10 Tips for Improving Your Public Speaking Skills

Public speaking: we're afraid of it and we hate it, yet we all do it whether we like it or not. Public speaking skills are essential for any career path you choose to pursue, but they are even more important if you are in a leadership role.

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No matter what the reason is that you have decided to improve your public speaking skills, if you follow these 10 tips you will be well on your way to becoming a great public speaker:

1. Pause Before You Speak

The best speakers, those people who can hold audiences captivated from their opening words until the end of their talk, all share one common characteristic - they pause before speaking. While it may seem counterintuitive to pause before beginning your talk, this strategy allows you to collect your thoughts and come across as more confident. It also gives the audience time to adjust to what is about to happen - they know a speaker is about to begin so they mentally prepare themselves.

2. Practice Makes Perfect

Like most things in life, the more you do something, the better you get at it. If you want to improve your public speaking skills, the only way to do so is through practice. While practicing your speech may feel like a chore at first, doing so will dramatically improve the quality of both the content and delivery of your talk.

3. Be Yourself

While there are some aspects of public speaking that can be learned, there is no substitute for natural charisma. The most important element of a good public speaker is authenticity - if you are not being yourself, your talk will suffer from lack of confidence and trustworthiness. Even if you have given the same exact speech 100 times, practicing it over and over will give you a greater sense of ownership and pride in what you are saying.

4. Visualize Yourself Speaking Successfully

If you have ever experienced stage fright, the worst thing you can do is to let your mind wander while you are speaking. If your mind starts to drift off while giving a talk, take note of this and bring yourself back into the moment by briefly closing your eyes and visualizing yourself successfully giving your talk. Seeing yourself speak with poise and confidence will help you to deliver your speech in the same way.

5. Elevator Speech

An "elevator pitch" is a short summary used to quickly explain what you do, whether it be for personal or professional reasons. Oftentimes when people are introduced to strangers, they are asked "What do you do?" - the answer to this question is your elevator speech. Developing an effective elevator speech will improve your public speaking skills because it forces you to condense what you do into a short summary that can be easily remembered.

6. Don't Be Afraid of the Joke

One characteristic that all great speakers have is that they put the audience first. Making an effort to get your audience engaged is crucial because it creates a connection between you and them. If you are in any doubt about whether or not to make a joke, go for it! This is one of the most effective ways to engage your audience in conversation with you, which will help to strengthen your relationship with them.

7. Nervousness Doesn't Have to Be Negative

Many people associate nervousness with fear, but it can actually be a very effective tool in public speaking if you learn how to use it properly. Your nervous energy is only bad if you let it disrupt the calm composure that great speakers master . Channel your nervousness into excitement, which will help you to appear confident and engaged.

8. Silence is Golden

Some speakers are tempted to fill every moment of silence with more words in an effort not to lose the audience's attention, but sometimes this can have the opposite effect. Pausing for 3-5 seconds between sentences allows the audience to think about what you have just said, which is often more powerful than the actual statement itself.

9. Get Feedback

If you are aiming to improve your public speaking skills , it can be difficult to judge for yourself how well you are doing during a talk. One way to get feedback is by asking your audience members after your talk - they may be willing to provide constructive criticism that will help you to improve your speaking abilities in the future.

10. Practice Your Pacing and Breath

Most people don't realize how important vocal variety is in a speech, but it can make or break a talk. One of the easiest ways to lose your audience's attention is by speaking in a monotone voice, so make sure you vary the speed of your talking and incorporate a bit of excitement into your voice as well!

In addition to changing up the tone of your voice, it's also important to breathe properly. Constricting your breathing is easy when you are nervous, but over time this can lead to tension in the neck and shoulders, so make sure you are breathing deeply when giving a talk.