course. If not, simply practice in front of a mirror, with family members and friends. The mirror will help you learn how to relax yourself, and a live practice audience will tell you how to improve, if necessary.
- Keep a mental list of to-do's. Do not focus on what not to do. That would be like playing a ball game and watching for where the ball isn't. Think about all the things you are supposed to do. Certain websites can help you find tips on public speaking.[[1]]
- Confidence does not happen overnight. From time to time things happen to make you feel less confident. It's about being aware of this and getting back on the task of delivering the message as best you can. This awareness will come with practice and allow you to become a better speaker.
- Eye contact with the audience is a scary thing. However, there are some tricks that can help you avoid the nerves associated with looking out over the audience.
- Have you ever noticed how a lot of people will stand at a podium if they're giving speeches and some will be grasping it tightly? It provides a small sense of security while you're in the spotlight. Whether you are holding piece of paper, the podium or a book. Practice will make this less noticeable and will look more relaxed to the audience. The more relaxed you appear, the easier it is for the audience to become engaged in your topic.
- Join a speech institution. Toastmasters, for example, is a well-recognized group where you can learn speech skills. Look up local speech groups in your phone book or internet. Find one that suits your personality the best. These groups can make a huge difference in your speech capabilities.
Tips
- There are three main concerns in order of concern among new presenters, and three simple answers.
- Don't know what to say? Speak about what you know.
- Don't know how to say it? Speak as you would normally to an individual but practice in a group setting.
- What if I say the wrong thing? Don't be critical of anyone ever, no matter how damning the evidence, until proven.
- If you're giving a speech for school, ask your teacher/professor if you can choose your own topic. That way, you can talk about something you are familiar with, and the speech will go over much more smoothly.
- Be confident, it will just be like talking to a big group of friends.
- Know your audience. Ask as much as you can about your target audience and what they expect or need to hear from you. Knowing what kind of persons will be listening to you you're able to research and prepare your speech and tailor it to better relate to them. You would catch their interest when the audience can relate to your topic. Even if they have never heard anything about your topic/ expertise you can captivate them on your introductory statement.
Warnings
- If you make a mistake, don't freeze, panic, and look around to see if anyone heard. If you do, it will become more obvious than ever that you made a mistake. Simply gloss over your error and continue.
- Don't look down at your notes. If you look down at your notes the entire speech, the listeners might think that you are a public reader instead of a public speaker. This can be hard for first-time speakers, because everyone in the crowd will seem to be giving you a death stare. Just relax and know that you're the one speaking and they're the ones who have to listen.
- Try not to be nervous as this can look unprofessional. Try taking deep breaths and try to relax.
