Introduction to Public Speaking
chodounsky.net
chodounsky.net
- You have to understand the topic you will be talking about. While this may seem very straightforward it's very easy to overlook some key things. The better you personally understand (and believe in) things you are talking about, the better talk you will give
- Try not to eat too much before you have a talk. Even if you don't feel nervous or have some experience, your body could give you a hard time if you're too full
- Before starting talking, while at the microphone/stage, take few deep breaths and look around your audience. Find a friendly and smile to him/her. It will eat up a lot of stress for you.
- Drop in a joke or two in some non-critical parts of your speech. Especially if something went not as you expected (demo went bad, you forgot something or tripped over something). It can do wonders to your stress levels and makes the audience more comfortable. There's a caveat though: too much jokes and you won't achieve your goal since people will remember only the jokes, not the core of your talk.
- Have eye contact with people you are talking too. There is nothing more boring than listening to someone who always looks in his notes and never on his audience.
- Make sure everyone hears and understands you. Speak louder than you normally would. If you use a microphone, have it 10-20 cm from your mouth, at height of your chin. Listen to previous tip and occasionally scan the audience for reactions that would suggest that they can't hear you well. If that's the case - raise your voice levels.
Source: As a JW I gave hundreds of talks in my life, some worse than others, until I found the proper way to do it. I still don't consider myself as a pro in this topic, though.
How to Win Friends and Influence People http://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/06...
and Romancing the Room http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Room-Engage-Audience-Success....
Both of these definitely helped a lot with my public speaking.