Janet Schlarbaum Public Speaking Tips

Improve Your Public Speaking Skills

Janet Schlarbaum Improvement By Tanner Larsson

Public speaking is simply the act of getting up in front of people and talking about a subject. As easy as it may seem, there are important skills that are required in order to keep the audience’s attention while not straying too far from the topic at hand. Developing these skills is vital to becoming a good public speaker.

When speaking in public, it is important not to be afraid of making mistakes. Worrying about forgetting a line or not following a prewritten speech will only make you more nervous from the get go and make it more likely that you will indeed make a mistake. Making mistakes is human and understandable to the audience creating a sense of empathy. It is important to make a natural recovery from mistakes and not get down on yourself for “screwing up.”

Good public speakers usually always use humor in their presentations. Telling jokes can often be good way of “breaking the ice” with the audience. However, if joke telling is not your forte then it is best to avoid doing so. Humor can be used subtly and a willingness to poke fun at yourself makes you appear more human to the audience. Storytelling can be a useful tool for a public speaker. By relating information from the presentation to your own life, you make your topic feel more real and more applicable to everyday living.

A skillful use of the public speaking environment is quite important as well. It is important not to seem rigid when giving a presentation. You should use the space that is available and move around a bit to make you seem more comfortable with what you are speaking about. In confined spaces, public speakers should use more body language.

An appropriate use of notes is also essential when speaking in public. It is important not to read during your presentation and to only use notes as an outline and as a last resort in case you forget some information. Also, visual aids should be used to liven the presentation and in turn make it flow better.