How to Prepare for Public Speaking

April 20, 2018

No need to say that for many people it is a real nightmare to speak for public. But public speaking is just a matter of practice. Prepare and visualise all your speech beforehand. Control yourself and transmit positive energy.

1. Know Your Audience

In public speaking, you need to keep people interested. Knowing the people you will be talking in front of makes your life easier. You need to know what language and slang to use, since talking to young or more mature audience is very different. Show them that you care, and share their frustrations and problems; maybe you’ve already experienced them in the past or have friends you helped before.

2. Prepare Attention Grabber

As a great and interesting speaker you need to grab attention of the public from the beginning. Introduce yourself first. People love to hear about successful people, and admire their achievements. Prepare questions to involve the audience. Like, ‘Did you ever..??’ Think about stories and situations from real life. Of course, no need to say, that these stories should match the topic you are speaking about. Be different for people to remember you and your story.

3. Decide on Structure

Make it as much simple as possible. What I usually do is creating a process. Most of my speaking is related to business, so, all you have to do is to visualize the business process. Give details, breakdown, steps one by one. Find good videos on youtube for each section. Ask questions, make the audience brainstorm about the videos. What have they liked most? What have they disliked? Prepare cases, i.e. if you are talking about Value Proposition, create forms, so audience can prepare their own value proposition, and then share.

4. ‘Keyword’ Connection

Prepare points for yourself. I prefer to have a ‘Keyword’ connection with every slide or section. It will make your life much easier. If you prepared a story for a slide, link it with the secret word to remind you about the details.

5. Visuals

‘More visuals, less words’ I would say. People remember what you communicate 79% more efficient if it’s a visual or a photo. Don’t be afraid to use cartoons or funny pictures. You sometimes need some fresh air especially when it comes to business and education.

6. Communicate Energy

Smiling is important. If you can, meet people before the session, shake hands, introduce yourself. Make people feel the personal connection with you. Look at the audience while you are talking, because you are addressing them. Try to be calm, make your voice transmit confidence and professionalism. People should feel your enthusiasm and positiveness.

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