Perfect Your Public-Speaking Skills by Dr. Tony Alessandra

1. Care-really care-about your subject.

Passion is the starting point of all good public speaking. Pick a subject that has an inordinate impact on you, a subject you'd like to share with others because you know, intensely, that they could benefit from your knowledge. Your enthusiasm will show through, and all the following pointers will come more easily.

Do not be one of those speakers of whom Churchill once said, "Before they get up, they do not know what they are going to say; when they are speaking, they do not know what they are saying; and when they have sat down, they do not know what they have said."

2. Be brief.

The best way to impress an audience is to finish early. "My father gave me this advice on speech making," said James Roosevelt, son of FDR: "Be sincere ... be brief ... be seated." Remember, in the electronic age, many people have the attention span of a flashcube. So be sure you know your Big Idea, hit it hard, hit it well, finish strong, and, for maximum impression, keep it short. The less opportunity you give your audience's minds to wander, the more they'll appreciate you and remember what you had to say.

3. Find out where the land mines are-and avoid them.

Find out who's spoken to the same group and ask them what worked and what they'd do differently. Do you need razzmatazz audiovisuals? Or is it a more cerebral group that'll just want the facts? Can the host be counted on to give a decent introduction? (If not, you might want to write one for him or her.)

4. Make use of memory joggers.

You can keep attention high and help people remember your mes-sage if you use several examples to transmit your mes-sage powerfully. Similarly, statistics, if used sparingly and presented simply, can add drama and credibility to your message. Comparisons can help your audience evaluate different options quickly and logically, and testimony, personal stories of credible people, can make your message more memorable and believable.

5. Bad visual aids are worse than none at all.

Your audience is sure to be impressed by your visual aids-but will it be a good impression? Visual aids, if well done, can help you appear confident, professional, and persuasive. But poorly done, they can contradict everything you've tried to accomplish with your words.

The most common mistake is putting too much information on one image. Each visual aid should focus on only one idea. Another common error is using the visual aid as a cue card and reading the information. Because the audience can read faster than you can talk, this is boring!

A third mistake is using the wrong type of visual aid. Flip charts and white boards are best with small, informal groups; overhead transparencies work well with medium-sized groups; and slides usually get the best response from large, formal audiences.

6. Drum the purpose of your talk into your brain.

Summarize the "why?"-the Big Idea-of your talk in one sentence, write it on a three-by-five card, and keep it in front of you as you prepare your speech. That'll keep you on track as you write and practice.

7. Rattle-proof yourself.

Eamon de Valera, an Irish political firebrand, was once arrested and jailed while giving a speech. Released after a year, he summoned a meeting in the same spot and began, "As I was saying when I was interrupted..."

That's an interruption you hopefully won't have to endure. But, sooner or later, you'll probably experience other unexpected events, such as a power failure, an earthquake, a breakdown of audiovisual gear, or a major disturbance-say, someone having a heart attack-in the audience. The key to retaining your poise is to know your presentation so well that you won't lose your concentration, even if everyone else does temporarily.

Once I was giving a speech to a large audience in a Florida hotel ballroom and the power went out-completely! There we all were, several hundred people and me, in total darkness. I just kept speaking as if nothing was amiss. After several minutes-and just as I was telling a tale about a character looking for "a sign from above," or something to that effect, the lights came on. The audience cheered wildly, as if I'd arranged the whole thing. And I, of course, breathed a huge sigh of relief. Score one for chutzpah!

8. Remember the pause that refreshes.

The sweet sound of silence, the power of the pause, can be artfully used in any speech. Pauses are not really empty spaces. Instead, they're opportunities for the audience to respond to your words with their own thoughts, images, and feelings.

Listeners react negatively when they feel as if they're being verbally machine-gunned. But pauses give them time to consider and digest what's being said-and give you the chance to call attention to your most interesting points.

If you naturally tend toward a rapid pace, insert written reminders into your speech to Pause or Slow Down. "The right word may be effective," Mark Twain said, "but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause."

9. Make light.

In all but the most grave of talks (such as the threat of nuclear war or the spread of AIDS), humor is vital. It can underline points, reduce tension, relieve pressure, and enhance persuasion. It takes humor to make a presentation complete.

But there's a wrong way and a right way to do it. Many speakers begin with a joke-and that may be reason alone not to do so. It may be better to save your humor until you've gotten the audience tuned in to who you are, what you sound like, and what you've got to say.

Some pointers about using humor:

* Keep your stories fresh and adjust details to fit the occasion and the audience. Susan RoAne, a keynote speaker and author of How to Work a Room, recommends the "AT&T" rule for choosing humor: Is it Appropriate? Is it Tasteful? And is it Timely?
* Select material that lends itself to telling. Leave out the "he said" or "she said." Instead, impersonate the characters talking to each other.
* Don't go overboard laughing at your own material, but do signal the audience that entertaining material is on the way by enjoying the telling, having a sparkle in your eye and an air of suppressed glee about you as you speak.
Rehearse ... and rehearse ... and rehearse.

10. Don't dawdle at the finish line.

Good speakers understand that the end is just as important-and maybe more so-as the beginning. This is your chance to sum up your best thoughts, words, and images and imprint them indelibly on the audience's collective brain.

Don't miss that opportunity by running beyond your time limit, or fumbling your final message. Know what you want to say, say it, and then say goodbye.

To Your Success,
UniqueGuidance Team