In class today, we discussed the topic of Public Speaking.
While many people think public speaking is standing up in front of an audience it
is also speaking in conversation. For class we were asked to watch a Ted Talk
about the seven deadly sins of speaking. Which are; Don’t gossip, avoid
judgement, ditch the negativity, quit complaining, stop making excuses, don’t exaggerate
and ditch the dogma. Often times these sins come up in everyday conversations
and when we notice how often others use them we find ourselves doing the same.
All sins build on one another and need to be avoid if you want someone to
listen to you. For me personally I find myself struggling with public speaking
in new situations but found a Forbes Article, “12 Tips for Public Speaking”,
that I found helpful to become a better public speaker.
The 12 tips are;
1. Speak
with an intent to move people to action
2. Start
with a “grabber”
3. Structure
your material in three sections
4. Practice.
Practice
5. Know
the audience
6. Know
the setup
7. Relax
8. Visualize
yourself successful
9. Pauses.
10. Don’t
apologize
11. Smile
12. Get experience
These tips are all something we have heard before but can be
beneficial when used correctly. Having an effective grabber can be as simple as
a statistic or story that people can relate to. Using an effective grabber
draws the attention of the audience and moves the topic to the forefront of
their mind. Structing material into a grabber, middle, and close helps to ensure
that information is retained. The middle is where majority of the information
is, you don’t want to introduce a new topic at the end of a presentation
because it can leave the audience on edge. Pauses are an important aspect because
it helps to give the information in a way the audience can understand. If you
rush through information key points can get lost and audience will have a hard
time following.
This article and also presenting in class have helped me to
work on my presentation skills and public speaking. Being a good public
speaking can often times establish a good reputation for oneself and also help
you to be remembered. Giving a presentation to a group of executives at a company
can be stressful but if done successfully can go a long way.