Relevance and principles of building a successful public speaking

Public speaking is the presentation of thoughts in front of an audience that has an impact on people. Two main points are important - process and goal. The process of public speaking must be structured - you need to know clearly what is involved in what. But it's not just structure for structure's sake. It should be based on the second key element of your public speaking - the goal. It is also important to take into account the types of public speaking - different events imply their own characteristics of conveying information.

The skill of oratory does not just make speech competent and beautiful. Practice-tested techniques for successful public speaking help you earn more, occupy a better position, easily meet the most interesting personalities, and create a successful environment.

Content

• HARD and SOFT SKILLS
• Features of public speaking: benefits for business Step towards clients
• Save time
• The price corresponds to the quality
• High conversion to sales

I want to share an interesting, surprising study. Since the 80s, American scientists have been studying the phenomenon of “success”. We conducted research, interviewed millions of different people, trying to understand what skills influence success in life the most. The result divided the skills into 2 categories: SOFT and HARD.

Let's look at an example of what HARD is. These are professional skills that we spend half our lives on, which we studied at universities. They are “hard” - inextricably linked with a specific professional field of activity.

SOFT SKILLS – universal skills that work for you in career development in any field:

• Public speaking – no matter what field you are an expert in. Don’t know the basics of public speaking, don’t know how to convey your ideas publicly, at meetings, planning sessions, conferences? You are unlikely to get a high position.
• Self-presentation – don’t know how to make a first impression, tell about yourself? No one will know that you are a good specialist. Many good experts cannot present themselves adequately or ask for increased pay.
• Dating – if you don’t know how to make acquaintances, maintain long-term contact, you severely limit your possibilities.
• Negotiations take place regularly: with your spouse, boss, clients, government officials. Without this skill, you will give in to others, leak results, and push your interests into the background.
• Confidence – Many good experts lack confidence in themselves. They are afraid to talk about a promotion, to convince a client of anything, or to communicate with significant people. Without confidence, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT HARD SKILLS YOU HAVE!

Conclusion - the result, success in life (income, career, relationships) depends 85% on SOFT SKILLS. Only 15% is influenced by professional competencies. Yes, step #1 is to be a good expert. But, if you don’t want to be satisfied with a mediocre result, upgrade your SOFT SKILLS. This is exactly what we will do.

Features of public speaking for business

A step towards clients

Situation. People shy away from intrusive sales and do not like the imposition of services and goods.

Exit. Give people value in a focused meeting, whether it's a workshop, online webinar, or presentation. Do not sell “head-on”, pay attention to information about the value of the service or product for the audience. You will gain the trust and favor of people for further sales.

Save time

Situation. During a specific period of time, it is impossible to simultaneously conduct a consultation and conclude a deal. We spent a lot of effort and didn’t get much profit.

Exit. Public speaking brings together many interested listeners in one place. You instantly attract the attention of hundreds of potential customers to your product or service. Hot leads won't keep you waiting long.

The price corresponds to the quality

Situation. A personal consultation is not enough to be convincing and tell about all the benefits of the product/services. We have to significantly reduce prices in order not to lose customers.

Exit. In a high-quality two-hour speech, it is easier to outline the current and future benefits for the client from cooperation and demonstrate expertise.

High conversion to sales

Situation . Consultations usually do not imply serious preparation, the result is appropriate: for 5 consultations there is a maximum of one application.

Exit . Instead of working one-on-one, carefully prepare your presentation and compare the results - you will receive 5-10 times more applications. At a speech, you can effectively stir up interest in yourself, a product or service, stimulate sales, and overcome objections in various ways.

Preparing for a Public Speaking

The art of public speaking begins with preparation. The first, most important stage of preparation is the answer to the key question: “WHY?” Why am I going to perform? If you want to put a person in a stupor, ask him the question: “WHY are you doing this?”

A clear understanding of the purpose of the speech immediately determines its features and style. The goal decides how you will speak, what you will say, and in what order.

It is also worth considering the specifics of the types of public speaking by area of ​​application. To whom and in what setting will you convey the key ideas of your speech? This is important to remain a correctly understood, heard, and memorable speaker for other people.

