Public Speaking has an art of balance. It is a constant strive to keep up the weight of both the yin and the yang in our delivery. The goal is to offer that fine line between captivating and keeping the audience interested while sharing the knowledge they could make use of. It’s a total experience we aim to hold space for.
Ginger founder Sarah Lloyd-Hughes lists balance as one of the six attributes of a good speaker in her book “How to be Brilliant at Public Speaking.” But how can balance assist in speech delivery? And how can you create a speech structure that captivates the audience from the first sentence to the final round of applause?
No one will be able to understand your speech if it lacks a solid and well-balanced structure. Let’s look into the top factors that will help you to find balance in your speech delivery.
1. Practice Your Delivery
There is no specific formula for effective delivery. We are all different and have various experiences and passions. This implies that each person has a strategy or a style that works for them. This further means that fear can accompany even the most carefully considered and compelling message. However, there are several methods you can employ to lessen your anxiety and prepare yourself for success on speech day.
Create your presentation or prepare a speech as early as possible if you plan to present it. You’ll have more time to practice the earlier you put everything together.
Use the same resources you’ll use at the event and rehearse them yourself. As you practice, make necessary changes to your speech until it is natural and flowing.
2. Add Power to Your Voice
Your voice conveys whether you are speaking emotionally or passionately. You tend to speak with clarity, authority, and power when you are passionate. Here, “powerful” does not refer to a loud volume. You may convey your passion even if you speak quietly and at a low volume. However, your voice becomes rough and unclear when you speak in a vibrant tone.
When you want to highlight a point, use an active and high-pitched tone of voice; switch to a regular or relaxed tone after highlighting that point. This will help you win the presentation.
3. Adjust Your Pace
Confident speakers slow down and speed up to emphasize their most crucial points. They alter their verbal delivery pace.
Audiobooks are recorded at a modest rate of 150-160 words per minute. It is spoken at a pace that is both understandable and easier for the listener. TED speakers also speak at a rate of approximately 163 words per minute, which is perfect.
However, here’s the trick. The top speakers sped up to about 220 words per minute to emphasize a specific key point and keep listeners interested. They pause and use an active tone to highlight a particular message.
4. Use Appropriate Hand and Body Gestures
The majority of human communication is nonverbal and occurs through body language. As a result, having expressive body language and actively moving around the stage is preferable rather than standing still in one location.
Many people frequently repeat the same hand motions. Try to avoid doing this because it may confuse the audience.
5. Adapt to the Speech’s Length
When you have a few minutes left, move to the speech’s conclusion. It doesn’t matter if all the information is covered as planned.
The audience only experiences the speech as it is delivered; they are unaware of what was planned.
Your speech’s main objective is for the audience to know your subject. Keep your main idea and points in mind.
6. Avoid Using Filler Words
One last piece of advice is to stay away from shaky small words like “uh,” and “mmm.” Although many individuals don’t realize it, they frequently use these little fillers in their everyday speech.
Keep them out of your speech. Nothing quickly identifies a stressed or unprepared speaker than these habitual, little noises.
When delivering your speech in front of an audience, take steps to eliminate them if you see them popping up.
No matter how diligently you prepare for your delivery, you will almost certainly make a mistake at some point. That’s normal. Everybody does it. The goal is not to draw attention to it or admit your mistake to the audience. If you don’t let them know that you made a mistake, chances are good that they won’t even notice.
Wrapping Up!
Nobody expects you to be perfect, and good communication is never perfect. It’s crucial to acknowledge that you’ll undoubtedly feel anxious during speech delivery. Most individuals do and it rarely affects the quality of their presentation. Believe what you’re saying, and use your anxiety to your advantage.
You won’t develop confidence if you don’t push yourself and stay out of difficult circumstances.
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