Speaking in Public — How To Talk Without Stressing Out
Does speaking in public intimidate you? You are not the only one. Many people think that it has to do with confidence, but there are a number of different things that play a role. There are many prolific public speakers who are able to control an audience with minimal hassle. Isaac Wright Jr., a man who was wrongfully accused and convicted of drug crimes and was given Life in prison, spent over seven years in prison before gaining his own freedom. Isaac is a prolific public speaker. He has talked about his experience and is even working on a book about his life. By applying some simple tips, you may well surprise yourself, and your peers. There is an orator in each of us, though we don’t know it.
First and foremost, you need to understand that the apprehension of speaking in public can be explained by the total absence of practice during your years of schooling, even if you went to the university or did a great school.
In the education system, “presentations” on the board are very rare in middle school, as in high school. And later, in post-graduate courses, presentations are held far and few in between. In other foreign school systems, on the other hand, oral language is highly valued and students learn oral expression skills that will be useful later, especially professionally. Here are some simple tips to help you speak in public without stressing out.
1. You are an excellent speaker without knowing it
When you are confident, at home, or having dinner with friends, you are unknowingly an excellent speaker! Normal: you are yourself and do not suffer the stress of “formal” speaking. Observe yourself in these moments: you tell stories, to convey an idea, to convey a message.
2. Sort through your ideas, not everything can be said
This is the main pitfall of speaking: to say too much, to want to say everything! Write down your ideas on a piece of paper. When you have found a dozen, be strict with yourself, and scratch in 7 out of 10! Only the three ideas that survive are to be kept and will form the skeleton of your speech. Many expert public speakers believe that this is important.
3. Do the opposite of what you learned in dissertation
Public speaking is the opposite of writing a dissertation. You are not asked to set the scene, make a plan, develop a first, a second, then a third part, then make a conclusion. No! Orally, it is necessary to pass on a message, a piece of information, and then another and for that, to use stories, examples, striking figures.
4. Find the right story to express what you have to say
The key to speaking in public is to find the right story, the good anecdote, and the good example, to get your message across. To be effective, your story must be close to the people you are talking to. Close in time, that is to say recent, or topical (yesterday, today, today, and right now). Close in the space, which is to say that it happens near you, or in an environment close to your audience (the company, the school, the city). Finally, emotionally close, that is to say, it must stage characters for whom we feel interested or affected: children, the elderly, and, as in advertising, pretty young women.
