Education & Career Trends: October 27
Curated by the Knowledge Team of ICS Career GPS
- Excerpts are taken from an article published on online.hilbert.edu.
Public speaking: Many people fear it and do their best to avoid it. However, at some point in life, public speaking is something that almost everyone will have to do.
In high school and college, students may have to present an assignment to the class. In business, an employee may have to deliver a presentation at a meeting. In academia, public speaking is essential for communicating facts and research. Then there are the situations that seem to arise out of nowhere, like having to give an impromptu talk at a public gathering.
Researching public speaking tips, skills and exercises is an important step for anyone looking to prepare for the eventuality of giving a public speech or presentation. Following these tips can help anyone advance in their careers and create opportunities for success.
Why Public Speaking Skills Are Important?
The need for solid public speaking skills goes beyond being prepared for public speeches and debates. Improving one’s public speaking skills and learning how to improve presentation skills are important because they help individuals to:
1. Build Self-Confidence
Public speaking skills can increase self-confidence and can help make individuals feel more comfortable around others. Greater confidence also enables individuals to take measured risks and move outside of what they are used to, creating opportunities to take on new responsibilities that can lead to career advancement.
2. Prepare to Lead and Motivate Individuals and Teams
Effective managers use public speaking skills to build trust, share their vision, set clear goals, communicate with staff and foster collaboration, which can translate into business success. For individuals without a managerial title, public speaking skills can help them motivate their peers to achieve mutual team goals, which can impact the success of the business.
3. Effectively Share Information and Education
Data is the backbone of today’s world. A simple internet search can point anyone to informational resources that are useful for personal and business use. However, people may prefer to rely on educators and leaders to differentiate fact from fiction. A common trait among effective education leaders is that they have strong speaking skills, which sets them apart as trustworthy beacons of credible information.
4. Clearly Express Ideas
Ideas that form in our minds can be difficult to express in ways that are clear to others, whether in writing or speech. Through painstaking planning and by following well-known principles of effective public speaking, individuals can organise their thoughts and clearly communicate their message or the meaning behind an idea.
5. Influence People
An individual can be an energetic orator with an extensive vocabulary, but in the end, one of the key elements of a successful public speech is how it influences the audience. A prerequisite to achieving this is understanding the audience, whether it is a jury deliberating the evidence of a case or a prospective customer debating whether or not to buy a product or service.
The Science of Public Speaking
Public speaking requires talent and inspiration and gives individuals the creative freedom to choose how and what they speak about based on their own personal style and preferences. One speaker may use comedy to maintain their audience’s attention, while another may use statistics or data to highlight an important value they are trying to communicate. These traits make public speaking an art.
Public speaking can also be considered a science based on the physiology and psychology behind it. For example, eye contact, speech tempo and visualisation all play a part in public speaking. Additionally, effective speakers use a systematic approach to building, organising, presenting and testing knowledge, similar to the scientific method.
Psychological science plays a role in the fear of public speaking as well: Some estimates suggest that about 77% of the population has some trepidation at the thought of speaking publicly.
Undoubtedly, some people appear to be natural public speakers, but the truth is that as an art and a science, public speaking is a skill that is best acquired through learning and experience. For those individuals looking to bolster their public speaking and presentation competencies, understanding which factors may be behind their fear can help them zero in on the specific public speaking tips that can best help them overcome the barriers to becoming successful public speakers.
Public Speaking Tips
For individuals looking for career advancement, public speaking tips can help them become better communicators and presenters. These tips can help individuals communicate better with work colleagues, deliver effective presentations and share their ideas in meetings. Public speaking advice can also help individuals feel more prepared and less nervous, which can help them convey professionalism in their speech or presentation.
Individuals researching public speaking advice can find dozens of helpful tips in an online search. Here are five of the best:
- Research the audience. To be more effective public speakers, individuals should first understand their audience. Second, they should also understand what their audience wants.
- Organise materials. Communicating ideas is easier when notes, illustrations, slides and other elements used in a presentation are in the right order.
- Boost self-confidence. A pep talk can help remind individuals about their preparedness for a presentation to improve their self-confidence before stepping up to the microphone.
- Know the environment or setting. Every setting is different—it could be a large room with bright lights or an intimate setting. Knowing where the speech will take place can help individuals prepare for the unknown.
- Minimise the impact of nervousness. Keeping calm can be challenging in nerve-racking moments, like getting ready for a presentation. Nerves can take hold of anyone at this stage. Deep, long breaths can help calm nerves and slow down the pace.
Perhaps one of the most important tips for becoming an effective speaker is to work to improve one’s presentation skills.
How to Improve Presentation Skills
Presentation skills allow individuals to convey information to an audience in an impactful way using visuals, storytelling and conversations that engage an audience. Every individual is different, so the best approach to improving one’s presentation skills may vary
Here are some competencies individuals can acquire that can help them improve their presentation skills:
- Doing background research. Investigating the discussion topic is a critical step in the process, allowing for an organised speech or presentation with credible data. This is key to conveying professionalism.
- Developing outlines. Creating a general outline—with a beginning, middle and end—provides guidance throughout a presentation and helps speakers stay on topic.
- Storytelling. Instead of reading off a script or slide presentation, effective presenters tell stories. They share their knowledge, inform and educate with concepts that the audience can relate to, such as personal experiences. Stories can also entertain, getting the audience to react and engage.
- Using graphics and other media. Engaging visuals such as graphics, audio, video and slides can provide added value in connecting with the audience.
Exercises and Tools to Become a Better Speaker
Individuals can gain knowledge about public speaking from online resources and books, but becoming a better speaker should also include the use of exercises and tools, such as:
- Practice, practice, practice. This can mean speaking in front of others, like family or friends, or even a wall or mirror. Welcome feedback to learn how to improve.
- Join a speaking club. Participating in groups can provide opportunities to acquire valuable skills, learn public speaking tips and receive feedback from peers.
- Memorise key lines. Nothing will disengage an audience more than a dry speech where the presenter reads from a prompt or slide without ever making eye contact. Memorising the introduction, the conclusion and key elements of a speech can help a speaker interact with the audience.
- Learn from the experts. Whether watching a TV journalist reporting live from an event or browsing through videos of great presenters and speakers, seeing how the experts do it can help individuals become better speakers.
- Keep track of timing. Going over the allotted time for a speech or presentation is poor etiquette, and the audience may see it as a lack of preparation. Mobile devices typically have built-in timer apps so individuals can time themselves during practice.
- Record and listen. No need for fancy equipment—the voice recorder app on most smartphones will suffice.
…
Have you checked out yesterday’s blog yet?
What is Multimedia Journalism?
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article mentioned above are those of the author(s). They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of ICS Career GPS or its staff.)
Like this post? For more such helpful articles, click on the button below and subscribe FREE to our blog.
Download our mobile app, ICS Career GPS, a one-stop career guidance platform.
One Reply to “Why are Public Speaking Skills Important?”