If you've ever had to deliver a speech, you know how incredibly anxiety prone it can be. Whether it was a sales presentation, or a speech at your friendly neighborhood Toastmasters, public speaking is one of the most frightening things you can ever do. The good news is that there are a few tips to help you to easily deliver a powerful speech that nobody will forget.
The first step is to know your material. You should be able to talk about it conversationally with a stranger at the local coffee house. And you should be ready to respond confidently to any questions they may have. Best way to prepare for this? Think of all the questions you definitely don't want to be asked, and simply prepare three or four answers for them.
The second step is how you frame the speech. If you imagine yourself standing in front of a group of strangers or classmates and hoping for their approval, you're sunk before you even start. A better frame would be simply that you have important information that they may be able to use. That way, even they are bored stiff (which they won't be after you learn the next two techniques), they aren't rejecting you, they just aren't particularly interested in the information.
Up next is the way in which you deliver your actual speech. Start of with anything that hooks the crowds attention. Controversial statement, a colorful description of benefits, some shocking and horrible thing that may happen to them if they don't take heed of your information. Anything that gets them thinking: "Holy Moses! I'd better listen to this!" Remember that everybody is interested in how your information can help them. So deliver it accordingly.
The next step is your body language and posture while speaking. Stand up straight, shoulders back, and keep your gaze slowly sweeping across the audience as you speak. If you can't bring yourself to look anybody directly in the eye, look at their foreheads, or at the top of their heads. They won't know the difference.
And yet another simple but powerful trick is where to pause. Pausing can be a fantastic tool in your arsenal. Most people pause where they imagine a period would go. Wherever the periods are. A much more effective place to put pauses is right smack dab in the middle of a sentence. Preferable between a verb and its object. For example, instead of saying, "I ate an apple," try saying "I ate....an apple," instead. This will generate a huge response potential, which will keep your audience on the edge of their seat.
These easy to remember ideas when combined, will give you incredible charisma and poise. Toastmasters is likely the best place to try these out, as you can choose virtually any topic you'd like to speak about. As a side benefit, public speaking will do wonders for your self-esteem and self-confidence.