Missoula-Public-Speaking-Tips

Achieving Success in Professional Speaking

Reason To Join A Missoula Toastmasters Club -

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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The real success of every presentation is leaving your audience with something of value. What do they get out of spending time in your presentation? Many people believe that they need natural brilliance in speaking well and presenting well. The believe that they need to be polished, smart, witty and charming all before they actually start to build a speech. Those attributes can come naturally, but most often, they come as a result of passion, knowledge and practice of the speaker's material.

One of the most important factors in having a successful presentation is serving the needs of your audience. Going back to the idea that you need to leave your audience with something of value, caring for your audience's needs doesn't require perfection. You can make mistakes with speaking and it's going to be okay. The projector equipment can fail and it's still going to be okay. You don't have to include humor in order to be a success. With that in mind, real perfection is more like being successful at reaching your audience.

Give your audience two or three gold nuggets of information. No one expects you to be a walking encyclopedia concerning your subject matter. No one expects you to speak for hours on end about your topic. It's too much for you and for your audience to handle. Find two or three heavy hitting points to make and work with those points so that they become exciting to hear.

To give your audience something of value, focus on them not on you. Telling your personal testimony is great, but eventually during your presentation, you've got to find a way to relate your presentation back to your audience. One rule of thumb concerning this area is to use 10 "you's" for every one "I". That means you'll talk less about yourself and talk more about your audience.

Realize you don't have to control every situation in your audience. You don't have to emerge as the victor over negative audience members. The audio/video equipment does not have to be perfectly functioning. You simply don't have enough time to combat situations in your audiences (I.e. - like them falling asleep, talking or cell phones ringing) and still communicate your message effectively. Remember that your whole goal is to give your audience something of value.

Give your audience something of value by becoming their friend. Sometimes you may need to stop thinking of yourself as a professional speaker and start thinking of yourself a close personal friend of the audience member. You'll teach them something and give them advice. You'll sound more natural in our speech and you'll be more relatable to your audience. People often associate those on stage as automatically having knowledge and wisdom on the topic covered. While this thought is great to establish you as a leader, the points you make in your presentation may be better received if you came across from a more personal standpoint.

Your whole goal as a professional speaker is to leave your audience with something of value. This means creating a solid bond between your audience and your material. This means you think about the needs of your audience. Give your audience something of value today!

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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

Advice On How To Deliver A Successful Public Speech

Reason To Join A Missoula Toastmasters Club -

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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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

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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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