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Public Speaking Tips : Public Speaking For Shy Or Private People

Public Speaking For Shy Or Private People

How shy or private people can learn to speak in public?
Simply join a Toastmaster Club to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking.
You are welcome to visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.shy-private-people

Check out the below article Public Speaking For Shy Or Private People written by Niamh Crowe.

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Public Speaking For Shy Or Private People
 by Niamh Crowe

Learning public speaking is like learning to ride a bike. All you need is some initial courage and a sense of balance. Then you have to change gear as appropriate. Once you’ve progressed that far you simply learn when to put on the brakes. 

Most of us have suffered from listening to poor public speakers. We’ve squirmed as they’ve gone on endlessly saying the same thing in a dozen boring ways. Most of us too have admired brilliant speakers and wished we too could captivate an audience. At the very least most of us would like to express our views in public without losing our courage not to mention our voices. 

The thing most public speakers have in common is simply a fear of making fools of themselves. They may be college students who have to study rhetoric as part of their schooling. In adult life those who attend may be budding politicians, trade union activists or aspiring business people. There may also usually be a few shy singles and some married couples sharing a new experience in communications. However interesting the mix they don’t usually expect to start the class with breathing exercises.

Teachers will explain that these exercises will help pupils relax. The truth is that when you see others puffing and blowing you have to laugh. You simply can’t take yourself too seriously when you are bent double swinging your arms energetically. In the context of all this merriment it is usually a only a short matter of time before you all introduce yourselves and explain why you are taking public speaking classes.

Your first challenge is that you have to get used to speaking aloud. So many teachers provide poems and tongue twisters, even bits from the Bible for you to try. You may be asked to bring in your favourite book and read it to the class. You will discover that they quietest person in the class probably loves gruesome tales of the supernatural while the strongest looking footballer loves lyrical poetry. Once you have got used to the sound of your own voice you progress to speaking about everything under the face of the sun.

One week you may rivet your class with your speech about spies. The next week you will find yourself giving your views on the political system or the World Cup. A good teacher will help you to expand your mind and broaden your interests. You may find yourself in the public library swotting up on a totally new subject and actually enjoying it as you visualise yourself impressing your classmates. It doesn’t take long before you are hooked on the challenge of captivating your audience. It won’t matter to you whether they are classmates, members of the local chamber of commerce or even the world synod of bishops.

That’s fine when you can prepare your speech days in advance. Speaking off the cuff is a totally different but part of public speaking is teaching you to think on your feet. So try to imagine what you would say about forks, Santa or the sky at night without any time to prepare. A simple one-minute off the cuff talk can seem like endless torture. Eventually though you master the idea of making a riveting start, interesting context and a thought-provoking conclusion, even if you don’t know the first thing about the subject. You are on your way to being a competent public speaker. Obviously though you will speak with more passion and zeal when you are inspired by the topic. So if you love sport you will find that your sports speeches will have that extra something and that’s good.

All through your life this skill it will be an asset to you. You may have to speak on graduation day, at the office party, when your best friend celebrates his birthday or even at your daughter’s wedding. Your audience may be schoolmates, the local historical society, a computer convention or simply the parish youth committee.

You learn to use a microphone so that it doesn’t catch the knocking of your knees. You will have learnt how to emphasise a point, how to use notes, how to chair a meeting. You master nervous habits such as hand twisting or foot tapping. Most importantly, you learn to write to be said aloud rather than read. You will find yourself listening critically to other speakers whether they are on radio or television or in a local club. You will start saying to yourself, “he never mentioned X” or “He should have said something about Y”. You become, In fact, the original armchair critic. Above all though you will learn that public speaking is great fun.

Public speaking is a very personal thing. It gives you confidence and it makes you more articulate. It teaches you how to put your ideas in sequence. It also helps you to make new friends. Many public speakers join groups such as Toastmasters and make it a lifelong hobby. Others are simply satisfied to be able to give their viewpoint at a local meeting. If you are really lucky you might even find yourself being paid to lecture on a pet subject!

