Public Speaking Tips - So you 'wanna' Communicate Effectively?

Depending on your line of work, you may well be public speaking. As a Salvation Army Minister, I am constantly speaking publicly, whether it is preaching a sermon, leading a commemorative service, being the MC of a fundraiser or sharing the vision to a bunch of leaders. Effective communication is vital in every instance.

If you value the importance of good outcomes when you are speaking, then you value learning to communicate more effectively.

Here are some tips of public speaking.

Begin Confidently

I remember reading Dale Carnegie mentioning this in his book on public speaking. If you have lacked preparation or are feeling nervous, try not to stand up and say, ‘Ahh, umm... I haven’t had much sleep trying to put my thoughts together...’ What does this achieve anyway? People literally slump back in their chairs and begin to consider whether they will even listen to the next part of what you have to say. You may not feel confident, but act yourself into feeling!

Finish Strong and Actually Finish

An old preacher in front of a congregation used to use the phrase, ‘And now in conclusion...’ The problem was, it was not a conclusion! It was another point! He would then ramble for another 5 minutes! Land the plane I tell you!!

If it is appropriate sum up the points you have made and sit down. Sometimes, mirroring the first couple of sentences you began with, to conclude with, is a popular technique. Plan beforehand to finish strong, and then... finish!

Know your Audience/Demographic

Whether you are a Christian or not, you must hand it to Jesus Christ of Nazareth, for his capacity to inspire a crowd, whether small or large, with content that challenged his listeners. He would use agricultural language to communicate to farmers, fishing lingo to speak to fishermen. He would inspire scores of people through his capacity to engage with his listeners.

You must know your audience. You speak differently to a group of teenagers than to a group of business executives. You speak differently to Baby Boomers than you do to Generation X.

Understand the demographic, and know a little of your audience before public speaking.

Understand the Event

Are you called to motivate and inspire or teach and inform? Are you meant to be reflective and contemplative or are you called to rouse the crowd? See, a funeral is different to a wedding. Being the MC of a large Christmas event is different to trying to convince a bunch of investors to lay down the money.

The reason I mention this, is because some people do not get it. Maybe you do, and that’s great. I have seen too many people speak at weddings as if they’re at a funeral. You know what I am saying, right? Understand the event, and speak accordingly.

 If the event or moment calls for you to inspire people, then INSPIRE people! Get them excited! Help them believe in the cause you are communicating about! Speak with conviction and passion about the topic!

Stop Fiddling or Repeating Words Unnecessarily

If you are unsure whether you fidget while public speaking, the best options are to either have someone give you positive, yet honest feedback, or film yourself and watch it back.

I have been known to repeat words like, ‘You know?’ My wife is known to fidget with the music stand (which is holding her notes). Maybe you are exempt from this category, but many are not. You actually need to do two things. Firstly understand whether you fit this category or not, and pinpoint what you need to work on. Then secondly, which is the most difficult, is you need to become aware of it WHILE you are speaking the next time. Then while you are considering what to say next in your speech/message, you need to make a concerted effort to stop doing what you just realized you were doing! Try not to be too frazzled at this point, but simply become AWARE of your fidgeting or your repetitious words WHILE you are speaking.

For more tips of effective public speaking, here are two of my popular posts on public speaking:

• Public Speaking without using notes
• Conquering Public Speaking when you're nervous

For posts on everything leadership - Click here!

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Conquering Public Speaking When You Are Nervous!

Seinfeld once said, the greatest fear people have is public speaking. The second greatest fear people have is death. That means you'd rather be in the casket than doing the eulogy...!

It's time to break some new ground, and learn how to do public speaking when you are nervous. Let me first point out, that this post is not, 'How to do Public Speaking without nerves'. The reality is, that more often than not, the nerves don't go away. I'd rather learn, how to communicate effectively while I have nerves, but learn how to keep them in check. While ultimately learning how do to make presentations without nerves is the grand goal, more often than not, we are communicating while we are nervous.