Types of speeches according to the form of presentation of the material

• Report. To give a successful presentation, improvisation will not help. You need a goal (we wrote about this above), a detailed structure, and a specifically designated topic of the speech. The main enemy of reports is the superficiality of the topic. Try to cover the topics discussed broadly and in detail. The shortest report is 10 minutes, but more often 2-3 hours.
• The message is an abbreviated, small version of the report. We present one problem as succinctly as possible, revealing it from all sides.
• Performance . The shortest public speaking time is 5 minutes. The topic must be determined in advance. It is not forbidden to improvise if you have the skill.
• Lecture . This format is suitable if you have a deep understanding of the topic and are capable of broadcasting for hours. A lecture is usually a monologue. The task is to speak, revealing the topic in depth and in detail, to change the understanding of the listeners. Lecture time is limited to approximately 90 minutes.
• A conversation is the exact opposite of a lecture. The main thing is interaction, dialogue. We alternate the monologue with involving the audience in joint reasoning and conversation. In order not to lose initiative and dynamics, it is better to limit yourself to 30 participants. This format is similar to seminar classes at universities.

Types of public speaking by purpose

It all starts with a goal. You need to understand at the beginning of the speech: “Why am I doing this?” Simple, but therein lies the catch. Most people won't have an answer.

Let's look at four types depending on the purpose of public speaking.

The first type is an informative speech . The main goal is to change understanding. A striking example: lectures, news. It is often said: “The purpose of a lecture is to convey information.” Let's look at it with an example. You walk through the market and see Ashot Gurgenovich selling cherries. Its presentation is a bright, appetizing pyramid, berry after berry. You ask: “Ashot Gurgenovich, why did you do that?” He will not say: “To convey the information that my cherries are ripe and juicy.” He will say: “Sell everything to the last berry, preferably today.” He knows exactly the purpose of his presentation. And when we go on stage, we must also know the goal.

The purpose of a lecture or an informative speech is to change a person's understanding through information. Then, during the exams, the lecturer examines how understanding has changed.

The second type is entertaining or ritual performances . The goal is certainly not to change understanding, but to change the emotional state. For example, make a toast at a wedding. How will you know that the toast has gone well? If people started crying (“I feel sorry for the bird”) and you had that goal, then it was a success.

The most important and difficult ones are stimulating, motivating speeches . The goal is to change a person’s behavior + encourage action. Giving a sales presentation is motivating; as a result, you need to motivate a person to do something.

The last, fourth type is protocol speeches . Appropriate only for official events: political rallies, awards, anniversaries, and similar special occasions.

Right now you need to clearly define – what are you performing for? You may have an intermediate goal: to convey information, to evoke emotions, so that when you finish the speech, your goal of changing behavior will be realized.

The purpose of any activity lies beyond the scope of this activity aimed at achieving it. This is such a complex formulation. But if you comprehend it, you will truly comprehend the zen of public speaking and reach a high level of presenting information.

Although a speaker may set a motivating goal, this does not mean that he will not inform and evoke emotions during the speech. But these are just tasks - intermediate checkpoints on the way to a specific goal. It is important to distinguish between the purpose of public speaking and its objectives.

Types and forms of public speaking

Types:

• informational speech - used in reports on political or scientific topics, lectures for students, speeches to students, stories about any phenomenon;
• protocol and etiquette - in this form delegations are welcomed, congratulations on the birthday or anniversary are prepared, opening or closing remarks at an official event;
• entertaining - any informal speech (toast, life story about a funny incident);

• persuasive - the main goal is to convince listeners that the speaker is right, to demonstrate the correctness of the position and judgments, used in commercials, political and scientific discussions, and propaganda programs.

Important! One speech can have different goals, as a result, the types of speeches to the public are combined and the results are information-persuasive or information-entertaining.

Forms of speaking to an audience:

• report - an address on an important topic (social, scientific, medical), duration from a quarter of an hour to 3 hours;
• message - a short speech dedicated to one topic, maximum duration 10 minutes, must contain facts and statistical information;
• speech - a short message lasting up to 5 minutes, the topic is chosen in advance or arises as a result of discussion of a specific topic;
• lecture - presentation of a specific topic by a specialist using scientific facts, duration ranging from a quarter of an hour to 1.5 hours;
• conversation - a dialogue between the lecturer and the audience, the topic and format are determined in advance, is not limited to a time frame, involves questions from the audience, and answers from the speaker.

General requirements for public speaking

To ensure that your listeners absorb and remember as much information as possible, use structure. Without it, the audience’s attention will quickly dissipate, and your head will be a mess of disparate facts. Let's consider the basic requirements for public speaking:

A clear start

Start by confidently entering the stage and taking center stage. Take a short pause and get your attention. The first words should evoke a positive emotion. You need to create a relaxed atmosphere for the people in the room. Easy, engaging questions are fine, like: “How are you feeling?”

