Posts
Tips
for
Public Speaking
(part one..)
1. FIND A REASON:
Fear of speaking in public is everyone’s worst fear due to
lack of exposure to public speaking. Some are exposed to public speaking at a
very tender age while some know about public speaking when the tongue is
completely frozen or dead in which this stage is the worst and almost incurable.
As the matter of fact, we can never prevent ourselves from speaking in public
as the directions of our career path will somehow force us to speak in public
whether we like it or otherwise. In other words, being able to speak in public
is a skill that we have to acquire. It is compulsory to have this skill as it
can effectively promote your rank in a demanding working environment. My point
is we have to understand that we must have a strong reason to acquire this
skill. Find that reason and that reason must be strong enough to propel you to
learn more about this skill. Let me play with some examples. Let say you will
be doing your first degree in university in which speaking in public is one of
the activities that you have to do as you will be required to explain about
anything regarding your subject as that can be considered as 15 to 45%of your
non-exam marks. That reason will somehow get you out of your comfort zone because
if you don’t try public speaking before you go to university, doing well
academically will definitely be a dream that will never come true. Let me give
you another scenario. Let say you are required by your superiors to organize a
promotion to promote the company’s latest products. What will happen if you
have never spoken in public? Can you imagine the embarrassment and the public
condemnation? How can the potential buyers buy your product if your speech is
not convincing? Obviously, you do not have a choice but to learn about public
speaking no matter how much you hate it. Last but not least, find a reason..
2. STOP PLAYING WITH EXCUSES:
Some people say they need many white people to help them
speak proper English. Some even say that the one who speak good English is
caused by their overseas education. That is a very funny statement in the world
that is controlled by internet. I suggest that you go to dvd shop and look for
great movies. Do not just look for movies that you like. Look for movies that can
improve your pronunciation and your vocabulary. How do you utilize the content
of a movie? If I can benefit a lot from watching great and influential movies,
I believe that this activity will benefit you too. Choose actors or actresses
that have attractive, sexy and convincing voice. Try to imitate the way they
speak. Follow their body language and intonation repeatedly until your tongue
is used to your new style. On the other hand, get a diary which is meant to
record new vocabulary that you have got from the movies. Please watch the
movies repeatedly until you remember exactly how the actors and actresses
express the words in different but interesting pronunciation, intonation and
accent. Throughout the process of imitation, please do it with a mirror. A
mirror is a good judge because your real enemy is YOURSELF. You are the only
hurdle that you have to face before you move on to next stage.
3. BEGIN
WITH SIMPLICITY:
Do not
kill yourself by talking about rocket science if that is not your area of expertise.
I believe that each of us is blessed with at least one skill that you are very good
at. If cooking is your hobby, talk about cooking in front of a mirror. Look for
words which are related to cooking activities from the internet. The title of
your speech can be “How to cook chicken in bamboo?” or “How to prepare seaweed
soup? Again, play with your speech in front of a mirror in order to find out
whether your expression is more than convincing to your complex audience. If
you are a great gamer online, you can talk about the strategies that you used
to help you control any games online. All in all, start with something that
does not give you a pile of worries or fear. Start with something that you
really know and like. Start with something that ignites excitement in you.
Start with something that will drag you naturally to the next level. Most
importantly, you have to make a start and get started.
to be
continued………
originally
written by:
Mr. Mani Jack
9/4/2014
