One of the questions I most ask people who come to me for personal coaching to increase their public speaking skills is this. "Did you warm up before speaking". And most of them just stare at me as if I am completely mad and don't have a clue what I am talking about. I then explain that even professional singers and professional actors and athletes all warm up before going on stage or performing in some way.
Why should it be any different for public speaking?
The one fundamental difference between people who are capable of decent public speaking and people who are not is the difference in the state of mind. Good speakers have mastered their nerves (well mostly) and appear polished on stage. I will repeat. The only difference is the state of their mind.
It is therefore of enormous importance to warm up in order to become calm and this be in the optimum state for speaking. One of the best ways to warm up and change your state is slow deep breathing.
The preferred way is known as 7/11 breathing because you breathe in slowly to the count of seven and then breathe out slowly to a longer count of eleven. The main reason you breathe out longer is because the parasympathetic nervous system receives a signal that all is becoming calmer when your breathing slows but this only occurs on the exhalation rather than the inhalation so you need to give this system every chance you can to pick up this signal correctly.
The next thing to do is to make sure that you breathe all the way out so that you hardly have any residual air left in your lungs because it is carbon dioxide build up in the body sends you into fight or flight and signals for adrenaline to start flowing and we all know how that feels, not very nice.
Remember that this technique is also breathing from the diaphragm or belly area rather than just expanding the chest. If you are not sure you are doing it right simply place a hand on your diaphragm and you should feel it rising and falling as you breathe in and out slowly.
Belly breathing fills the lower lobes of the lungs correctly which in turn fill all the little alveoli that transport oxygen around the body. Once your body is well oxygenated the stress response will correct itself because the amount of carbon dioxide to oxygen will be rebalanced.
The last thing to mention which is probably the most important is to do the breathing for a minimum of ten minutes with fifteen minutes being better. i know many people who say to me that they tried this and it didn't work. so I asked then how long they had done it for and they replied that they had done it for a few minutes only.
If you feel quite stressed it will take at least fifteen minutes to correct the imbalance caused by too much carbon dioxide in the blood so the trick is to take a look at the place you will be speaking in beforehand and find a quiet place there on early arrival and start your breathing.
Please believe me, this will work if you do it for fifteen minutes or more. Athletes don't take two minutes to warm up.they spend at least fifteen to twenty minutes and singers often take longer. Pavarotti, the famous opera singer, once stated that he would never sing without warming up his voice first of all.
So 7/11 breathing for at least fifteen minutes is the trick to changing your mental state before public speaking.
Think of the last really memorable talk or presentation that you attended. Now, was that easy to do, or did you really have to rack your brains to remember one? Sadly, too many presentations are easy to forget. And that's a big problem because the only reason the presenter gave the talk was to communicate something to you.
However, there are four basic things that you can do to ensure that your verbal messages are understood - and remembered - time and time again.
Although somewhat obvious and deceptively simple, these are:
Understand the purpose of the presentation Keep the message clear and concise Be prepared Be vivid when delivering the message
Understand what you want to achieve:
Before you start working on your talk or presentation, it's essential that you really understand what you want to say, who you want to tell and why they might want to listen. To do this, ask yourself: Who? What? How? When? Where? Why?
Who are you speaking to? What are their interests, beliefs and values? What do they share in common with others; how are they unique?
What message do you wish to convey? One way of answering this question is to ask yourself about the ?success criteria?. How do you know if and when you have successfully communicated what you have in mind?
How can you best put across your message? Language is most important here, as are non verbal cues such as body language and expressions. Choose your words and non verbal cues while keeping your audience in mind. Plan a beginning, middle and end. If time and place allow, consider and prepare audio-visual aids.
When? Timing is important here. Develop a sense of timing, so that your contributions are seen and heard as relevant to the issue or matter at hand. There is a time to speak and a time to be silent.
Where? What is the physical context of the communication in mind? You may have time to visit the venue, for example, and rearrange the furniture. Check for availability and visibility if you are using audio or visual aids.
Why? In order to convert hearers into listeners, you need to know why they should listen to you ? and tell them if necessary.
The Importance of Simplicity:
When it comes to wording your message, less is more. You're giving your audience headlines, too much information will overload and bore your listeners.. They are not expecting to become experts on the subject as a result of hearing your presentation, therefore simplicity is best.
If you're using slides, limit the content of each one to a few bullet points, a single statement or a very simple diagram.
Preparation:
Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. In fact, it is the most important factor in determining your communication successes. When possible, set meeting times and speaking and presentation times well in advance, thus allowing yourself the time you need to prepare your communications. Each minute of a presentation deserves thirty minutes preparation.
Of course, not all communications can be scheduled. In this case, preparation may mean having a good, thorough understanding of the office goings-on, enabling you to communicate with the knowledge you need to be effective, both through verbal and written communications
Successful Delivery:
The manner in which you deliver your speech or presentation has a lasting impact on your audience. Again, preparation is paramount here, in order to hold the listeners attention. Some useful tips for keeping your presentation vivid include:
Use examples to bring your points to life Keep your body language up-beat - don't stay stuck behind a rostrum Don't talk to fast. Less is more here too. Pauses are effective. Use a variety of tones of voice Use visual aids.
Presentations and public speaking, although daunting, can be a very enjoyable, rewarding experience, once adequate time is taken to prepare and rehearse them. An enthusiastic speaker who is confident with their material will make a lasting memorable impression on their audience.
Both Lee Heather & Sheila Mulrennan are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Lee Heather has sinced written about articles on various topics from Web Development, Public Speaking and Health. Lee James Heather is a therapist and personal coach who inspires people through his free personal development website -