Public Speaking Competition ​September 28th, 2019

Tips for Effective Public Speaking

Tip #1

Avoid staring at one spot in the room for the duration of your presentation. Connect with the audience and judges by staring directly into their eyes.
​Drive home important points and arouse emotion with intense stares.

Tip #2

Know your audience. Before you begin to craft your message, consider who the message is intended for. Learn as much about your listeners as you can. This will help you determine your choice of words, level of information, organization pattern, and motivational statement. 

Tip #3

Speak with an intent to move people to action. Use your message and tone to evoke emotion from your audience. Let them go away feeling passionate and ready to action for a cause. Replace every “I” or “me” with “you,” “we” or “us.” Keep the focus on your listeners.
 

Tip #4

Tip #5

Tip #6
Monitor the body language of the audience. Do they look interested? Are they hanging on your every word or are they thinking of tonight’s dinner? If you lose the interest of the audience, adjust your pitch or use a light joke to recapture the audience’s attention.
Use humor, tell stories or make analogies but avoid colloquialisms. Words and phrases to avoid in your presentations include: “My topic is…,” “I’d like to start out with a story,” “I’m not good at public speaking,” “I don’t have enough time,” “so” and “you know.” These words and phrases weaken your point and make you appear less confident.
​Reading from notes disrupts the connection between you and the audience. It also gives the false impression that you are reading loud. Use an outline of your main points as a guide for your presentation. Avoid looking down for an extended period of time.

Tip #7

Be clear and to the point. Avoid rambling, telling long stories or getting off track. Use simple and easily understood language. 

Tip #8

Grab attention at the beginning and close with a dynamic end. Maintain the focus in between with alterations to your pitch, tone and body language.

Tip #9

Be prepared. Arrive early and familiarize yourself with the setup/room layout. Research your audience and their relation to the topic. Prepare your speech by completing it at least one week before it is to be presented.

Tip #10

 Use the 5 P’s to improve the clarity of your speech:
  • Projection - make sure the back of the room can hear
  • Pace - keep a steady pace
  • Pitch - vary your pitch, monotonous voices are boring and difficult to listen to.
  • Pronunciation - ensure that you use the correct pronunciation,
  • Pause - dramatic pauses last for three (3) to five (5) seconds. Anything over this and the audience would think you forgot your speech.

Helpful Resources

Here are some useful resources to help you prepare for the public speaking competition!
speaking_effectively_-_dale_carnegie.pdf
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