10 Tips For Improving Your Public Speaking Skills - Harvard Professional Development - Harvard DCE
10 Tips For Improving Your Public Speaking Skills - Harvard Professional Development - Harvard DCE
10 Tips For Improving Your Public Speaking Skills - Harvard Professional Development - Harvard DCE
by
MARJORIE NORTH
political candidates,
specializing in public
communication skills.
audiology at Northeastern
University.
Snakes? Fine. Flying? No problem. Public speaking? Yikes! Just thinking about public speaking—routinely described
as one of the greatest (and most common) fears—can make your palms sweat. But there are many ways to tackle this
In part one of this series, Mastering the Basics of Communication, I shared strategies to improve how you
communicate. In part two, I examined how to apply these techniques as you interact with colleagues and supervisors
in the workplace. For the third and nal part of this series, I’m providing you with public speaking tips that will help
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Learn a few key strategies for communicating deliberately and diplomatically in the workplace.
All people feel some physiological reactions like pounding hearts and trembling hands. Do not associate these feelings
with the sense that you will perform poorly or make a fool of yourself. Some nerves are good. The adrenaline rush that
makes you sweat also makes you more alert and ready to give your best performance.
The best way to overcome anxiety is to prepare, prepare, and prepare some more. Take the time to go over your notes
several times. Once you have become comfortable with the material, practice—a lot. Videotape yourself, or get a
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 pa ern, and
motivational statement.
3. Organize Your Material in the Most E ective Manner to A ain Your Purpose.
Create the framework for your speech. Write down the topic, general purpose, speci c purpose, central idea, and
main points. Make sure to grab the audience’s a ention in the rst 30 seconds.
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Keep the focus on the audience. Gauge their reactions, adjust your message, and stay exible. Delivering a canned
speech will guarantee that you lose the a ention of or confuse even the most devoted listeners.
Be yourself, don’t become a talking head—in any type of communication. You will establish be er credibility if your
personality shines through, and your audience will trust what you have to say if they can see you as a real person.
Inject a funny anecdote in your presentation, and you will certainly grab your audience’s a ention. Audiences
Reading from a script or slide fractures the interpersonal connection. By maintaining eye contact with the audience,
you keep the focus on yourself and your message. A brief outline can serve to jog your memory and keep you on task.
Nonverbal communication carries most of the message. Good delivery does not call a ention to itself, but instead
Do you enjoy hearing a speech start with “Today I’m going to talk to you about X”? Most people don’t. Instead, use a
startling statistic, an interesting anecdote, or concise quotation. Conclude your speech with a summary and a strong
Too many can break the direct connection to the audience, so use them sparingly. They should enhance or clarify your
Good communication is never perfect, and nobody expects you to be perfect. However, pu ing in the requisite time to
prepare will help you deliver a be er speech. You may not be able to shake your nerves entirely, but you can learn to
minimize them.
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