PUBLIC SPEAKING: 112 A to Z Tips You Can Use Right Now

AUDIENCE

1. Know who your audience is so that you use the right language when you speak.
2. Know what your audience does so you customize your message to suit their job title or profession.
3. Know why your audience is there so you can decide if your speech is meant to inform, educate, entertain, persuade or inspire.
4. Know how much time your audience has so you can prepare a message to fit the allocated time.
5. Smile at your audience when you get on the stage and before you begin speaking.
6. Ask your audience questions about topics that are relevant to them.
7. Look for feedback from the audience while you are speaking.
8. Thank your audience at the end of your speech and before the question and answer session begins.

BEGIN

9. Observe skilled public speakers and note the reactions they get from their audiences before you begin speaking in public.
10.To begin speaking in public, start by sitting in the front when you listen to others speak in public.
11.To begin speaking in public, be the first to ask questions when you listen to others speak in public.
12.Get rid of your notes when you become comfortable with asking questions.
13.Volunteer to speak when you begin learning how to speak in public.

CONFIDENCE

14.Get coaching if you want to develop confidence in public speaking.
15.Repeat positive affirmations if you want to develop confidence in public speaking.
16.Talk about what you know to develop confidence in public speaking.

DESIRE

17. See yourself succeeding on stage if you want to develop your desire for better public speaking.
18.Get training if you want to develop your desire for better public speaking.
19.Learn from the best public speakers if you want to develop your desire for better public speaking.
20.Volunteer to emcee events for your family and friends if you want to develop your desire for better public speaking.
21.Volunteer to emcee events at work if you want to develop your desire for better public speaking.

ENGAGE

22. Smile at your audience when you get on the stage to engage them.
23.Look at your audience while you are speaking so you can engage them.
24.Engage your audience by responding to feedback to make your communication a two-way affair.
25.End your speech early so you can engage audience members in the question and answer session.

FEAR

26. Acknowledge your fear of failure in public speaking – a lot more people than you think experience that same fear too.
27.Calm your mind by repeating affirmations to reduce your fear of failure in public speaking.
28.Calm your mind by praying to God to reduce your fear of failure in public speaking.
29.Drink room temperature water to hydrate your voice and reduce your fear of failure in public speaking.
30. Practice vocal exercises to relax your voice and reduce your fear of failure in public speaking.
31.Only speak about what you know to reduce your fear of failure in public speaking.
32. Practice often to control your fear of failure in public speaking.
33. Stay away from people who demotivate you to reduce your fear of failure in public speaking.

GRATITUDE

34.Be grateful that you have decided to develop your skill in public speaking.
35.Be grateful when you are given an opportunity to speak in public.
36.Express your gratitude briefly at the beginning of your speech.
37.Be grateful for the pauses in your speech.
38.End your speech by expressing gratitude to your audience before you take questions from them.

HITCHES

39. Stay calm when you experience a hitch like a power cut.
40. Poor sound is a major public speaking hitch – make sure you arrive early and test the microphone and public address system.
41.Hecklers can be a hitch – deal with them politely but firmly.

INTERACT

42.Get to the venue early so you can interact with audience members.
43.Look at your audience and smile to improve interaction.
44.Involve audience members to improve interaction with them.
45. Seek feedback from audience members to improve interaction.

JOKES

46.You don’t need jokes to be entertaining – a smile at the right time can achieve that effect.
47.A humorous observation that makes a relevant point in your speech will work better than a joke.
48.Beware of making jokes about politics, sex, religion and ethnicity.
49.If you must make a joke, poke fun at yourself and only to make a relevant point.

KINDNESS

50. Show kind to yourself by preparing in good time for your speech.
51.Be kind to yourself by rehearsing sufficiently for your speech.
52. Show kindness to your audience by speaking briefly if you are scheduled before or after a lunch break.
53.Be kind to yourself by not criticizing yourself excessively when you review your public speaking performances.