Being able to speak well in public helps your self-esteem. You may find you are welcomed to parties, invited to functions and it might even help you to impress your boss. Certainly it will expose you to lots of new ideas you hadn’t considered before. You might, like one speaker, learn to think of income tax as today’s equivalent to the tithes once paid to the church to support the poor. Now that’s what’s called a persuasive speech!
Public Speaking Tips For Shy Or Private People

How Shy or Private People can Learn to Speak in Public? Simply join a Toastmaster Club to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking. You are welcome to Visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.

public speaking, public speaking tips, shy people, private people, Toastmasters

Some people of course are naturals and can address any audience anywhere with enthusiasm and ease. Most of us though consider public speaking as a fate worse than death, until we learn to master it. The problem then is that by then it will be like the weekly crossword, you’ll just have to keep at it until you get it right.

There is absolutely no feeling like that of holding an audience in the palm of your hand. So go on grab their attention, entertain and inform them and send them away with your words ringing in their ears.

Whether you call it oratory, rhetoric or public speaking it will enhance your life and help you to make lots of new friends. Like learning to ride a bike it is a skill, once learned, that you never forget. 

You may wobble a bit if you get out of practise but soon all the skills you have learnt will soon come back. Then you’ll be freewheeling all the way and your audience will be delighted to come along for the ride!

About The Author

Niamh Crowe is the CEO of the web’s leading speech site (http://www.speech-writers.com) according to Alexa.com and Ranking.com. Online since 1994, her site has thousands of speeches for every event and occasion including birthdays, weddings, graduations etc. She lives in Ireland where she is married to Fred. They have 5 children.

Copyright
Niamh Crowe
Copyright Speechwriters 1994-2007
marketing@speech-writers.com
http://www.speech-writers.com
Tel. +353 1 8333599

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Public Speaking Tips : 10 Strategies to Wow and Win Audiences

10 Strategies to Wow and Win Audiences

good presentations

Speaking in public provides you the opportunity to promote your brand, your company and yourself. It enables you to expand your circle of influence. Yet many people are reluctant to speak before an audience. Here are ten strategies to help you wow and win over audiences, and become a better speaker.

Practice is the key to helping you improve in public speaking.

Join Toastmasters and find a club that you like to practise your speeches in a friendly environment. You are welcome to visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.

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Power Speaking – 10 Strategies to Wow and Win Audiences
By Dawne Simmons

You know the feeling. Your mouth dries. Your palms moisten. Your heartbeat pounds in your ears. Butterflies swoop and soar in your stomach. What’s the cause? You’re about to give a speech. Several studies report that public speaking ranks top among people’s fears. Yet, public speaking also affords you the opportunity to promote your brand, your company and yourself. It enables you to expand your circle of influence. More importantly, public speaking remains a powerful communication tool for your strategic business messages. Here are 10 tips to help you wow and win your audiences, and become a better public speaker.

1. Have something to say. Sounds simple enough. Yet too many speakers merely present encyclopedic reports of facts and figures. Take a stand. Express an opinion. Put your facts in context.

2. Use gentle humor. No, this is not the time to practice your stand-up routine. Try instead to use humorous stories and anecdotes. They can evoke smiles that relax your audience and make them more receptive to your message.

3. Share your personal experiences. You’ve been invited to speak because of your knowledge about a subject. Your experiences – both the successes and stumbles, as well as what you’ve learned from each – add an important human touch.

4. Stay within your allotted time – or even shorter. On the subject of making speeches, Franklin Roosevelt once advised, “Be sincere; be brief; be seated.” Your audience will appreciate your consideration of their time.

5. Allow your personality to shine. Everyone has a personal style – especially you. Allow your manner of speaking to reflect the real you. Are you soft spoken with understated wit? Then don’t try to emulate Carol Burnett or Eddie Murphy. Are you an extrovert with lots of pizzazz? Then it’s a mistake to take on the persona of Queen Elizabeth or Mother Teresa. Make sure it’s your personality that shines in the limelight.

6. Engage your entire body. Use hand gestures, eye contact and facial expressions to get your point across. Whenever possible, move around the stage. Vary your voice with stage whispers or muted yells. Your speech must be more than a dry recitation of facts and opinions. Effective public speaking is a performance that engages the audience. They will appreciate your efforts to keep them entertained.

7. Research your audience. Why is your subject important to them? How will the issue affect their lives? Knowing the answer to those questions enables you to tailor your presentation to the audience’s specific needs.

8. Understand your goals. How do you want your audience to feel after your conclusion? Speeches have the power to persuade, inform, inspire, entertain or move your audience to action. Tailor your remarks to meet both your goals and the audiences’.

