How Well Do You Speak?

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Monday, 1 December 2008

By:Sandra Schrift

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TITLE: How Well Do You Speak?

AUTHOR: Sandra Schrift

CONTACT: sandra@schrift.com

Format: 60 Characters per line

Article URL: http://www.schrift.com/article_40.htm

Article Autoresponder: article-040@schrift.com

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Public speaking is the number one way to advance your

career or your business. When you are a good speaker, you

can close a sale, sell your point of view, and increase

your productivity as a business professional. Here are 10

tips to get you started.

1. The key to being a good speaker is to appear credible

and knowledgeable about your subject. Be perceived as an

expert on your topic. If you don’t do this the audience

will not listen well and you will not be correctly

interpreted.

2. Should you begin your speech with a joke or humorous

story? No, to the joke. Yes, to the funny story. Begin

with a humorous story that relates to your speech material.

This is a great way to connect with your audience.

3. Control your nerves before you begin. Visualize your

success. (the audience wants you to succeed.) Take some

deep breaths to bring about calm. If you are speaking in a

cold, snowy location, then arrive early and walk the halls

for about 5 minutes.

4. Your job is to take care of these four items:

• hold the audience attention

• make a favorable impression

• know what to do with your hands

• answer questions from the audience at the end of your

speech (if you don’t know and answer, say, “I don’t know,

but I’ll get the information to you later.”)

5. Make eye contact. Look at one person long enough to

deliver one complete thought, then move to another person

and do the same. When you do this, everyone in the audience

will feel that you are speaking to them also.

6. Why are visual aids important to enhance your message?

Well, they jazz up your message and most importantly they

increase the audience retention of your point(s). Most of

us delineate our thoughts visually. So your audience

needs to see as well as hear.

7. Don’t make these mistakes.

• forgetting to check the audio-visual equipment in advance

of your speech

• not demonstrating “enthusiasm” in your voice

• projecting your voice too forcefully

• forgetting to provide your program chair with your

introduction

8. Rehearse! Rehearse! Rehearse! All good speakers

prepare their presentation and then rehearse it for their

friends, colleagues, spouse/partner, in front of your

bathroom mirror and even videotape themselves for playback.

I even line up stuffed animals (borrowed from my grandchildren)

on chairs and create an imaginary “furry” audience.

9. Listen to good speakers, and then become one! All

speakers do not sound alike. So hear a variety of styles.

Do you want to be a Tony Robbins, Dennis Waitley, Ronald

Reagan, George Bush, or Colin Powell? Get some ideas and

then work on your OWN style. Include remarks that reach all

the styles in your audience. Express yourself so that people

can get auditory, visual and kinesthetic messages.

10. Why should you become an accomplished speaker? It will

make you more self-confident. You will become more persuasive.

You will be more dynamic in your delivery style. You don’t need

to do this alone. I coach speakers who want masterful

presentations and am here to help you. too. Email me at

sandra@schrift.com and be sure to visit my website for more

tips at www.schrift.com/tips.htm

COPYRIGHT: ©2005 by Sandra Schrift. All rights reserved

Article Source: http://www.dailynewarticles.com

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Sandra Schrift 13 year speaker bureau owner and now career
coach to emerging and veteran public speakers who want to
"grow" a profitable speaking business. I also work with
business professionals and organizations who want to
master their presentations.
Get more speaking skills at our "Summer Sizzle" webpage:
www.schrift.com/summer_sizzle.htm
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