Trust me, I've been there. Twelve years ago I nervously stepped out at Church and preached my first sermon. Even after hundreds of sermons, and speaking at many community functions, like weddings, Rotary Clubs, Remembrance Days, Schools and Business Meetings, I still get the nerves! I have to put into practice what I'm about to share with you every time I communicate, so that I don't let the fear of public speaking and the nerves get the better of me.

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Firstly, let me tell you a couple of stories. I was in grade 4 as a youngster, and the ultimate talent quest was on. So I got together with some of the girls from my class, and we decided to sing a song together as our performance. All was good. The hands were a bit sweaty. Though I knew the words of the song. I had sung in front of a crowd before. We launched into our groovy rendition of an old rock n roll hit, and then it hit me. No, it was not a tomato from the back row, but it was a tsunami of nerves consuming my body. What was I going to do? I couldn't sing any longer. The nerves had taken over. I needed an exit strategy. So I put my hand on my tummy and pretended I was about to be sick, and I ran out the side exit. What an entertaining performance! The nerves had consumed me.

After many years of preaching up a storm at church, and after many meetings, oral presentations, school meetings and the like, I had another 'the nerves consumed me' moment. This time, it was at a business gathering of about 400 people. I was asked to attend because I would be one among about a dozen of people who would be receiving $1,000 for their respective non-for-profit organization. I felt honoured to be there, and to receive this money for the work of The Salvation Army. Then it happened. The unthinkable. The public speaker or host up the front asked that each recipient of the gift 'say a few words.' A slow motion, deep, deep voice played over in my mind... 'Saaaaayyyy... a fewwwww wooooorrrrrdddsss..'

My mind was blank. I mean, absolutely blank. The nerves compounded. What made matters worse, was that everyone receiving the cheques were epitomising the art of public speaking. They were making people laugh and wowing people with their sophisticated examples of how far they would somehow stretch their thousand dollars.

Then my name was called. My mind was still blank, and the nerves had now taken a hold of my self-confidence! I looked calm on the outside, but within I was a mess. I then got up and shared what I thought was an absolute clincher of an opening sentence. I said, 'Thanks Wayne.... I'll try not to speak as long as my sermons...'

Dead silence...

Well that line didn't work, I thought to myself. That next 3 minutes, was the most difficult 3 minutes in my public speaking life! I mumbled my way through some sort of thank you speech, and went and sat down. People clapped, but I felt like my face was turning brighter than a stop sign. I sat down, and sipped a glass of water. Nerves got the better of my public speaking!

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Fear of public speaking is commonplace. Hence this article. So, how do you do public speaking when you are nervous?

When you Fail at Public Speaking, Try Again

Let me begin this section by saying, that even if nerves do get the better of you, you should choose to try again next time. Do not give up trying to beat the nerves. I could have easily given up singing after that embarrassing moment in Primary School. I could have easily made excuses about public speaking following my heart-pounding three minutes in front of 400 business leaders. Though I chose to try again. 

Take a Deep Breath

Now, before you skip to the next point, hear me out on this one. The nerves that we experience in any situation relate to a part of our brain called the 'amygdala'. The amygdala is the part of the brain responsible for our emotions. This section of the brain looks like two small almond shaped pieces. Whenever we feel angry, resentful, fearful, nervous or joyful and content, the amygdala is at work. 

Now, it is known, that the section of the brain that is rational kicks in after the brain has processed the situation via the amygdala. The pre-frontal cortex (the front forehead part of the brain), is where the rational thinking occurs. Let me explain. When someone says something rude to us, the amygdala is quick to respond to the situation with a flood of emotions. We may be feeling anger, hurt, sadness and whatever else our emotional circuitry is producing. The amygdala then sends the processing of the situation to the pre-frontal cortex, where we think through the situation rationally. This happens literally a split second later. 

