Do you want to improve your public speaking skills? How can you become an effective public speaker? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being a an effective public speaker is one of the most powerful talents you can possess. According to Carmine Gallo, the key to becoming a effective public speaker is applying nine key principles, including <\/strong>speaking with passion, incorporating an element of surprise<\/a>, and presenting something new to your audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep reading for what it takes to become an effective public speaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n According to communications coach Carmine Gallo, the key to becoming an effective public speaker lies in learning to \u201ctalk like TED\u201d\u2014in other words, applying nine principles of effective public speaking that frequently feature in successful TED talks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Choosing a topic that you\u2019re passionate about is important for a number of reasons. First, if you deeply care about the subject you\u2019re about to talk about, you\u2019re less likely to feel nervous<\/strong> about your presentation.<\/strong> You\u2019ll be so excited about getting to share your passion with the world that the idea of your speech going wrong won\u2019t even cross your mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, when you\u2019re passionate about your topic, you\u2019re likely to speak enthusiastically. You\u2019ll therefore be more interesting to watch<\/strong> than a bored and lackluster speaker.<\/strong> People are more likely to actually pay attention to you and what you\u2019re saying, and your message is more likely to sink in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, studies have shown that feelings are contagious<\/strong>\u2014they spread from person to person. Therefore, if you speak with passion, your audience will feel your excitement, and they\u2019ll listen intently to what you\u2019re saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Including stories in your presentations is important for four reasons. First, stories are much more likely to engage your audience<\/a> than other methods of sharing information. <\/strong>For example, imagine you\u2019re giving a speech to potential customers about the effectiveness of your new product. Telling a gripping story about how your product has already helped an important client will be much more exciting than listing statistics about the product\u2019s efficacy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Second,<\/strong> people are more likely to understand a concept if you tell them a story about how it works in the \u201creal world.\u201d<\/strong> For example, imagine you\u2019re giving a presentation about a complicated new sales process that you\u2019ve been testing out for a while, but that your team has yet to adopt. Your team members will probably understand the new process much quicker if, rather than bombarding them with the dry theory of how it works, you tell them a story about a sale you\u2019ve made while using it. You can use your story to guide them through each step of the new process, thus illustrating how it works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Third, stories can serve as \u201cproof\u201d that the claims you\u2019re making are legitimate. <\/strong>For instance, if you\u2019re making a sales pitch that details how great your new product or service is, potential customers will want to see evidence that backs up your claims before they become willing to part with their money. Real-life stories about how your product or service has already benefited customers will provide this evidence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, stories can influence your audience\u2019s thoughts and emotions<\/a>. <\/strong>Studies have shown that when people listen to a story, they experience identical brain function to the person telling the tale. For instance, if the storyteller experiences increased function in the area of the brain<\/a> dedicated to emotion, so does the listener. This neurological connection allows speakers to \u201cplant\u201d certain ideas and emotions in their listeners\u2019 minds. For example, if you want your audience to feel excited about a new product, tell a story that makes you <\/em>feel excited about it. The audience\u2019s brains will automatically mimic your emotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The next tip for becoming an effective public speaker is using your talk to present something new. <\/strong>This new content can take two possible forms:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1) Information that was previously completely unknown to your audience\u2014<\/strong>for instance, a little-known fact about your area of specialty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Make this information as niche and unexpected as possible to maximize the chances that your audience hasn\u2019t heard it before. For example, if your area of expertise is space, present new information based on cutting-edge research that the general public probably isn\u2019t aware of yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2) An innovative new solution to an old and well-known problem<\/strong>\u2014possibly even a fix for an issue that previously seemed unsolvable. For example, when Albanian politician Edi Rama gave a TED talk in 2012, he presented a novel and unorthodox solution to the long-standing issue of crime in Albanian cities: painting previously dull and gray Soviet-era buildings in bright colors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to neuroscientists, elements of surprise are memorable because they\u2019re \u201cemotionally charged\u201d:<\/strong> Our emotions are heightened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Research has shown that when the brain recognizes we\u2019re experiencing an emotionally charged event, it begins to perceive things more vividly. We internalize even the tiniest details of what\u2019s happening around us. Therefore, the memories we create of the event are much more comprehensive.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, if you think back to the morning of September 11, 2001, you probably remember everything from where you were, to who you were with, to how those people reacted. Because you were experiencing an emotionally charged event, your brain absorbed all of these details. In comparison, you may sometimes struggle to recall where your keys are. Since putting your keys down wasn\u2019t an emotionally charged event, the details of what you did with them failed to stick in your mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other studies have shown that emotionally charged events are memorable because they cause the brain to release dopamine.<\/strong> This is a hormone which, as well as being associated with pleasure, has the secondary effect of aiding information processing and helping to create memories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Incorporating humor into public speaking is important because, according to research, it will increase your likability<\/a> in various ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, the more your audience likes you, the more likely they are to listen to and support what you have to say. