No matter where you are on your journey as a public speaker, there’s room for improvement, says veteran public relations professional and public speaking coach Rosemary Ravinal. In this column, the Miami-based thought leader offers tips based on prior submissions on how to tackle public appearances across 2024.
By Rosemary Ravinal
Look at your calendar for 2024. How many conferences, panels, podcasts, media interviews, board meetings, investor calls, and employee updates are on your calendar? Are you prepared to tackle them with clarity, confidence, and impact?
Professional speakers are constantly working on their craft. Whether novice or pro, you need to take stock of your skills inventory and identify the gaps. Are you preparing for a TEDx talk or doing a motivational speech to employees to kick-start the new year? Will you be the spokesperson for a product launch, company expansion, or M&A? These scenarios and many more call on your ability to understand your audience and connect with the desired impact.
To help you prepare, here are four topline takeaways to consider, with links to articles as they appear on my Master Communicator Blog:
Speak more concisely and dump the cliches
Rambling on can be a recipe for confusion. There are simple techniques to help you synthesize information into nuggets that are easy for anyone to understand. Being long-winded is a bad habit shared by most business leaders, as is the tendency to overuse tired phrases and cliches. You can bring clarity to your speech by refreshing your vocabulary regularly. One solution favored by media spokespeople is the sound bite, which will grab attention and help people remember your message in your own words.
Boost your self-confidence and charisma
Self-acceptance is the first step to claiming your personal power; yet what can you do if you are short in stature and have a weak voice? And how do you cope when you have to deliver an important speech and feel terrible? And when feelings of inadequacy take over, how do you shift your mindset to keep them from sabotaging your speech or presentation?
Turn fear into BLISS
There are many techniques for managing fear when you speak. Notice I say manage because in truth the jitters or butterflies in your stomach will show up most of the time. The trick is how you deal with them. And a shift in outlook can turn presentation hell into presentation bliss? I’ve identified five proven steps to turn your fear into peak performance: Believe, love, imagine, service and smile.
Use body language more effectively
If you did nothing more than establish good eye contact with your audience virtually or in person, you would be applying good body language effectively. Beyond your gaze, there are nearly limitless ways to use your arms and hands to complement your message. And, when you are actively listening, tilting, and nodding your head can signal understanding and agreement.
Now is the time to get ready to uplevel your communication skills and start the new year poised and ready to use the power of your voice to transform, inspire, and persuade.