So, what's the point? Our emotions are scientifically proven to arouse in us a response before our rational thinking does. That is why some men punch out their neighbour when they say something about their wife - their emotions have kicked in, before they have thought rationally about the circumstance. Can you think of a situation where you think afterwards, 'Why did I just do that?' You reacted via your emotions before you thought rationally about the situation.

What's this got to do with public speaking?

If you take a deep breath, you are allowing time for your brain to go from your emotional circuitry to your rational circuitry. Taking three BIG deep breaths before public speaking, helps you to calm the nerves, because your brain is not merely relying on its emotions, but also its rational thinking. The rational thinking is what quite often will say to us, 'It's not such a big deal. It will be ok. Just relax. Don't over-exaggerate your emotions. Relax.'

When you are nervous at public speaking, take a deep breath. It's scientifically proven to work!

Know your Content Well

This seems to be a sure fire way to increase confidence and to calm the nerves when public speaking. The more you know the content, the less you are concerned about structuring intellectually sound sentences, because you have already done the ground work. I mention this point often in relation to how to communicate effectively. 

Personally, over the years, as I continue to study and learn, I find the times I am speaking publicly with a well researched and understood topic the more confidence I have. The reason I was so nervous in front of the 400 business leaders, was partly because I had not had the opportunity to think through my three minutes on stage. I did not have time to formulate my thoughts on the topic. A year later, my wife spoke at the same event, and because of prior planning, she nailed an inspiring, short monologue of the local work of The Salvation Army. She knew her content well!

Practice your Opening Remarks

Getting off to a confident start when public speaking can help boost the confidence! So practice the opening remarks. Obviously adapt your content based on the context of the situation, but it may be a warm welcome, an introduction to special guests, a provocative opening statement, a funny anecdote, an interesting story, a captivating thought, or an hook that draws people in, for example, 'I want to tell you about someone that really gets up my nose...' (This is the beginning of a sermon on Romans 5, about Adam and his sinfulness). Practice your opening remarks, so as to get off to a confident start that creates a platform for the rest of your message.

Land the Plane

When you are nervous, it is easy to not land the plane. You know the situation in public speaking, "In closing tonight, I would like to say... " Five minutes later, "And just one more thought..." LAND THE PLANE! Don't get so nervous you cannot bring your thoughts to some sort of cohesive ending. It may be helpful to have a closing line written out so as to finish strong. This leads me to my next point.

Stay on Topic

If you are speaking with notes, then this is not an issue. Though, if you are ad-libbing and you are nervous, this can become disastrous! We all know the setting. A nervous speaker begins rattling on, and then continues to rattle on, and the nerves continue and they keep rattling on. If you are prone to do this, then speak with notes. Otherwise, stay on topic and do not let the fear and nerves allow you to wander off course.

Be Aware of Your Body Language while Public Speaking

If you are nervous you may be unaware of bad or distracting body language while speaking. We all know full well when we are nervous, we fidget with our fingers, feet, with the podium and we say 'Umm' every 64 seconds to just name a few. Try and relax, and lower the shoulders and stop fidgeting. If you are unaware of possible bad body language while public speaking, then try filming yourself and watching it over. You could also try the 'speaking in front of the mirror' trick, or allow someone who you trust to give you reliable, honest feedback. Those ideas can be helpful. Watching the video of your own public speaking (which I've done before), helps you to become aware of your own little idiosyncrasies when you're communicating in public. You become aware of habits you possibly never realised. Personally, I noticed that sometimes I simply wander back and forth across the front stage, which is fine at times, but I realised that it was becoming a sign of nerves! 

Request a Super Natural Ability to Communicate

Remember Moses? He was a stutterer, that God famously used to end the regime of slavery for the Israelite people in Egypt. God requested Moses to go and speak to Pharaoh of Egypt (the Political leader of the day) and ask him to let the people go from oppression. Moses complained and made excuses, but finally went and spoke boldly to the political heavyweight. God promised Moses that he would be with him (Exodus 3:12). In fact, with his brother Aaron's help, Moses changed the course of history, by his acts of public speaking!

