How to Start Public Speaking? Tips, Guide, and Steps

Public speaking skill is a crucial communication part of everybody’s career. Whether you’re an entrepreneur or an employee, you need to be better your communication skills to reach the top. Apart from this, many people make an entire career out of it, i.e. by becoming motivational speakers or corporate counsellors. So clearly, the trait is essential for everybody to learn.

Here in this article today, we will learn everything about public speaking. We will start with its meaning, importance, steps to do it, tips, and ways to overcome your current fear.

What is Public Speaking?

Public speaking mastery stands for the talent of efficiently addressing a group of people, whether they are someone you already know or a crowd of strangers. Overall, a person’s ability to speak to them with confidence & clarity is called public speaking skills.

However, note that there may not or maybe the chance for interaction between the audience & speaker. The essential difference, however, between public speaking and casual talk is that the former is more purposeful and meant for informative, influencing, entertainment, influencing, celebratory, or informative purposes.

Importance of Public Speaking

Public speaking is a communication skill and is an essential trait for everybody’s career & life. The impact of it is vital due to the following reasons:

• Improves Confidence One obvious benefit of developing public speaking skill is the boost in your confidence. When you develop the power to speak among strangers, your confidence shoots. The science behind it is it lowers your fear level and compels you to express your thoughts clearly.
• Better Researching Skills Public speaking not only helps in improving confidence but also enhances knowledge & research skill in a person. You clearly articulate your thoughts and ask questions when in doubt, without hesitating about other’s perception.
• Leadership Skills A person must have speaking skills if he wants to be a leader or climb up his career ladder. Without it, you would not be able to express and explain your viewpoint to subordinates clearly.

How to do Public Speaking? steps by step

• Step 1: Know Your Niche The first step to becoming a public speaker is aware of your area of expertise. Ask yourself the following questions and then decide it:
  • What am I good at?
  • What things can I offer to this world?
  • What am I passionate about?
  Answering the above questions would help you to enter the motivational speaking industry.
• Step 2: Identify Audience Once you decide your niche, it is important to know your target audience, i.e. people interested in listening to what you want to say! You can make a list or questionnaire to find it; include the following in them:
  • Where do they live?
  • What is their hobby?
  • What is their career?
  • What are the ages of people who want to hear you?
• Step 3: Learn Public Speaking Now, we are done with what you will say and who will listen to you, but you still need to learn speaking skills. Invest time, money, and energy in improving it and ensure learning from the experts only and not from any other guy.
  Take a class and practice as much as you can!
• Step 4: Market Yourself Everything is okay, but if you do not market yourself among the right people, your skills are of no use. Create your presence, both online and offline, through YouTube, events, podcast websites, landing pages, and ads.

Tips for Public Speaking

• Plan Things The most important tip for a public speaker is planning all the communication and speech. Prepare your speech with stories, jokes, examples, and other appealing resources, visual or verbal. Have a script ready but don’t mistake it to learn and speak. Instead, go with the flow and use it only for direction. Practice in front of known and then among some strangers to get the real feedback.
• Work on Your Strengths The second tip is to do your SWOT analysis, i.e. understand your weak & strong points. Avoid copying other public speakers and develop your originality.
  Example: You might have a good sense of humour with a mix of motivation, while the other might be good at grabbing attention.
  Work on your strengths and improve your weaknesses over time.
• Body Language Your body language is the direct communication means to the audience, and being aware of it is crucial. Some common body language mistakes are:
  • Incorrect Body Posture
  • Not Looking in the Eyes
  • Not Smiling
  • Playing with Your Legs
  • Nervousness

How to Overcome Fear? Some Ways

• Deep Breathing Meditation or deep breathing is a great way to relieve anxiety and calm your inner voice. Before the event, take three long breathes, slowly, and if required, during the speech.
• Visualize Positive thoughts are halfway to a good presentation. Visualize that your presentation went perfect and release all negativity.
• Practice Practice your speech or presentation as much as possible before performing it in front of people. You can give a trial to your friends or family members and get feedback from them. Alternatively, you can practice in front of the mirror or record a video to point your mistakes.
• Knowledge One essential point people miss when speaking in public is not gaining significant knowledge about the topic. Take some time out to prepare what questions the audience might ask and prepare your responses. The better you understand your subject, the fewer mistakes you will make.

So, this was all about public speaking. As you climb your ladder to success, you would be required to handle more people, which need better communication skills. It helps you express your thoughts clearly and effectively. You can learn this and be better at it through practice.