20 Public Speaking Tips

Peter Dhu
1 Use your nervous energy
 It is not about getting rid of nerves, but rather harnessing the nervous
energy
 Nerves will put you into your peak performance mode
 It is about making the butterfly's fly in formation
2 Leave your ego at the door

 Focus 100% on the audience and don’t worry about your own nerves and
your own self talk.
 If you focus on yourself then you are taking away from the audience
 3 Be clear on your purpose
 What do you want to achieve
 What do you want the audience to remember
 Why do they care
 What outcome/change/action do you want to occur
4 Start really strong

 First Impressions count

 The first 30 seconds is crucial
 The rule of primacy – the first words are remembered
5 What pain are you solving for your audience

 What problem are you solving

 What pain are you alleviating
 What questions are you answering
 What is keeping you audience
awake at night with worry

 Answer these questions and you will do a great job

 6 Use stories

Tell a story Make a point Link the point to a benefit for

the audience

 Stories are your Unique Intellectual Property

 You don’t need to learn your stories, they happened
 Stories are memorable
 Stories create an emotional response
7 Have a call to action

 Ask them to do something

 Challenge them
 Make the status quo unacceptable
8 Speak to the audience one to one

 Speak as though you are just having a conversation

 Be genuine, authentic and conversational
 Make eye contact one person at a time
9 Get out of your comfort zone

 Take a risk every day that gets you closer to your speaking goal
 If you are comfortable, then it is not big enough for you
 Dr Susan Jeffers said “Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway”
 Just speak more
 10 Do your preparation
 Prior preparation prevents pathetically poor performance
 Spectacular performance is preceded by spectacular preparation
 Preparation is the foundation of every presentation
11 Use your voice

 Use tonal variation and intonation

 Vary your speed
 Vary your volume
 Use pause to create suspense
 12 Always get feedback
 Feedback is the food of champions
 How do you know if you don’t ask
 Feedback will help you grow and unlock potential
13 Establish credibility

 Why you
 Where does your data come from
 What is your experience
 Why should we believe you
 Build your credibility stack
14 Don’t read your speech

 Use a mind map

 Have bullet points
 Tell your stories
 Speak extemporaneously
15 Gestural intelligence

 Have inclusive gestures

 Develop a rich gestural vocabulary
 Don’t fidget or use distracting hand movements
 Eliminate bounce in your gestures
 Don’t point at your audience
16 Connect with your audience

 Focus on connection, not perfection

 Build rapport
 Build trust
17 Don’t be afraid of the
elephant in the room
 Acknowledge differences
 Acknowledge concerns
 Acknowledge problems
 Acknowledge fears
18 Make your message memorable

 Use surprise or unexpected message

 What is in it for me
 Put a hook in your message
 Have a call to action
 Make your data concrete
 Use emotion
19 Present with the right energy

 Match the energy level of the room – don’t be too high and don’t come
over too flat
 Understand that you are privileged to be before that audience.
 With privilege comes responsibility
 Communicate with conviction and belief
 Have a positive attitude
 20 Take care of your voice

 War m up with tongue twisters or humming

 Drink water before and during your presentation
 Do drink apple juice or pineapple juice to help lubricate your voice
 Don’t drink milk or soy based coffee
 Use a tick tack to avoid dry mouth