Face Your Fears of Public Speaking
TJ Walker tells Kelly Cobiella from CBS about some effective ways
of overcoming fears over presenting speeches to groups of people.
Practice won't make you a perfect speaker or presenter, but it sure will make you better. Too often, people think the only way to get more practice in is to make the standard 10-30 minute presentation. This is nonsense. You have opportunities around you every day to hone your skills as a public speaker and presenter.
By far the biggest opportunity you face on a daily basis is question time. During any meeting or at the conclusion of every presentation, you will have an opportunity to ask questions.
Guess what, asking a question is a presentation. It's not a long presentation, or at least it shouldn't be, but it is still giving a presentation. If you doubt me, try to recall how the butterflies fluttered in you stomach the last time you got up to ask a question in front of 200 people.
When asking questions, keep the following rules in mind:
1. Ask a genuine question, not a rhetorical question.
2. Keep it short (under 30 seconds)
3. Don't try to show how smart you are; keep the focus on one specific area
4. Don't read your question, say it
5. Take a deep breath, look at the speaker, and stand when appropriate
6. Limit yourself to one question per meeting
7. Pay respectful attention after you have asked the question
If you make it a point to ask one intelligent, brief, non-grandstanding question at every meeting, seminar, or lecture you attend, you will develop more poise and confidence as a speaker. Additionally, people will start to view you as someone who is articulate, communicative and as one who is capable of speaking to large groups of people at a moment's notice-not a bad reputation to develop.
Any questions?
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More Insights from TJ Walker & Jess Todtfeld
and
Upcoming Events
March 30, 2010
9:00 pm
During this TeleClass TJ will discuss:
- How to create action when you speak
- Body language: A few small changes equal big results
- PowerPoint: How to avoid putting people to sleep
- The best ways to quickly put your presentation together
- The secret to knowing every message and every PowerPoint slide without memorizing them!
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