Nobonita Chowdhury
If you’ve ever been to a debate or speech tournament, then you’ve definitely crossed paths with expert orators. Sometimes they make you wonder: how can someone my age be so good at this? Truth be told, public speaking is something that can be perfected with practice. Of course, there are gifted orators out there. But for the rest of us it is like a muscle that needs to be used. So if you’re not a great orator, all you need to become one is proper practice and training.
Firstly, let’s talk about your speech. Your speech needs to be composed of both what you want to say and what your audience wants from you. To deliver an effective speech you need to mold the relevant aspects of both sides. This way, you will have more confidence in your words while keeping your audience engaged. Next, focus on your title. Your title needs to be both imaginative and inspirational. A good title helps the speech to stand out as a prospectus and raises audience expectations as well. As they say: “The first impression is the last impression”. The title will be your first impression to the audience. If you’re doing debate then you can skip this part.
Now, the most important part: the actual delivering of the speech. Make your speech as simple as possible. You’ll lose your audience’s interest if you try to make it too complex. It’s not about sounding smart. It’s about sounding confident while explaining the situation to your audience. The same goes for debate. Make sure your opponents understand what you’re talking about. The better the speech, the easier it is to understand.
“As a rule, simplicity of language makes superb speechmaking.”
-Simon Sebag Montefiore, Speeches that changed the World (Quercus, 2005)
There are plenty of other ways to polish your speech. To get your audience thinking, start your speech with a dramatic or challenging question. Use striking adjectives and metaphor to bring color to it. Or better yet, use humor if appropriate. People always like relating to humor. Narratives work too, if relevant to the speech.
Show confidence on the podium. It is the key to overcoming most of your public speaking fears. In many of my debate tournaments, I’ve had opponents blabbering absolute nonsense who still managed to win, all because they radiated confidence. When you’re speaking with a lot of confidence, people seem to think that you know what you’re talking about. Confidence can take you far even when you don’t have a well written speech. And last but not least, make eye contact with your audience. This intimidates opponents and also engages the audience. Body language does work wonders in public speaking.
Use these tips when working on your public speaking skills. You’ll be surprised at how much you improve.