Top 5 Mistakes That Prevent Effective Public Speaking
Being more effective in public speaking is some that anyone can achieve if they want to. But most people think about what can go wrong. It is this negative thinking that can lead to the mistakes described below.
Here are my top 5 mistakes that prevent effective public speaking and how to avoid them:
1. They think it’s about them
People are focused on themselves and how they feel. Hovever, it is the audience that is most important in effective public speaking. It is what the audience wants and how the speech impacts them that is the true measure of success.
Different audiences have different needs and expectations. Determine the make up of the audience and their wants and develop a speech that meets their requirements.
2. Make It Up On The Night (or Day)
When the speaker has not properly prepared or practiced their speech, it is normally poor. Either the content is poor or the delivery is poor, or both are poor.
By taking the time to prepare their speech and practice thoroughly, a speaker develops their self confidence and their ability to speak with ease to the audience. It is through this process that many speakers appear natural and at ease when speaking in public. Even many so-called impromptu speeches have been put together this way either in part or in whole.
3. PowerPoint Slides With Too Much Text
This is a very common mistake and I am sure most of us have either been in the audience or even been the presenter. PowerPoint is a great visual aid to enhance a speech but is not a substitute for the spoken word.
Keep the text on a PowerPoint slide to less than 40 words. Additionally, the number of slides should also be kept to a minimum to avoid the feeling that the presentation is going on and on.
4. Acting As If The Audience Is Not There
When the speaker either reads their speech word for word or looks down the whole time avoiding eye contact with the audience, it makes it very difficult to project ideas to the audience, who will start to get bored and feel ignored.
A speech is language in action. The audience want to see you. You need to look up and meet their gaze. This can be difficult at first, but you will soon realize that there was nothing to be afraid of.
5. Going On For Too Long
Interestingly some speakers don’t want to start speaking, but once they have started, it appears they cannot stop. Speeches are quickly criticized if they go on too long.
As a rule of thumb keep the speech brief and to the point – like a short novel – long enough to tell the story but short enough to leave the audience wanting more.
With a little effort these mistakes can easily be avoided. Even if they aren’t, none of them are fatal or cannot be learnt from. However, there is a bigger mistake, not mentioned above, that of not getting started. It is only through taking action that mistakes can be learnt from and for a prospective speaker to develop the skills of effective public speaking.
To claim your free course on effective public speaking and speak with ease to any size audience visit http://www.ArtOfGreatSpeaking.com
Article from articlesbase.com
Keys to Effective Public Speaking http://j.mp/f8kFvG – by chrisrnation (Chris Nation)
