Public speaking for normal people
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Public speaking for normal people
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Re: Public speaking for normal people
#2my 0,02 will be - do not overdose caffein before public speaking. one can of coke is enough before 30 mins speech.
if you have more you will rush your speech to much, you will sweat and fill strange because of heart rate
Re: Public speaking for normal people
#3> Embrace Your Ums
I strongly disagree. One of the things that you learn in Toastmasters is to control your tics (whether they be verbal - umms, ahhs, you knows, yeahs, huhs, uhhs or non-verbal - swinging arms, hands clenched in pockets, crossed arms, crossed legs, hands behind back, rocking back and forth, pacing without purpose). Each Toastmasters meeting actually has an 'Ah counter' that will tally your respective tics. After a few speeches, you learn to replace your ahhs/umms/you knows with simple pauses. Pauses are so much more effective than ahhing/umming. Silence is powerful. Umms/ahhs detract from your presentation because they cause people to focus more on your umms/ahhs than your message. PG and other important speakers can get away with them because people respect what they have to say, very highly. Toastmasters teaches you to move with purpose - which means standing fairly still - moving to emphasize a point. And to speak with purpose - not too rapid, not too slow - but with conviction and passion.
I highly recommend Toastmasters for learning public speaking. Clubs vary in variety, though - try before you join - by going as a guest several times. However, if you decide to do Toastmasters, do not join your corporate club - join a club where you have no co-workers present (having co-workers present will limit you because you will be in the standard work context - afraid to fail, afraid to mess up - and yes, afraid to umm and ahh your way through the first critical speeches you deliver)
Every year, Toastmasters has a speech competition. It starts from your local club to district to regional to national to the highest level, International. If you have a few minutes, take a look at some of the competing entries - they are, without exception, polished and powerful.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=toastmasters+cha...
Re: Public speaking for normal people
#4This is a great post: specific, original advice rooted in practical experience.
A useful and concise book on the topic is Scott Berkun's confessions of a public speaker.
Re: Public speaking for normal people
#5> Embrace Your Ums I strongly disagree. One of the things that you learn in Toastmasters is to control your tics (whether they be verbal - umms, ahhs, you knows, yeahs, huhs, uhhs or non-verbal - swinging arms, hands clenched in pockets, crossed arms, crossed legs, hands behind back, rocking back and forth, pacing without purpose). Each Toastmasters meeting actually has an 'Ah counter' that will tally your respective…
I understand where he is coming from. His emphasis seems to be about not controlling the speech, which works well for me. If I have something practiced or have a grading scheme that I am conscious of while speaking, the outcome is great or terrible. If I mess up a few times, I fall apart instead of picking up the pieces.
Advice like his has drastically reduced 'umms' as a by-product, as it is a byproduct of my nervousness. If one is giving enough talks that the umms are not a tick but a habit/crutch, then it is definitely something to be targeted.
tldr; I think his advice on umms is due to the 'normal people' aspect vs. public speaker.
Re: Public speaking for normal people
#6Best advice I can give: slow down.
Especially if you're nervous, a short time on stage can feel like an eternity so your immediate impulse is to talk quickly and fill every pause with speech. That's what's wrong with "uhhs," you tend to say "uhh" more than you normally would in conversation.
I had a professor who was a fantastic presenter and would pause frequently and for about 5-10 seconds to allow what he just said to "sink in." Then he'd smile and continue. Don't be afraid to do that. It's natural to pause and think about what you are going to say, even if you are giving a prepared speech.
Re: Public speaking for normal people
#7Best advice I can give: slow down. Especially if you're nervous, a short time on stage can feel like an eternity so your immediate impulse is to talk quickly and fill every pause with speech. That's what's wrong with "uhhs," you tend to say "uhh" more than you normally would in conversation. I had a professor who was a fantastic presenter and would pause frequently and for about 5-10 seconds to allow what he just sai…
Learned a great trick from my old boss who gave a lot of powerpoint-based presentations. He would frequently add a "black" slide (as in nothing on the slide, completely blank, just one big block colored in as darkly as possible - a good alternative is to hit the "b" key on your keyboard) when he wanted to people to stop looking at the deck and focus on him.
It was amazing how everyone's eyes would go straight to him when that slide came up - they had nothing else to look at, and he could make a strong point, knowing everyone was paying attention for the next 15-30 seconds.
Re: Public speaking for normal people
#8Best advice I can give: slow down. Especially if you're nervous, a short time on stage can feel like an eternity so your immediate impulse is to talk quickly and fill every pause with speech. That's what's wrong with "uhhs," you tend to say "uhh" more than you normally would in conversation. I had a professor who was a fantastic presenter and would pause frequently and for about 5-10 seconds to allow what he just sai…
I made a conscious effort to do that more on a recent talk that I gave, and I felt so much better with the results.
It's surprising just how difficult it is to force yourself to pause for even a few seconds, but the payoff in terms of your audience having an opportunity to understand what you've said is completely worth it.
Re: Public speaking for normal people
#9my 0,02 will be - do not overdose caffein before public speaking. one can of coke is enough before 30 mins speech. if you have more you will rush your speech to much, you will sweat and fill strange because of heart rate
I agree with you. I usually try to avoid coffee (or at least limit myself to decaf) which seems to help a lot. Unfortunatley, the downside is I usually get a headache which probably says a lot about my addition to caffeine.
Re: Public speaking for normal people
#10One other trick that someone gave me once when I was wandering all over the stage was to put on the ground something (maybe a dry erase marker) that I could put a foot on. For some reason, that really helps to keep you in one place and you don't even really notice the object while you are presenting.