PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILLS

PUBLIC SPEAKING

People speak in public for many reasons. One of the most common forms of public speaking is the 'Presentation'. In a presentation, you 'present' or introduce something (a product, an idea, financial results, a project etc) to your audience. You give a presentation because you want to 'communicate' something. Generally, you want to do one of four things. You want:
• to inform
• to train
• to persuade
• to sell
A presentation is one of the best ways of communicating your message. And because English is so widely used in international business, a knowledge of the vocabulary and techniques used in an English language presentation is very useful.
1 Preparation
Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Good preparation is essential for any presentation. With good preparation and planning you will be fully confident. Your audience will feel your confidence. And so your audience will be confident in you. This will give you control. With control, you will be 'in charge' and your audience will listen positively to your message.
2 Structure
A good presentation has a clear structure, like a good book or film. A good presentation has:
• a beginning (introduction & preview)
• a middle (main message)
• an end (review & conclusion)
3 Equipment

You may have any of the following pieces of equipment at your disposal:
• whiteboard
• flipchart
• overhead projector
• 35mm slide projector
• computer graphics
Each of these has advantages and disadvantages. The important thing is to be the master of your equipment, not the slave. You should know and understand your equipment perfectly.

4 Visual Aids

"A picture is worth 1,000 words."
There are many types of visual aids - photographs, graphs, pie charts, maps, tables, real samples etc. But you should use visual aids with care. Do not overload your audience with too much information in a short time. A good rule is: use one image to give one message. Do not try to give two messages with one image.

Of all the information that enters our brains, the vast majority of it enters through the eyes. 80% of what your audience learn during your presentation is learned visually (what they see) and only 20% is learned aurally (what they hear). The significance of this is obvious:
• visual aids are an extremely effective means of communication
• non-native English speakers need not worry so much about spoken English - they can rely more heavily on visual aids
It is well worth spending time in the creation of good visual aids. But it is equally important not to overload your audience's brains. Keep the information on each visual aid to a minimum - and give your audience time to look at and absorb this information. Remember, your audience have never seen these visual aids before. They need time to study and to understand them. Without understanding there is no communication.



5 Signposting

When you read a book, you know where you are. You know the title of the book, the subject, the chapter, the end of one chapter and beginning of another, the section and even the page number. But when you give a presentation, your audience does not know where they are - unless you TELL them! You can use special language called 'signalling' or 'signposting' that helps your audience know where they are. Here are a few examples:
• Let's begin by...
• That's all I have to say about...
• Now we'll move on to...
• Let's consider this in more detail...
• I'd like to deal with this question later, if I may...
• I'd like now to recap...
• To start with...later...to finish up...

6 Audience Rapport

You need to build a warm and friendly relationship with your audience. Enthusiasm is contagious. If you are enthusiastic your audience will be enthusiastic too. And be careful to establish eye contact with each member of your audience. Each person should feel that you are speaking directly to him or her. This means that you must look at each person in turn - in as natural a way as possible. This will also give you the opportunity to detect signs of boredom, disinterest or even disagreement, allowing you to modify your presentation as appropriate.

7 Body Language

What you do not say is at least as important as what you do say. Your body is speaking to your audience even before you open your mouth. Your clothes, your walk, your glasses, your haircut, your expression - it is from these that your audience forms its first impression as you enter the room. Generally speaking, it is better to stand rather than sit when making a presentation. Be aware of and avoid any repetitive and irritating gestures. Be aware, too, that the movement of your body is one of your methods of control. When you move to or from the whiteboard, for example, you can move fast or slowly, raising or reducing the dynamism within the audience. You can stand very still while talking or you can stroll from side to side. What effect do you think these two different approaches would have on an audience?

8. Cultural Considerations

Because English is so widely used around the world, it is quite possible that many members of your audience will not be native English-speakers. In other words, they will not have an Anglo-Saxon culture. Even within the Anglo-Saxon world, there are many differences in culture. If we hypothetically imagine a German working for an Israeli company making a presentation in English to a Japanese audience in Korea, we can see that there are even more possibilities for cultural misunderstanding. You should try to learn about any particular cultural matters that may affect your audience. This is one reason why preparation for your presentation is so important. Cultural differences can also be seen in body language, which we have just discussed. To a Latin from Southern France or Italy, a presenter who uses his hands and arms when speaking may seem dynamic and friendly. To an Englishman, the same presenter may seem unsure of his words and lacking in self-confidence.

9. Voice quality
It is, of course, important that your audience be able to hear you clearly throughout your presentation. Remember that if you turn away from your audience, for example towards the whiteboard, you need to speak a little more loudly. In general, you should try to vary your voice. Your voice will then be more interesting for your audience. You can vary your voice in at least three ways:
• speed: you can speak at normal speed, you can speak faster, you can speak more slowly - and you can stop completely! You can pause. This is a very good technique for gaining your audience's attention.
• intonation: you can change the pitch of your voice. You can speak in a high tone. You can speak in a low tone.
• volume: you can speak at normal volume, you can speak loudly and you can speak quietly. Lowering your voice and speaking quietly can again attract your audience's interest.
The important point is not to speak in the same, flat, monotonous voice throughout your presentation - this is the voice that hypnotists use to put their patients' into trance!