Missoula-Public-Speaking-Tips

Advice On How To Deliver A Successful Public Speech

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There a literally millions of people all around the world that have benefited from a membership in a Toastmasters club, and we trust that you will also consider visiting our club and joining. Visit our site at Shootin The Bull

You will find that Toastmasters is a wonderful place to not just learn to speak but to also make friends and meet new people. As one of the top Networking Organizations in the world it is a great place to meet other professionals and local people that want to become better speakers. Also you will find that Toastmasters supportive atmosphere assists even further in making new friends easily. I have met many people through Toastmasters, including many people I might not have otherwise had the chance to meet.

Join Us any Tuesday at Noon -Lunch Time for a 1 hour get together at the Elk Foundation on Grant Creek. Shootin' The Bull Toastmasters Club
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Public speaking is something most people try to avoid and even dread. At times in my life, I have found myself having to deliver a speech and therefore I needed to learn the best way of doing this. In this article, I write about what I learnt from reading many books about public speaking, advice which has helped me to successfully deliver these speeches.

Many people get very nervous before and during their presentation or speech. This can have a negative affect on our breathing and can leave us out of breath. When you feel nervous it is a good idea to remember to take regular breaths when talking. In my opinion you should be looking to breath every six to eight words. The nerves will make our muscles contract and can make your chest feel really tight. This is a natural reaction and it is a good idea to take a few deep breaths before starting your talk to help you to relax.

When you start your speech, I would ensure that you have a focal point in the room, which can act to give you inspiration. This could be a picture at the back of the room or a window. At times you may lose your focus and may forget what you want to say. This focal point can help to get you back on track.

I try not to look at the eyes of the people in the audience when I give a public speech, as this can put me off. I want them to think that I am though, as it can be a sign of nerves if they think that I am not able to. What I tend to do is to look at an area on their forehead which obviously is not their eyes but which has the effect that I am still looking at them etc.

Even though I do plan what I am going to say, I do not plan it word for word. Instead I write down keywords or key subjects on paper which I keep in my pocket in case I need to look at it. This then ensures I do not forget what I want to say and also allows me to ad lib. The speech will also hopefully now not sound so robotic and boring as it might have if I had memorised it word for word.

I always like to start off the public speech with a short joke, which can then act as an ice breaker. I remember a speech I gave a few years ago, it was my last day at the company where I worked. The people in the office had put to a collection and had bought me some leaving presents. I then had to say a few words of thanks to them. I knew many weeks in advance that I would have to give this speech and I have to say it did cause me quite a bit of stress.

The speech itself would only have to last for about ten minutes and would be in front of around fifty people. This was how I started the talk, I would like to thank everybody who has put to the collection, and anybody who did not put, I will see you outside later. This is quite a pathetic joke however a couple of people did laugh. This gave me a bit of extra confidence and helped to relax me.

I also advise people to talk a bit slower than they normally do when they have to deliver a public speech. This has helped me tremendously over the years.

I hope this article helps you to deliver a quality public speech.

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Successful Transitions for your Presentation

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Having a smoothly flowing presentation relies on having successful transitions as you proceed from point to point. Even your transitions do need some level of planning. As your audience processes the information you present in their minds, jerky transitions become hard to follow and comprehend. You could potentially lose your audience in a transition without even realizing it and by the time they catch up to you, they'll have missed 2/3 of the next point you're trying to make. Here are some examples you can easily implement into your presentation to make it a success!

- Use bridge words or phrases. These are words like "finally", "however", "in addition", "moreover" and "meanwhile". This bridge helps your audience to stay connected with your message. These words or phrases represent linkages between the points you make.

- Use the same word or idea twice. You can say, "A similar idea is that..." or "this is what people see... this is what people think...".

- Ask a question. Engage your audience and emphasize the points you are trying to make. "Was there ever a time when..." "How many of you..."

- Refer back to information previously stated in your presentation. "Remember when I told you earlier..."