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There are many different types of humor, from telling knock-knock jokes to making sarcastic comments. However, only four forms should be incorporated into speeches and presentations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1) Sharing an anecdote: <\/strong>Telling a short, amusing story about an experience you\u2014or possibly someone else\u2014had. For example, during her TED talk about her stroke, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor related a humorous anecdote about her thought process when she realized that she was unwell. First, she couldn\u2019t stop thinking about how \u201ccool\u201d it was that she\u2014a neuroscientist\u2014could study her own stroke. Then, she realized with annoyance that she was far <\/em>too busy<\/a> to be having a stroke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2) Making an analogy:<\/strong> Humorously drawing attention to the ways in which two different things are similar. For instance, in a 2012 TED talk<\/a>, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt compared two different situations that had similarly bad consequences: attempting to run Congress without encouraging social relationships between its members, and to trying to drive a car that doesn\u2019t have any motor oil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 3) Quoting someone else\u2019s humor:<\/strong> This \u201csomeone else\u201d could be anyone from a friend, to a famous person, to a stranger you met on the subway. For instance, the author Carmen Agra Deedy added humor to her 2005 TED talk<\/a> by quoting some of the witticisms of her mother. Quoting is an easy way of using humor because you don\u2019t have to spend time devising your own funny comment or anecdote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 4) Showing a funny video or picture: <\/strong>This could be a picture or video you\u2019ve produced yourself, or\u2014to make things even easier for yourself\u2014one created by someone else. For example, when Kevin Allocca\u2014YouTube\u2019s Head of Culture and Trends\u2014gave a TED talk<\/a> on why videos go viral, he played his audience a number of amusing viral clips. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The next principle of effective public speaking is presenting content that triggers multiple senses.<\/strong> For instance, give your audience something to look at\u2014such as PowerPoint slides\u2014as well as something to listen to\u2014such as your voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Triggering multiple senses is important when making a speech or presentation because it\u2019ll help your audience to remember what you\u2019ve said. <\/strong>Research has shown that multisensory experiences are much more memorable than single-sense experiences. <\/strong>For instance, in one study, students were more likely to recall information from a lesson if that information had triggered two senses\u2014sight and sound\u2014 rather than just one. Their brains created both visual and <\/em>auditory models of the information, making it much easier to recall in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keeping your talks and presentations brief is important for three reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1) It prevents your audience from becoming too tired to listen to you. <\/strong>Research has demonstrated that the brain uses up a lot of glucose as it absorbs information, thus making listening to a speech or presentation incredibly tiring. If you talk for too long, you risk depleting your audience\u2019s glucose levels to the extent that they simply don\u2019t have the energy to keep listening. In contrast, if you only talk for a short time, your audience will hopefully not only have enough energy to take in your ideas, but extra energy left over that they can then use to share and act on your ideas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2) It takes the pressure off your listeners. <\/strong>Studies have shown that the longer a speaker talks, the more anxious their audience becomes as they realize just how much information they\u2019re being expected to absorb. In extreme cases, this anxiety becomes so overwhelming that the audience simply stops listening and disengages from the speaker\u2019s ideas entirely. By keeping your talk short, you can avoid this situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3) It promotes discipline as you craft your talk.<\/strong> If you know that you only have a limited time to speak, you\u2019ll put more effort into only expressing your key ideas and cutting out \u201cfluff.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes, you can\u2019t avoid speaking for a long time\u2014for instance, if your manager orders you to give a one-hour presentation to your colleagues. In such situations, every 10 minutes, take a \u201cbreak\u201d from the complex ideas of your talk.<\/strong> For instance, you could play a light-hearted video that\u2019s still relevant to your topic, but is less mentally taxing to comprehend than the facts and statistics that are the main \u201cmeat\u201d of your talk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Including breaks will give your audience\u2019s brains a rest from listening to you, making it more likely that they\u2019ll have the energy to take in the rest of your talk. Likewise, it\u2019ll briefly remove the pressure on your audience to take in complex ideas, thus preventing them from becoming overwhelmed and mentally \u201cchecking out\u201d from your presentation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve fully planned your speech or presentation, practice it again and again. If you don\u2019t rehearse before you speak, you won\u2019t know your talk\u2019s structure or content very well. As you present, you\u2019ll spend all of your mental energy<\/a> contemplating logistical issues such as when to move on to the next slide and what\u2019s actually on <\/em>the next slide. Consequently, you won\u2019t have the focus required to state your ideas clearly and smoothly.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n You might think that the most important element of practicing your presentation is memorizing its content. This is undoubtedly important\u2014you don\u2019t want to get up on stage only to find that you can\u2019t remember what you\u2019re supposed to be talking about. However, there are three other things you need to practice as well. These are:<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow Can You Become an Effective Public Speaker?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Tip 1: Speak About Something You Are Passionate About<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Tip 2: Use Storytelling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Tip 3: Present Something New<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Tip 4: Include an Element of Surprise<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Tip 5: Use Humor<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What Types of Humor Should You Use?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Tip 6: Engage Your Audience’s Senses<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Tip 7: Be Brief<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What If You Have to Speak for a Long Time?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Tip 8: Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse<\/h3>\n\n\n\n