What about Gideon? Gideon was nervous. Gideon was a coward (See Judges 6). God requested of Gideon to rise up as a mighty warrior and to go and lead an army to fight against the Midianites. I would have loved to have watch the arousing speech of a nervous Gideon, speaking to his Israelite army. Though with the conviction of God in his heart, and the empowerment from God, he spoke to his people. 

When you are speaking words of truth and grace, God by his mercy will desire to fill you with a greater measure of the Holy Spirit in order to communicate effectively. Ask Jesus to empower you to speak. If you have never prayed that before, pray with me right now, 'God, I pray that as I speak, I will speak with boldness and confidence and that lives will be challenged and inspired by what they hear, as you speak through me. Empower me by the presence of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus name!' If you are a follower of Jesus, I would pray that; whether you are preaching a sermon, speaking at a local school, or saying grace at Christmas time.

God can give you a super natural ability to communicate publicly.

Public Speaking - How to Speak Without Notes

Public speaking is a scary concept for many people, though many have learnt the art of public speaking. I am still learning this art, but after 12 years of preaching, speaking in front of Rotary Clubs, school classrooms, etc, I have learnt some tips on communicating along the way!

This post is about speaking without notes. Now, to clarify, if you are a nervous public speaker, then this may seem like a huge jump for you, and speaking without notes may seem like too big a jump. If so, go have a coffee, and read a different post. Check out this one on tips on communicating effectively. Though, if you're willing to take a dive into this style of communication, then read on.

Communicating to a crowd without notes can have many benefits. Before I offer some tips on how to arrive at the point of ditching the notes, let me explain the benefits of not using them:

• Your eyes are more likely to be focused towards the listening audience, and not the notes
• There is a certain level of freedom that you can feel
• People are not distracted as much by shuffling with notes and nervously holding on to a pulpit/podium
• The listening audience generally sense you are more knowledgeable about your topic and more confident.
• The listening audience are more engaged. (I sense this to be generally true when you speak without notes, as you are 'eye-balling' the crowd more - you are not hiding behind the podium).

Generally speaking, the benefits then of public speaking is a more engaged crowd. A crowd that is actively listening. (Of course you can still communicate without notes and still be absolutely terrible!)

So how do you speak to a crowd with no notes?

Here are some tips I have personally found helpful to engage in public speaking without notes:

• Study your subject matter extensively. If it's preaching, then read up on the Scriptures, Biblical Commentaries, books by credible authors, etc. This takes time, but if you want to arrive at communicating with freedom, then you need to know your content!
• Not only study your subject matter, but learn it. There's a difference.
• Write out the presentation/sermon/talk in full. Some times people skip this step, and I have skipped this step at times. I find when I do skip the discipline of writing out what I want to communicate in full, I do not speak with as much clarity and depth if I then choose to use no notes.
• Once you have written out your message in full, break it down into points. You can keep a copy of the fully written piece and open a new document. You are now on the way to public speaking without notes! Make sure the points spark in your mind the content that is connected to that point.
• All you have to do now, is memorize the points and you can communicate without notes!

If you choose to engage in public speaking, for whatever reason (and for me, it's to preach about Christ and the hope he gives), then you need to honour your listeners with the best. Sometimes people speak with fully written notes and bore everyone to death, and sometimes people speak without notes and have not done the ground work, and so it lacks depth and focus.

This all being said, you can speak well and inspire the listeners with notes. 

Though, there have been times I have invested in learning the material, writing it out extensively, shortening the message into points and then memorizing the points, and I must say, I have sensed a little adrenaline rush and freedom in speaking without being tied to the pulpit.

Public speaking is a privilege. Listeners deserve our best. 

God help us learn the art of public speaking!