How To Make Public Speaking Suck Less and More Enjoyable in Six Easy Steps.
Today is the day you become a better public speaker. Here’s how.
Nothing strikes more fear into people’s hearts than public speaking.
Even thinking about speaking in front of a group of people gets my heart racing and palms sweaty.
But public speaking is a critical skill for gaining influence and achieving success. Any career you have will have some component of public speaking.
Whether that’s 1–2 people in your team to an audience of over 100, you will have to do some element of public speaking. So it pays to invest in it.
Warren Buffett regards his Dale Carnegie training in public speaking as one of his best investments. This is coming from a man who had made billionaires of dollars from his investments in equities.
Public speaking has given me opportunities that have transformed my career.
Whether it was winning projects, expanding my networks, or helping me build my brand, public speaking has a big ROI for my professional and personal development.
1. Minimize saying ‘umm’ and replace it with ‘well’, ‘and so’ or a short pause.
It can be jarring to hear someone constantly saying umm.
I personally find it grating to my ears and shows me how nervous you are.
You won’t ever be able to get rid of every umm but you can minimize the amount you say it. Most people do it automatically to fill any gap or lapse in their thinking.
Whenever you feel like saying umm. Just take a pause instead. That’s what your brain is looking for. This pause is probably less than half a second and your audience won’t even notice.
Once you’re able to slow down and think, you can start replacing your ‘umms’ with ‘well’ or ‘and so’.
Being able to minimize your umms will improve your public speaking dramatically and convey a deeper sense of confidence to your audience.
2. Remove hedging words: ‘I think’, ‘like’, ‘sort of’, ‘kind of’
“I think I sort of believe that learning public speaking skills kind of has like a profound benefit to your life.”
How much authority do you think that sentence above conveys?
None.
While you think I am exaggerating, I am not. I worked with a client that spoke this way and it always undermined their two decades worth of expertise and knowledge.
How about this sentence:
“Learning public speaking has a profound benefit to your life.”
Short and sharp. I am interested, engaged, and ready for an example. You’ve hooked me.
Most hedge words are used to fill in space but they make your speech weaker. Reduce them as much as possible or remove them altogether.
See more in point #5.
3. Observe great speakers
I am a big fan of stealing from the best.
Why reinvent the wheel?
There are so many different types of public speakers, you can choose someone who suits your style and temperament the most.
I personally admire Russell Brand. Not so much for his acting or comedy but the way he is able to engage an audience on serious topics with self-deprecating humor and wit.
He used to host a TV show where he would interview guests who had radical and extreme views he disagreed with. Even in this hostile environment, he managed to make them laugh and feel heard.
I’ve always believed that if you can make people laugh when you speak, you will come across as more influential and charming. Even if they disagree with the point you are making. Another favorite of mine is Conan O’Brien.
Think of 1–2 public figures who have great public speaking skills. Binge-watch their speeches, podcasts and interviews and observe the body language, choice of words and techniques they use.
Steal the best techniques and reuse them in your own context.
4. Read more books
I’ve found that the more books I read, the better my speaking skills.
Firstly, reading books will improve your vocabulary and syntax. You can sound smarter not by using bigger words but by using unexpected words in a surprising sentence.
Secondly, you can learn useful skills and techniques from communication books. Some of my favorites are Difficult Conversations, Thanks For The Feedback and Influence by Robert Cialdini.
These books aren’t tailored toward public speaking but they give useful insights into the principles of persuasion and communication.
5. Record yourself on camera every day.
Practice makes perfect.
I stole this idea from Michael Thompson. I’ve been doing this for almost 1.5 years and have noticed how much better I am at speaking.
Here are the steps:
Open the camera app on your phone.
Switch to selfie mode.
Practice standard job interview questions and record your answers.
Watch it back and make notes where you get stuck.
Try again.
If you’re preparing for a presentation or speech, practice and record that material instead.
The first few times you do this you’re going to want to throw your phone away and never look at it again. Bare with it. You’ll notice dramatic improvements.
Your tenth recording won’t be perfect but it will be 100x better than your first recording.
So hit record and allow yourself to be terrible. It won’t be long until you’re not.”— Michael Thompson
6. Dealing with nerves and emotions
I’ve got some bad news for you. The nerves you feel don’t go away.
There will never be a day when you feel complete confidence and without anxiety about speaking.
But you do get a lot better at managing them.
Whenever I had a public speaking event scheduled, I would be a nervous wreck for the week leading up to the event. I wouldn’t be unable to sleep and intruding thoughts of speaking would get my heart pounding at any moment.
But the more I consistently put myself in those situations, the better I got at reinterpreting those raw emotions for a positive outcome.
Your tolerance for public speaking increases and once you’ve been through a few hostile audiences, you gain the confidence to know you can get through almost every situation.
Learning mindfulness and breathing exercises help to reduce nerves during the day. I’ve also found that speaking with people makes me less nervous.
Find a pre-public speaking ritual that calms your nerves and makes you feel more relaxed.
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