Lukas Schwekendiek, Life Coach, Speaker, Writer. Published on TIME, Inc.com & Huffington Post
#1 - Stop speaking - After every sentence make a definite, longer pause than you need to make.
- It will often seem incredibly long to you, but the truth is that most people will not mind at all.
- Get into the habit of stopping to speak rather than talking on and making a fool of yourself.
- A longer silence builds more respect than a blabbering idiot.
#2 - Consider your audience - Who are you talking to? What do they want to learn?
- Why are they listening to you? What are they hoping to gain from this?
- If you can answer these questions then you know what to talk about, what interests them and how to form your speech so it remains interesting for them!
#3 - Enunciate and Speak slower - Most people speed up when they are nervous, slur their words and give off a completely different feeling than they intended to.
- Practice your Enunciation while focusing on speaking slower and you will speak more clearly.
- Tongue-Twisters are great for practicing your Enunciation. Here are some of my favorites:
- Red Leather, Yellow Leather, Red Leather, Yellow Leather. (Repeat at least 10 times.)
- One Black Beetle bled only Black Blood while the other Black Beetle bled Blue.
- For more visit: 150 Best English Tongue Twisters to challenge your tongue!
#4 - Have little to no notes - Whenever you are practicing try to do it without any notes at all.
- This way you will know where your problems lie and you will get better at speaking freely. I
- f anything keep notecards with a few key words on them, never full sentences.
#5 - Speak more - Give speeches whenever, wherever you can to practice!
- If you do not have any places nearby then start a YouTube channel to get yourself in front of someone and talk.
- Practice makes perfect.
- If you are even too scared to do that, then just practice some speeches in front of the mirror!
#6 - Record yourself and pay attention to your quirks - Everyone has quirks, be it an “Umm” an extra “and” or even a small flick of the wrist every now and again.
- Watch your own quirks so you know what they are to eliminate them.
- When you re-watch recordings you learn a lot more about your speaking habits than you would like to, but it is the best way to improve!
#7 - Don’t be afraid to go of course - The truth is that no one knows the speech you prepared.
- No one knows what you wanted to say, what things you didn’t say or what things you messed up on.
- But if you deliver your speech with fervor, then even when you go off course, no one will know!
#8 - Practice - Practice, Practice, and then practice some more!
- Every time you practice you will find other faults, will find new ways to say it, but, most importantly, you will grow more comfortable with the speech itself.
- This gives you options and allows you to be fluid in your speaking rather than trying to stay rigid and following the speech 1-to-1.
#9 - Vary your sentences - Vary each sentence in tonality, length and emphasis to create a flow!
- No one likes to go on a ride that is straight without any bumps, twists, turns or loops.
- Bring energy and life to your speech whenever you can! Get emotional about it, get loud, and don’t try to hold anything back.
- This is your speech, this is what you want to say, make your audience understand why!
#10 - Have fun - The bottom line is that you should have fun giving the speech and speaking.
- If you are not having fun, your audience won’t have fun.
- If you laugh, however, then it will create an enjoyable atmosphere, will allow you to mess up more freely and will make the audience listen to you more attentively.
- Try to have as much fun as you can, laugh, tell jokes, take it easy, and you may actually enjoy yourself!
Editor's Note: We need more people to speak up at Marinwood CSD meetings. Please attend the Second Tuesday of the Month at 775 Miller Creek Rd at 7:30 PM.
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