- You're going to learn seven public speaking tips
for beginners.
I made a video
like this a few years ago that has over a million views
but it's starting to look old and sound a bit old.
Here's a refresher of my top seven do's and don'ts
and there's a free PDF that summarizes these tips.
There's a link to that in the description below this video.
Number one, don't ramble and get long-winded.
This is the most common complaint that audiences
have when listening to speakers, and that's
because long rambling messages make it difficult
for your listeners to follow along.
Instead, organize your presentation in a clear introduction,
body and conclusion, and keep your introduction concise.
Give the central idea or key theme
of the message and preview your main points.
Then organize the body of your presentation
around three clear main points, say first, second
and third when you get to each of those points.
Finally, give a clear conclusion.
In fact, say the words in conclusion
to signal that you're wrapping up.
Quickly recap your main points and you're out.
This is the classic public speaking design for a reason.
Don't fight it.
Trust that this basic design will work for 90%
or more of your messages, especially if you're a beginner.
Your audience will be grateful that you had a clear plan
and they'll remember what you said, which is the whole point
of preparing a message like this in the first place.
Organizing a message like this takes a little more
behind the scenes, effort and time
but it'll help you sound great.
Number two, don't clutter up
your speaking notes with too many details.
This is another common mistake.
We're often tempted to pack our notes
with everything we want to say, and that's natural
because we don't wanna forget, but when it comes
to the actual presentation, we'll get nervous
in the moment and the most likely outcome
when we have too many notes is just to lock
in on our notes and look down the whole time.
We end up reading essentially,
and we sound like we're reading.
It comes across as stiff, wooden, and robotic
and it pretty much ends all eye contact.
Instead, pair down your notes as you practice
so that you can have a structured conversation
with your audience.
Your goal is to have just key words and key phrases
on your note cards.
We call these talking points.
I have a whole video about how to whittle down your notes
as your practice.
I'll put a link to that in the description below.
The short version is practice a few times, cut your notes
in half, practice a few more times, cut your notes in half.
Do this over the course of a few days so that
by the time you're ready to stand up and speak
you have simplified notes with key words only
you can just glance down, see what's coming next, look up,
connect, and have a comfortable conversational style
where your personality shines through.
Using simplified notes is freedom.
Number three, don't look with your eyes in the wrong places.
Here's where not to look.
Don't look over listener's heads.
That's terrible advice I've heard many times.
Don't look at the floor,
don't look at the ceiling or dart your eyes
around the room and for goodness sake,
don't turn your shoulders and look back at the screen.
Nobody wants to watch you read right from the slides
so here's what you should do.
Look directly into each person's eyes long enough
to finish a thought and then move on
and look directly into the next person's eyes.
Long enough to finish a thought.
I've said it in other videos,
a teacher once said that eye contact
in public speaking should follow this pattern.
One thought, one look.
In other words, make eye contact for about a half a sentence
or so and then move on to the next person.
One thought, one look, this is about three to five seconds
for each person at a time
and make it your goal to look at each person
in the room a few times during your presentation.
I'll admit this is easier said than done.
It can feel awkward to look right into people's eyes
if you're not used to it, but remember,
you're doing it for your listeners.
If you don't look them in the eye
they won't feel like you made a connection with them
and listeners want to feel connected.
They want to feel part
of the process when you are the speaker
and if you don't make eye contact
your message won't sink in as much.
Number four is similar for the same reasons.
Don't load up your slides with too much text or animation.
As mentioned, if there's too much on your slides
you'll be tempted to look back and read
from your slides or explain everything that's on there.
Once you turn away from your listeners like this
you'll lose all engagement and some people think
that their slides are their speaking notes
and then they rely on them.
Essentially, they can't do their presentation
without looking back at their slides, and all
of that detail and text will make it difficult
for your listeners to understand
what's on your slides as well.
Instead, make sure your slides are clear, simple
and help you make whatever point you're making
at that particular moment.
A rule of thumb I like to use is
that if you're spending more than two
or three minutes on each slide when you're preparing them
then you're probably wasting your time.
Beginners tend to over rely
on their slides and use too many slides.
Don't use more than one slide per minute as a maximum.
Number five, don't speak too softly or in a low volume.
Most beginning presenters speak too softly.
They're only loud enough so that the people
in the front of the room can hear them.
People further back won't be able to hear you
in a low volume
and it won't make you sound confident to speak like that.
So a key tip is to speak a little louder
than you usually do in a conversation.
Your voice should fill the room.
Now, you're not yelling
you're just projecting your voice all the way
so they can hear you in the back row.
I usually pretend when I'm speaking that the people
in the back row have a slight hearing loss
which many people do.
If you think of your voice
as an old-fashioned volume knob on a radio, move your volume
from five or six up to about seven or eight.
It may feel awkward at first
but you have to speak in a confident voice
if you want to project that confidence to your listeners.
Number six, don't fidget with your feet.
Don't pace back and forth aimlessly because you're nervous.
This will distract your listeners
and it'll make you look anxious.
Instead, for your posture, stand confidently
in one place with your shoulders back and square.
Stand there for a little while
and then if you wanna move, move with a purpose
take a few steps and then stand firmly in another place
for a while and share another part of your message.
That kind of feet planted stance
and posture will make you look prepared and confident.
Number seven, don't fidget with your hands.
You don't wanna put them in your pockets, for example
or play with a pen
or do anything else weird or distracting like that.
You wanna use small gestures that emphasize your ideas.
As you practice your presentation, just let your hands go
and gesture comfortably as you rehearse.
Practice small little gestures just like this.
Simply open your hands on the most important word
of each sentence or two, practice like this
and it'll become second nature
and relaxed during your actual presentation.
Here's a quick summary of all seven do's and don'ts.
Feel free to leave a comment
about the tip you found most helpful.
You can find these same seven tips
in the free PDF download to remind yourself
next time you're preparing a presentation.
I'll put a link to that in the description below the video.
There are plenty of other free resources
on that page as well.
Until next time, thanks, God bless, and I will see you soon.