9. Practice, practice, practice. Whether you use a full written text, talking points or brief notes, rehearse your remarks. Mark Twain explained that it took him more than three weeks to prepare an impromptu speech. Don’t just read it silently. Speak it aloud. This gives you the opportunity to time your talk and to change words or phrases that trip you up. An added bonus: Practice enables you to transform your anxiety into a poised high-energy performance.

10. Enjoy yourself. Your attitude determines whether public speaking presents stumbling blocks or stepping-stones. Have fun. The more speaking opportunities you accept, the better you’ll become. Like any roller coaster ride, public speaking provides both chills and thrills. Climb aboard. The experience is worth the trip.

© 2009 WordStorm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

Dawne Y. Simmons is president and founder of WordStorm Communications, Inc. With more than 20 years of experience in all areas of corporate communications, she assists company leaders develop and promote their strategic messages. For the last 10 years, she has written speeches, presentations, scripts and other business materials for high-level executives in the corporate, government and not-for-profit sectors. An award-winning speaker, Ms. Simmons assists executives improve their on-stage presence. She provides confidential, private coaching sessions that help business leaders quickly improve their presentation skills.

Be sure to visit her website at http://www.wordstormcom.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dawne_Simmons
http://EzineArticles.com/?Power-Speaking—10-Strategies-to-Wow-and-Win-Audiences&id=2793526

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Selected Speeches delivered at chapter meeting held on 22 Sept 2009

Wonder what a toastmaster meeting will do…

Here are a few selected speeches taken at our last chapter meeting.

Basically, we do have prepared project speeches, evaluation section and table topics section.

You can check out Frequently Asked Questions about Toastmasters here.

Gary Haris P5 CPR 20090922

Anthony Sum AP2 – 200909222

Bruno Pereira, DTM Project Evaluation for Anthony Sum’s AP2 – 20090922

Gary Haris – Table Topic Master 20090922

Bruno Pereira, DTM Table Topic 20090922

Yetti Chiu Table Topic 20090922

Practice is the key to helping you improve in public speaking.
If you are a Fearful Public Speaker living in Singapore, please come to visit our toastmaster club.

Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters Club holds regular chapter meetings where members gather to improve their public speaking and communication skills.

Our Club is one of the warmest toastmasters club in Singapore. Click Here to Download our KSTMC Introduction Kit.

Guests are welcome to visit us!
It’s free of charge.

Just come, relax and see what toastmasters are all about!

By the way, our club members Aileen summarized what she has learnt from the meeting at her blog post.

Yetti

District 80 Treasurer 2009-2010
Past Club President
Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters Club

“Helping You To Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking and Speak With Confidence!”
Website: http://public-speaking-singapore.com
Blog: https://blog.public-speaking-singapore.com

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Aileen’s Toastmaster Project 10 : What a Journey

Aileen delivered her project 10 “What a Journey”.   It is a very good speech indeed!   If you have not joined toastmasters, come to visit our club and see what toastmasters can help you to become a better speaker. If you are a toastmaster, the speech may renew your promise as a toastmaster.

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Project 10: What a Journey (by Aileen Chua)
Source:  Toastmaster Project 10: Inspire Your Audience

Good afternoon Toastmaster of the day, president, district officers, friends and guests, especially to our guests,

In Apr 2008, the opportunity of personal growth came knocking on my door but I did not answer. I then was a guest at Kowloon-Singapore Toastmaster Club. I was too scared to take it up. After all, didn’t Edward make me a guest then, stand and do an impromptu speech – that’s table topics. Even though I appeared pretty normal, I was trembling all inside me.

But I found myself itching to come back again to give the club the second chance. I supposed it must be the ribbon that Edward bestowed to me as a “first-timer” to speak in the club. The ribbon certainly looked expensive. So this time round, I did not let the opportunity slip by.

For each and every one here is once a guest of some toastmaster club. We join the toastmaster club to improve our public speaking not just for our toastmaster journey, but for the world outside toast masters.

Having been a toastmaster for about a year, I have garnered 3 Cs in communication. Comfortable. In the past, I would avoid eye contact and speak at ultra-fast speed, often tripping over my words. Not so often now as I managed to control my nerve better now. Second C – Creative. I have learnt to use many different methods of speech delivery – as in the sound effect of the “opportunity came knocking”, the use of visual aids – first-timer blue ribbon. Competent – XXX, do you think I am a competent speaker? I shall stop at 3C as otherwise, I would become cocky.

