Man is not born with the latent ability of oration, it is developed over a significant period of time with experience and practice. The act of speaking face to face with a live audience is included in oratory practices. It is one of the most essential skills that an individual must imbibe within himself. Public speakers do have the potential to bring about a revolution in a society. Speakers from various places across the globe have played a crucial role in motivating their audiences in dark times. It can be called as an art that is used for teaching, persuasion or entertainment of listeners. Speakers who communicate with audiences to teach them something, often make use of jargons and anecdotes which will boost the learning ability and performance of the audience. Whereas speakers who wish to persuade their niche audience into doing something, put hyperbole, metaphors and persuasive literary tools into their speech.

Fortunate ones are immune to the fear of public speaking, but there are people with poised personalities and good literary skills and are yet low on confidence if made to face an audience. One need not feel worried about how to tackle the anxiety that builds up while delivering a speech. There are certainly a few tips and tricks that one can carry up his sleeve.

KNOW YOUR NICHE AUDIENCE BEFOREHAND

One needs to use alternative speaking styles while interacting with listeners belonging to different age groups, genders, societal strata, etc. Crafting the speech based on the type of audience which will be attending the session, will certainly help to maintain cordiality and smoothness in the oration.

FOR INSTANCE – While delivering a speech for a formal session, with businessmen and industrial expertise as the audience, one does not make use of comical references or satirical expressions.

USE OF APPROPRIATE GESTURES

Making sure that your bodily gestures do not portray that you are anxious from within, is important. Clasping of hands, standing in the same stance for a longer time, rubbing of palms, tapping of feet should be avoided. Standing in an erect stance, with an amiable expression and making eye to eye contact with the audience present is essential. Simple confident hand gestures and displaying counting of points on fingertips from time to time, will attract the audience to follow along. An appropriate body language helps the speaker to engage well with the audience.

FOR INSTANCE – Distracting hand gesture such as fidgeting prevents the audience from absorbing what the speakers is trying to explain.

VOCABULARY BUILDING

To attain a sufficient level of mastery in usage of words and arranging them into sentences, reading does play a major role. Getting your hands on various genres of write-ups, hunting for meanings of less comprehensible words and jotting down those words on flashcards or sticky notes is one of the techniques to improvise on your vocabulary. Attempting to communicate with people possessing admirable literary skills, will help one to carefully pay attention to pronunciation of a plethora of words. Not everybody gets the privilege of interacting with literary expertise, but one can definitely listen to podcasts, songs, speeches and other audio visual means of learning.

FOR INSTANCE – Glancing through the Thesaurus such as the Oxford Dictionary on a regular basis, is beneficial to improve the vocabulary.

ENDLESS HOURS OF PRACTICE

We have all come across the quote, “Practice makes a man perfect.” One does not necessarily require an audience to practice public speaking. Many present day orators must have practiced their speeches in front of the mirror as newbies. Including personal experiences, explanation of real life stories, subtle humour can be used to craft a speech. After the script has been finalized, beginners can practice speaking against the mirror or a small group and record what is being spoken. But, one must not constantly make use of the mirror as a tool because the concept of public speaking in itself states that a speech has to be delivered in front of an audience. Hence, a mirror cannot create an audience like impact for the speaker. Thus, regular practice will help one to analyse his/her shortcomings and can make alterations accordingly.

FOR INSTANCE – Practicing in front of a mirror, will help an individual to focus on his gestures and he can thereby try to eliminate under confident bodily motions.

Man cannot gain absolute perfection in all the tasks throughout his journey of life. But one can definitely attempt to minimize the flaws or shortcomings within oneself. This blog strives to highlight the methods through which one can build up spoken skills and the confidence required to conquer the fear of Public Speaking.