Speaking in Public

Skills Lesson

Photo courtesy of veryveryquietl@flickr.com - granted under creative commons licence – attribution

 Learning Objective
• To improve confidence and technique when giving a talk in front
of an audience.

Success Criteria
• To feel confident about standing up in front of the class.
• To be able to engage with the audience while speaking.
• To be able to project your voice to the back of the room.
 Starter

Be honest!

Write down three things you feel when you are told
you have to talk formally in front of the class.

Think about:
•Your feelings, good or bad when you think about the task.
•How you feel when you come up to the front to speak.
•What it feels like after you have finished the talk.

Photo courtesy of imagesbywestfall@flickr.com - granted under creative commons licence – attribution

 Any Ideas?

What advice would you give someone if they came to you and were worried
about giving a talk in class?

Photo courtesy of sinclair.sharon28@flickr.com - granted under creative commons licence – attribution

 Nerves

It’s normal to feel nervous!

TIPS:
•Prepare well – if you know you are ready,
it is less nerve wracking.
•Take slow, deep breaths before you stand
up to speak.
•Remember your audience wants you to be successful,
they are rooting for you to do well.
•If there’s someone you are intimidated by, imagine
them eating spaghetti bolognese –
no-one is scary with tomato and garlic sauce around
their lips and spaghetti hanging out of their mouth!
 Techniques

By learning a few simple tricks and techniques, you can make sure you feel
confident about speaking in front of an audience.

There are two main things:

•How to Stand
•How to Breathe

Of course you can all stand and breathe already, but this is a specific technique
for public speaking.
 How to Stand

It seems obvious WARNING!

but it isn’t.
If you put your feet
too close together,
1.Stand with your
you will sway.
feet hip width
apart. This is very
You should be distracting for your
comfortable and audience.
stable.
 How to Stand

2. Hold your notes to one side and at WARNING!

waist level with your left hand and If you hold your notes up in
follow the text down with your front of your face, your
right thumb. Or the other way voice will be muffled, which
around if you’re left handed. is not good.
 How to Stand

3. Look straight ahead. It helps if you focus your eyes just above the last row
of the audience. Your listeners will feel that you are looking at them, but
you can concentrate on your words rather than who is watching you. Only
look at your notes occasionally for reference.

WARNING!
If you focus on your
notes and don’t look up,
your words will be
unclear and the impact of
what you’re saying will
be lost.
 Practise

Take the text you have been given and

practise standing as if you are ready to
deliver it to an audience.
 How to Breathe

There’s more to it than breathing in and out. It’s about biology!

Your breath, lungs and diaphragm control the strength and quality of your
voice.

When you are speaking for an audience, you must breathe from your
diaphragm. This helps your voice to travel.

This is called:
Intercostal diaphragmatic breathing
 The Diaphragm

Your diaphragm is a dome shaped muscle which lies underneath your lungs.

When you When you breathe

breathe out, it in, the diaphragm
is relaxed and flattens,
makes a encouraging air to
bridge. fill your lungs.

If you’d like to find your diaphragm, lie on your back and put a book on your
stomach. Make the book move up and down by using your stomach muscles.
Your diaphragm will be working!
 Why is it Important?

• It is possible to breathe without using your diaphragm

by filling just the top of your lungs.
• This results in short, shallow breaths.
• Your voice is weak when you breathe like this.
• You will also strain your vocal chords and could end
up with an aching throat.

Intercostal Diaphragmatic Breathing

•Makes your voice strong.
•Allows you to project your voice so everyone can hear you.
•Gives you variety in the tone and modulation of your voice.
•Protects your vocal chords so you will not strain them.
 How to Breathe

• Before you start to speak, check your posture. Make sure your shoulders are
relaxed.

• Take a deep breath – feel your lungs filling up all the way down to your
stomach. Make sure your shoulders don’t hunch up at this point.

• Allow the air to leave your lungs. There is no need to force it.

• Breathe in again and begin.

You’ll be surprised how easy it is to project your voice to the

back of the room!
 Summary

Take time to stand in the correct posture and steady your breath before you start
to speak. It will only take a few seconds and it could make the difference
between a good speech and a great speech.

•Stand with feet hip width apart, shoulders relaxed.

•Take a deep breath, filling your lungs to the bottom.

•Let it go.

•Breathe in again and begin!

 Practice

Take the text you have been given and

practise standing as if you are ready to
deliver it to an audience.

Then take deep breaths and read the first

line out loud.
 Task

Design a fact sheet to give helpful advice to

pupils who are nervous about speaking in
front of the class.
 Quick Quiz

Get ready to show off your knowledge of

public speaking techniques!
 Quick Quiz

The diaphragm is…

A) Tendon B) Muscle

C) Part of the lung D) Cartilage

 Quick Quiz

Intercostal diaphragmatic breathing helps you to…

B) Talk for ages without

A) Shout
taking a breath

C) Project your voice D) Strain your vocal chords

 Quick Quiz

Your notes should be…

A) At your hip, to one side B) Just below your face

C) On the floor D) In front of your face

 Quick Quiz

How should you look at your audience?

A) Look directly at
B) Look at your notes
each person

C) Look at just the D) Look just above the

front row back row
 Quick Quiz

How do you feel about speaking in public?

A) Absolutely terrified B) Slightly nervous

C) Fairly calm D) Massively confident

There is no right or wrong answer, it is individual choice!

Photo courtesy of veryveryquietl@flickr.com - granted under creative commons licence – attribution