Besides giving me 3Cs, the toastmaster journey is also an expressway for me to improve myself. This expressway is called PIE. Not Pan-island expressway. PIE stands for Profession, Individual, Emotion.

I am an analyst and in my line of job, I do need to make presentation about market trends and analysis. In the past, I always have butterflies fluttering in my stomach and I would have many sleepless nights before the presentation. Not anymore. Yes, the butterflies are still there. In fact, they are right here in my stomach – flying in beautiful formation.

Also as we need to draft speeches for our toastmaster projects, besides speaking skills, I am also improving on my writing skills.

The toastmaster journey has helped me not only conquer my fear of public speaking but also improve my writing skills, hence improving myself professionally.

I particularly like the feedback from our fellow toastmasters on our speeches. They can be our speech evaluators who will give us feedback so that we can improve on our public speaking, or our language evaluator. When I was doing my project 5 on body language, my speech evaluator asked me whether I was an introvert or extrovert. I was stunned. I used to think that I was an introvert. But not anymore. After joining the club, I have taken on a number of other assignments such as addressing to a 400-plus audience on stage, acting – cross-dress to be a man, flexing my muscle, as well. The toastmaster experience has made me a more open to new experiences.

I remembered a visiting toastmaster who was our language evaluator then. She commented that I reminded her of a friend who never failed to brighten up her day. Her friend would be every so cheerful and she would go “Hi, how are you?” even in the hot scorching sun. That stirred up my memory about 10 years ago that a stallholder made the same comment to me too.

A sports lover myself, I could add in my dictionary people like Cliff Young, a farmer who broke the record for the Syndey-Melboure ultra-marathon race at the age of 60 in 1983, team Hoyt – a father-and-son team, where the son is physically challenged but together they are team invincible in triathlons. Thanks to the speeches by Antony.

So you see, through the toastmaster journey, I am re-learning and improving myself as an individual. That’s the I in PIE.

Now what about E? E here stands for emotion. Emotionally, I have made a lot of good friends in the toastmaster club. I know that help is only an email away or a phone call away. When I first joined the club, Edward assigned Yetti to be my mentor. Her job was to help me start my first project, the Ice Breaker. She was also my first speech evaluator.

My fellow toastmasters are my inspiration not just in my toastmaster journey but also in the way I lead my life. I remembered Raymond who picked up opera singing at the age of 70? And went on to take part in speech contest and was conferred second-runner up. I was impressed by his courage but he told me it was nothing, he just “dare to try”.

We also have get-together session once a year. Last year, we had one at Mak’s place. We did our prepared speeches, followed by barbecue session. There was much fun and camaraderie in our club. It fulfils my emotional needs for friendship.

As what Mrs Ganesan wrote in our public speaking blog

“Being a toastmaster is a life-changing experience, it not only broadens your opportunities but gives you purpose in your life… Deep down in everyone lies a talent that can only be discovered when we stretch out in the dark. I encourage everyone to discover their passion and live their destiny by joining the toastmaster club.”

How true this is! Everyone here, do you think that our club is a Great club? I can’t hear you.

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“Hear from people whose lives were changed by the Toastmasters program!
Experience how Toastmasters can help you improve your communication and leadership skills!”


Join a Toastmaster Club to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking.
You are welcome to visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.

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Powerpoint Presentation Tips

These days, powerpoint slides are very common for business or sales presentations.

How to conduct effective powerpoint shows?

Here are some powerpoint presentation tips as stated in the Toastmaster International website:

“Keep your visual aids:

  • Visible
  • Simple
  • Colorful, but don’t let them upstage you
  • Justified by the content — not too many or too few slides

For effective PowerPoint shows:

  • Don’t read the slides to your audience!
  • Make your text large.
  • Choose colors that make the text easier to read.
  • Use bullet points instead of full sentences.
  • Don’t let the text or graphics fly around too much.
  • Avoid charts and diagrams that are hard to see.

Most Importantly – Remember, you control the presentation; don’t let it control you. PowerPoint should be a “visual aid” – not the entire show.”

In the Basic Competent Communication Manual by the Toastmaster International , there is a project helping you to “Get Comfortable with Visuals Aids”.

Just join a toastmaster club and learn how to conduct effective powerpoint presentations.

Yetti

Club President 2007-2008
Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters Club
“Helping You To Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking and Speak With Confidence!”
Website: http://public-speaking-singapore.com
Blog: https://blog.public-speaking-singapore.com

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