public speaking advice please
jon_1uk
Posts: 674MI6 Agent
at the beginning of December I shall be talking to an number of people from work about my Cancer situation
as we are a Healthcare insurance company we are holding a mens health awareness week and i have volunteered to tell
my story from the start to my remission ..it needs to last 10 -15 mins and questions at the end.
Although i work in the same company as my" audience" i wont necessarily know them all.
any tips please?
Jon
as we are a Healthcare insurance company we are holding a mens health awareness week and i have volunteered to tell
my story from the start to my remission ..it needs to last 10 -15 mins and questions at the end.
Although i work in the same company as my" audience" i wont necessarily know them all.
any tips please?
Jon
"some men are coming to kill us, we're going to kill them first"
Comments
If you are better at improvising or learning it by heart you should still write something down, such as the key parts of your speech and what you would highlight if you wrote everything down. All of this will help you find where you are and avoid forgetting anything important in just a quick glance at the page.
Please use a test person to practise on if you can. Try reading it while he/she is in the next room preparing a meal or something. Audiences are rarely completely quiet or focused on the speaker. If the person hears you fine you are talking clearly and loudly enough. Read it later in front of the test person. Ask for feedback on your body language and the speech in general.
When you make the speech, make sure you look at the audience as often as you can. Not just the space where they are sitting, but at the individuals. Look at different people throughout the speech, not just the same persons. Props, jokes, anecdotes and illustrations are good. If you use presentation software make sure you don't just read the text on the screen, those are just talking points.
Good luck
https://www.extension.harvard.edu/professional-development/blog/10-tips-improving-your-public-speaking-skills
https://www.inc.com/brent-gleeson/20-tips-for-mastering-art-of-public-speaking.html
And try not to say 'ummm' and 'aahhh' if you get to a point when you're not sure what to say. Just pause, stay silent and get yourself back on track. Think 'The King's Speech' if you've seen the film - very good by the way. And as 24 said, maintain eye contact as much as possible - never look down to the ground.
Finally. you probably don't need to be told this but avoid coarse language at all costs. Even if you're emphasising a point, it is not necessary and will cheapen the presentation. Remember where you are and who you're talking to. You're not at the MCG bagging the umpires or Collingwood
It's up to you but if you feel inclined please post here to let us know how you get on.
Anyway I hope some of these tips help and good luck.
I also had a few people say that I went to fast. I bounced from one point to the next without giving people time to digest the previous one, so that left me feeling a little flat. But on the whole I would say it went pretty well. The positive feedback was very positive so i'll go with that and be mindful to take pauses inbetween points for next time.