LEARN

54.Learn to become a better public speaker by watching online videos, reading articles and taking online courses.
55.Learn to become a better public speaker by observing great speakers, reading communication books, joining Toastmasters and getting trained by professional coaches.

MISTAKES

56.Don’t make the mistake of trying to memorize an entire speech – use notes to help you remember your points.
57.Don’t make the mistake of trying to memorize an entire speech – use stories to help you remember your points.
58.Don’t make the mistake of reading an entire speech without looking up - eye contact improves communication.
59.Don’t make the mistake of apologizing for a perceived error – the audience members may not even have noticed it.

NO

60. Say no to chilled water before speaking in public.
61. Say no to alcohol before speaking in public.
62. Say no to milk products before speaking in public.
63. Say no to a heavy meal before speaking in public.
64. Say no marijuana before speaking in public.
65. Say no to a boring speech.
66. Say no to speaking for longer than you have been scheduled.
67. Say no to a speech if you don’t know what you are talking about.

OVER-PREPARE

68.Over-prepare for your speech by finding out all you can about your audience.
69.Over-prepare for your speech by rehearsing your opening remarks until you can deliver them flawlessly.
70.Over-prepare for your speech by rehearsing your closing remarks until you can deliver them flawlessly.
71.Over-prepare by practicing your speech over and over, making sure you record it on your phone until you are happy with every bit of it.

PAUSE

72. Pause before accepting to speak in public.
73. Pause before speaking when you get on the podium.
74. Pause when you ask rhetorical questions.
75. Pause when you finish making a point and you want to make a new point.
76. Pause before you answer questions.

QUESTIONS

77.Ask yourself five questions every speech must answer: how to inform, how to educate, how to entertain, how to persuade and how to
inspire?
78.To inform, your speech must include facts, figures and examples.
79.To educate, your speech must show audience members how to do something.
80.To entertain, your speech must make audience members smile and laugh.
81.To persuade, your speech must convince audience members to take a definite position.
82.To inspire, your speech must move audience members.

READ

83.To be a better public speaker, read yourself thoroughly – know your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.
84.To be a better public speaker, read your audience – gauge their mood and respond to their feedback.
85.To be a better public speaker, read good books carefully.

SPEED

86.Control your speaking speed by deciding to slow down.
87. Slow down by taking a deep breath before speaking.
88. Slow your speaking down when you are in a large venue.
89. Slow your speaking down when you are outdoors.
90. Serious speakers speak slowly.

TRAINING

91.Take control of your training by reading all you can on public speaking.
92.Take control of your training by learning from online videos on public speaking.
93.Take control of your training by signing up for a public speaking course.
94.Take control of your training by hiring for a coach.

UNDERESTIMATE

95.Don’t underestimate the preparation needed to make a short speech.
96.Don’t underestimate how much preparation you need to speak to young audiences.
97.Don’t underestimate how much preparation you need to address a small audience.

VOICE

98.Your genes largely decide the sound of your voice.
99.Be careful about comparing your voice with another person’s voice.
100. Your message is more important than your voice.

WORDS

101. Read good books carefully to increase the number of words you know.
102. Know how to express an idea using a variety of words.
103. Don’t use a big word when a small one will do.
104. Get rid of unnecessary words like “um” “er” and “ah”.

XEROSTOMIA

105. Xerostomia is the condition of having a dry mouth.
106. Avoid salted peanuts before speaking in public – you may get a dry mouth and that could affect the quality of your voice.

YOU

107. You don’t need to change your personality to become a better public speaker.
108. Use your unique knowledge to help you become a better public speaker.
109. Use your unique experiences to help you become a better public speaker.

ZONE

110. Affirmations and visualization can put your mind in the right zone for better public speaking.
111. The space you speak in is your zone – make sure you make full use of it by looking around when you make your speech.
112. Stay within your time zone when you speak in public – you don’t have to use up all of your time, or worse, speak for longer than
scheduled.

Need coaching to speak better in public? Email coaching@kafui-dey.com for information about my individual and group coaching programs.