Public speaking does not have to be complicated. Here are some tips to help you prepare for public speaking.
You don’t need to be perfect to succeed in speaking in public.
You do not need to be too witty and brilliant to be successful when you speak in public. Public speaking is about more than just that. It may look like it is, but it is not. You can be the average guy you are.
What is essential in speaking in public is giving your listeners something worth their time. If people leave after your speech with something of value, they will think of you as a successful speaker. They would consider your speech as something worth their time.
Deliver your main points.
You should put in as many facts and information as you can. But only emphasize three or four main points. You could talk about one central point.
It would be best if you remembered that what your listeners want from you is that you give them two or three key points that they can understand and would make a lot of difference. If you can structure the talks you have, lots of complexity will be removed.
Inject some humor but still practice humility.
While there are many other public speaking styles, humility and humor are some devices you could use to make your speech livelier and more entertaining to your listeners.
Just make sure you are comfortable being humorous and that the humor is appropriate for the occasion. For example, if you feel uncomfortable telling jokes, you should not use jokes that fall flat on your nose. Or, if you are speaking before a crowd of Americans of Asian descent, do not tell jokes about Chinese food or Oriental customs.
Humility in public speaking means standing before others and sharing your mistakes, human frailties, and weaknesses with them. If you show to other people that you are not afraid or ashamed to admit such things, you create a relaxed and intimate environment that will permit them to open up to you too.
Being humble in public also makes you more believable, more credible, and more respected, with your listeners relating to you easier. You are no longer the remote expert who is ahead of them but is one of them.
Check out Mike Acker's new book on Public Speaking: Speak with Confidence, published by WILEY.
A breakthrough to develop confidence in speaking, leadership, and life. A follow-up book to his best-selling book, Speak with No Fear.