Life’s Grand Mosaic

by tillwe

Tip 1 - You may be nervous but the audience doesn’t come close to seeing what you are feeling.

Unless you pass out or continually say “I am so nervous” your audience will never notice your feelings of anxiety.

You can assume that your audience are your friends, and are ready to receive kindly what you have to say. This will have a wonderfully steadying effect on your nerves.

I remember giving a speech before 150 people.  While I was waiting I told the Chairmen that I was feeling nervous.  He told me not to worry and then introduced me.  After the speech the Chairmen told the audience about my nerves and complimented me on the speech.  People I spoke to afterwards said that I looked confident and that I didn’t appear nervous at all.

Tip 2 - Make sure that everything you say is undeniably factual.

Your comments, slides and other materials need to be backed up by objective, documented evidence. You must have the data. Armed with that, you will know your subject better than anyone else.

However, you do not need to present all the evidence. This would be boring and tedious.

Having the evidence that makes you the expert. That instills personal confidence.

Tip 3 - You must hold the highest moral ground.

In other words, you must be right. Whatever position you take when you present, you must be right. Say the right thing; do the right thing; recommend the right thing; believe the right thing.

Rudyard Kipling is quoted as saying “Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.”

Don’t let the power go to your head.

Tip 4 - The best advice anyone can give you is: “Give speeches”.

In other words, the more you do it, the more comfortable you will get.

When you take on this challenge, keep in mind the advice Franklin D Roosevelt gave to his son, James, about speech-making:

“Be sincere… be brief… be seated.”

Tip 5 - Don’t memorize your speech.

As a general rule, you will deliver a better speech if you don’t memorize it.

Knowing the substance of your speech well is better than to have a flowery oration weighing down your memory.

You can write your speech out in full to help you connect all your ideas, but I recommend tossing this before you are able to memorize it. Use a short speaking outline to guide you.

If you practice enough to be familiar with your ideas you will find that, when you give the speech, you will be able to adapt to any unexpected needs of your audience, i.e. you will be able to ‘think on your feet’.

The exception is a joke, quote or story where the effect depends upon accuracy.

Welcome back! If you enjoyed this post, you may want to subscribe to my email updates. Thanks for visiting!