The A to Z of good public speaking.
I love a list- here's one I made to be your check-list as you prepare any talk, speech or presentation.
Which is your favorite?
A - Audience. Speak to your specific audience. Who are they? Why are they there? What do they want to know?
B - Body Language. Your body helps you tell the story. Be open, be calm, use your facial expressions, use gestures.
C - Clarity. Be clear & be concise. Know what you want to say.
D - Data. Is boring. Make sure your technical information is accessible and engaging.
E - Emotions. If you want someone to act you need to touch their emotions. Tell stories.
F - Feedback. Ask for it. Practice is the only way to improve, feedback helps you figure out how.
G - Grammar. Speak good, yeah?
H - Humor. You don’t have to be a comedian, but touches of lightness, things that provoke a smile make your message more enjoyable and more memorable.
I - Inspire. Show us why you care- we will be inspired to care too.
J - Jargon. Keep it to a minimum.
K - Key points. Less is more. Better to have one key point that you articulate really well, than lots of ideas that we won’t remember.
L - Listen. Good communication goes both ways.
M - Me! Don’t make it all about you. The audience want to feel like participants, not spectators.
N- Nerves. You will have them. Prepare, practice, eat snacks, take deep breaths. You got this.
O- Outdated. Refresh your talk regularly. Update your stories, rework your slides. The audience can tell when you’re calling it in.
P- Powerpoint. Write the talk BEFORE you make the slide deck. Only use slides that enhance or illustrate your point.
Q- Questions. Hesitant about public speaking? Asking questions is a great way to practice raising your voice.
R- Respect... your audience. They've given you their time and attention, what are you giving them?
S - Smile. The audience will engage so much more if you seem happy to be there.
T - Time. Respect it. Be concise, don’t take more time than you need.
U - Unprepared. Don’t be! Don’t wing it. Prepare well in advance.
V - Voice. Your voice is a dynamic tool at your disposal. Modulate the tone, volume, pace, timbre
W- Water bottle. Bring one. You might get a tickle in your throat, you might need to take a minute to regroup. You might just get thirsty!
X - X- factor. It's you. You are enough. You are an authority on this topic, own your space.
Y - YES! Say Yes to public speaking. Find your voice- raise your impact.
Z - zzzzzz. Don’t be boring! If in doubt, be quick.
#publicspeaking #communication #ilovelists
