Let’s spend a few posts talking specifically about how you can tune up your public-speaking performances.
You won’t get better if you don’t practice
As you’ve probably gathered by now, I believe that the biggest single key to success in just about everything is practice. And practice. And did I mention that you should practice?
Getting practice time
There […]

A lot of what I focus on when talking about ways to be successful speaking in public really boils down to finding a way to connect with the audience so that your message makes its way into their heads.
When you connect to the audience in a strong way, you can feel it. It is really […]

Public speaking combines two things that I truly enjoy: the opportunity to teach, and a chance to connect with a lot of people at one time. And I love giving talks. But it wasn’t always this way. I used to hate talking to a group.
The beginning of my training
I was required to take speech as […]

If what you are going to talk about is important, prepare ahead of time.
This suggestion is one you’ve heard and most likely take seriously for formal presentations given with slides. For most of us, the prospect of speaking to a larger audience in a formal setting is disturbing enough that we don’t need too much […]

How do you know if you are speaking effectively, whether to 1 or 1,000?
As with writing, this is theoretcially easy: you’ve been speaking effectively when your audience understands your message and is moved to act to support your goals.
But there is a long way from theory to practice. What specific steps can you take […]

Remember always that your purpose is to communicate.
Keep it clear
Whatever your topic is, I’ll bet that you are most definitely not speaking to convince someone that you are smart. And likewise you are not giving a briefing or chatting with your boss (this tip applies to both public and private speaking) solely to have performed […]

If you want to learn to communicate effectively with members of your organization you’ve got to study their style. Interacting according to commonly accepted norms with help you build a bridge of trust with your audience that will make them much more receptive to your message.
With that said, rules are meant to be broken.
Break […]

So you’ve researched your audience, and you’ve carefully prepared your argument. You know your topic, and you think you’ve anticipated all the questions. You’re off to a good start, but you are still just getting started. You’ve got to really connect with your audience to be sure your message is getting to them. But how […]

When we were talking about writing, we discussed the permanence of the written word and the particular challenges that durability can pose.
If it’s written (and don’t forget to count email as a “written document”) then it can be archived and referred to later. This raises the bar on being correct.
But spoken communication is different
Spoken communication, […]

All this adapting may have you running short, or long. Running short is usually not a problem provided you cover all your material: it doesn’t impinge on your audience’s schedule of activities following your talk, and it gives you more time for interactions during and after the talk.
But never…
Never run long, and never start late. […]