- Review the points you'll be making or the point you've made. Itemize them one by one. You can say, "There are 5 important concepts to know..."

- Use a visual. Use a prop to finalize your point or even introduce the next point you are going to make. Insert a humorous cartoon or image for your audience to focus on.

- Use a pause. Give your audience a moment to think about what you just said. You can also introduce a dramatic pause for evoking emotions.

- Use physical movement or a change in the tone of your voice. Walk to different parts of the stage. Use different gestures or postures to emphasize what you mean. Change your tone of voice as you are speaking.

- Use testimonials or a personal story. Let your audience know what other people are saying about what you're talking about. Make your points more relatable by telling your audience how you or someone else handled the issue or problem.

One of the most common mistakes that professional speakers make is that they don't use transitions in their presentation. You could potentially lose your audience because they aren't processing your information as quickly as you want them to. Another common mistake is that the transitions used are too short. Transitions are processing times for your audience. It gives them a chance to catch up to where you are at in delivering your message. The last most common mistake made with using transitions are that the same transition is used over and over again in a presentation. Vary your transitions and your presentation become more interesting.

While only representing a small portion of your presentation, transitions are powerful tools you can use to keep your audience tuned in to what you have to say. If you're not seeing the success you'd like to see with your audience, consider working on improving your transitions.

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What Does the First Year of Professional Speaking Look Like?

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Unless you're already a celebrity, you'll have to work through building your professional speaking career from the ground up. This does mean work, but if the topics you plan to be speaking on are your passion, this will not be a chore to do! Also, depending upon how fast you are able to build connections and establish your reputation as a speaker will determine how fast you pass through this phase of career building.

The first phase of building your career is filled with getting the word out that you are available for hire as a professional speaker. You'll also gain experience as you speak for free. Yes, that's right - free. Your goal is build a database of clients and testimonials concerning your work before you hit the big time. One resource stated that you should plan on speaking for free for at least 200 hundred times to build a successful reputation and foundation of experience. The reason for all of this is that many speaker bureaus and meeting planners want speakers with experience and an established reputation in the field they're in. As of now, you are working on creating your future success!

Here are some things you can do as you begin your professional speaking career. 1) List the topics you can speak on. Join a social network like LinkedIn (known as the social network for professionals) or forum and list those topics there.

2) Write some articles on these topics and post them on the free article websites. You can also post articles on your own website and add them to social bookmark sites. Whoever reads your article will see your bio at the bottom of each article and you'll promote yourself as a speaker for these topics!

3) Get as many free speaking engagements as possible. Check with your local library or the Chamber of Commerce. Get feedback from your free speaking engagements and start compiling a list of these.

4) Take a professional picture of yourself. People want to feel connected to you and personalizing your website by adding your picture to it is just one of the ways. Additionally, you'll need a professional photo for your portfolio

5) If you're an expert in a trade, write articles for your industry's trade publications. Sometimes these publications will ask for a short (1-2 sentence bio) where you can list "professional speaker" as part of your career listing. One benefit is that you can also get paid writing.

6) Get online and create a blog or website about the topics that you cover. Utilize social networking to build relationships with potential clients as well as peers in your industry. Promote yourself as a professional speaker and a thought leader in your industry. 7) Add a tagline to your email signature. Whoever gets your emails will see that you are a professional speaker for hire.

8) Research the industry for pay rates and start developing a fee schedule for your speaking engagements. We mentioned earlier that you should expect to speak for free, however, speaking for free could easily turn into a paying job for you. What would you charge?

9) Create a demo video of a speaking event you've done. You can use clips from several of your speaking jobs (including the free ones). During this first phase, you're basically building your professional speaking portfolio. You'll need this portfolio to go after higher paying jobs with speaker bureaus and meeting planners. You're already working towards your future success!

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Join Us any Tuesday at Noon -Lunch Time for a 1 hour get together at the Elk Foundation on Grant Creek. We are the Lunchtime Missoula Toastmasters Club