TIPS FOR BETTER PUBLIC SPEAKING ... ...

Most people feel nervous and jittery when they have to make a presentation or give a talk, and yet as one grows in life and advances on the career path, this cannot be avoided.

Now, a little nervousness is quite natural and human, especially if it is your first talk or if there is a major event ; it may purely be out of sincerity and commitment, but overdoing this sincerity part can be counter-productive!

Sometimes it is just the lack of confidence as a personality trait that makes people nervous ; other times it can be lack of preparedness, causeless fear, lack of practice, and wrong strategy.

Public speaking is both an art and a science. A few simple tips can actually make public speaking pleasurable - for the speaker as well as the audience. It is a delight for the audience to listen to a speaker who knows the subject and can also present it well.

BE CONFIDENT : Confidence will come in two ways : A. By inwardly holding a high Self-esteem which is awareness of your Self-worth. Now Self-worth or Soul-worth everyone has but not everyone has the same awareness of it. So know and believe in your potential, have Self-respect even when you have humility - keep a balance. B. Prepare well in the subject of your talk, rehearse a few times and have updated information. When you know your subject, and know that you know, confidence happens. While your own study / experience in life would be the most reliable source for the knowledge to share, a search on internet can also help you learn more on the subject, but you must focus on main points, and must not get lost. Finally know your audience, their background and their needs / challenges. Stay relevant.

STAY SIMPLE : Don’t be too detailed and complicated. Have a clear sight of the essentials and present them scientifically. Don’t have more material than you can cover in the allotted time, else you will have to hurry through it or skip a few points and that may distract you. It is good to have audio-visual aids but not too many. Never read out the slides, and don't pack too much text in the slides. Keep the visuals attractive and meaningful.

MEET THE EYES : Look straight at the audience, don’t evade looking at them. Don’t look down, or at nowhere. Look them in the face. When we look straight at what frightens us, fear stops. Because fear is only a hoax, an imagination that cannot stand honest scrutiny. It is good to stand up and talk, and if possible to move around a bit, but don't pace up and down nervously, losing eye contact with the audience. Don't talk to the walls or the roof !

PRACTICE : Practice will make you perfect. Speak often - in friends, with colleagues. Share what you feel. As you speak, articulate. Pause after delivering bullet points, let the facts sink in. Don’t be loud and aggressive trying to drown others’ voices, nor be timid and shaky. Use gestures with hands and body language, but not excessively. Too much of histrionics or theatrics can only put the talk on the back burner, and cause undue distraction from the subject.

LISTEN : When people ask questions, or present their views, listen intently and respectfully. Focus on the points, don’t judge people, even when you cannot agree. Pause before you reply, think well. Stay polite but express yourself.

BREATHE DEEP : Don’t run out of breath. If fear or nervousness grips you just before starting, inhale through the nose, and exhale deeply through the mouth, repeating several times. During the talk also, pause and catch up with your breath. Oxygenated blood is your brain’s food, and when you don’t breathe enough, the brain gets dull through starvation. Drink water before, and if your speech is relatively long, in between also during the talk, so your throat does not dry up.

EAT LIGHT : Don’t take a heavy meal just before speaking, else all your Prana (Life Energy) will be busily engaged in handling the food in your stomach, and you will feel lack of energy for the work in hand. Eat lightly of fruits, fruit juices or almonds / pea nuts etc., over an hour before the event.

ADD HUMOR : If your subject gets too technical or profound, introduce little humor now and again. Don't make things too serious, have some fun. Keep up a human touch, but keep the humor light - avoid too many jokes, else they would distract you and the audience. Some people like an applause from the audience so much that they go overboard with jokes ; don't do it. You are not there to make people laugh - you are not a joker, you are there to help them learn something useful - you are a speaker. Keep first things first.

DESIRE TO LOVE & SERVE : Your intention should not be to ‘impress’ the audience (though, ironically enough, you will impress the best when you don't aim at that), but to make a point, to make a meaningful presentation of what is in your mind. Don’t try to parade your knowledge before the ignorance of others. You actually impress people best when you are yourself. Deep within, have an intention of being a vehicle of knowledge / wisdom, of helping and serving the audience, and be grateful for the opportunity to serve. You will then feel divinely empowered.

MEDITATE EVERYDAY : Those who do some Pranayama (Life Force control through breath) and meditate everyday, develop an aura that has its own magnetism. Modern science is still doing research on this through studies on Brain Wave Theory / RFI /Aura Measurement etc., but the fact remains that when you communicate, there is, besides the spoken words, a non-verbal transfer of thought and energy as subtle vibes. The same statement made by two persons, giving the same information in the same sentences, can have different impact because of who says it. Pranayama and meditation help sustain your energy level, improve your aura and also your Self-esteem, as covered in the first point.

More practical help : For each of the ten points above, there is more detailed and vivid information available ; there are also some actionable techniques such as for pranayama, concentration, meditation, etc., which will be scientifically explained in modern terms with examples and real-life proof. You can learn these through a life coaching in just a few online sessions (video / audio), customized to your needs and confidentially one-to-one, or for even better results, you can take a sustained coaching support over 3 to 6 months to cover all aspects in terms of know-why (the underlying principles) and know-how (do-able techniques).

Hans Dholakia www.hansyoga.com Motiv. Speaker, Life Coach & Corp. Trainer Blending Science & Spirituality.