Creating and maintaining light tension throughout the performance

Next, introduce yourself and answer the main question – why are you here? But we shift the focus to the goals of the audience. Start with the phrase: “As a result of my speech, you...”

Make a specific promise of what will happen at the end of your speech. What people will receive, understand, learn something interesting, important, valuable. Then they will carefully wait for the outcome that you have prepared for them.

Dosed emotionality

Edge Effect – Start with more vivid emotions than you are usually used to broadcasting. In the main part you can speak more restrainedly. But the finale again requires increased energy and vivid emotions. Don't overact.

Conciseness

Squeeze out the water, learn to speak to the point, in simple, understandable phrases. To do this, you can do the exercise - translation from Russian into Russian. Take a sentence and translate it, replacing each word with a synonym, trying to preserve the meaning.

Dialogue with listeners

Turning “talking to the far right corner” into a conversation with the audience. Prepare questions in advance that will engage your audience. Try to avoid negative contexts and anything that forces people to admit their weaknesses and mistakes. For example, it is inappropriate: “Who gets sick often?” It is unlikely that people will admit this.

Ease and closeness to a conversational style of speech

Learn to add rhetorical questions to your speech. You seem to be arguing: “What is the most important thing in our topic today?”, “Why do we all want to be happy so much?” After a micro-pause, answer these questions yourself. This draws the listener's attention to what you are saying.

Establishing and maintaining a relationship with listeners

What you say and how you say it either grabs or holds the listener's attention. The boring monologue fades away. Monotonous speech drains. Add intonation to your voice - this is also called “intonation swing”. Up intonation at the beginning of a sentence and before conjunctions. Down - at the end of a sentence. It's simple. Don't be boring.

Clarity of the idea of ​​the speech

Don't be smart, don't try to seem very smart. The overall IQ in the audience drops to average. The simpler the better. No, if it’s a thesis defense or a scientific conference, you can use more terms. But this is rather an exception.

Clear ending of speech

The worst thing is to leave abruptly and unexpectedly. A smooth ending and the ability to put a point are an indicator of the speaker’s skill. Conclude what you just said. Form an attitude towards this: “I’m sure you found it useful and liked it.” Forget the phrase: “I hope...you liked something...”. Don’t leak yourself, don’t provoke doubts in your listeners. Then make a call - one concrete step that people can take here and now. Thank, say goodbye, smoothly leave with the gait of a winner. Get rid of the habit of running away from the stage before receiving applause.

Brevity.

Short speeches are viewed by most audiences as smarter, more correct, and containing true information. Brevity is especially valued by the Russian audience, which is reflected in the well-known saying “Brief and clear”: its meaning is that if it is short, then, therefore, it is clear.

It is extremely necessary to comply with the allotted regulations and meet the allotted time. You need to learn to speak briefly.

American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave his son good advice on this topic. Explaining to his son how to speak publicly, F. Roosevelt gave him three pieces of advice: “Be sincere, be brief, sit down.”

Stages of public speaking

Let's take a closer look at the map of the entire performance:

Documentary stage

At this stage we are preparing for a public speech. We draw up a specific plan - a list of key points. The plan looks like a restaurant menu. There is the name of the dish, its composition and cost. Cost is timing.

How to remember the main points of the text of a public speech?

• 1 way . Visualization – imagine, for example, a tree. Each thesis is an element of a tree, the introduction is the roots, the main part is the trunk, and the conclusion is the crown. Mentally move from the roots to the crown.
• Method 2 . Come to the hall where you plan to perform in advance. Mentally link each thesis to objects in the room. A clock on the wall is thesis No. 1, a vase with flowers is thesis No. 2, etc.
• 3 way . Come up with an association for each thesis. Connect the associations by meaning into one story.
• 4 way. Memorize and record on camera. Tell 5 times to different people.

Communicative

• Here we ask questions - both rhetorical and direct. Sometimes you can provoke a discussion, a brainstorming session.
• Direct your attention. Are you sure everyone is listening and understanding you? And if not? How will you understand this? By the look. Let's look everyone in the eye.
• We express the main points, provide arguments, reinforcements, and illustrations.
• To summarize, we make a call.

Post-communicative

It is useful to analyze the “flight” of the performance. The worst thing is when you say: “I don’t even want to remember or look at myself.” Consider that you wasted part of your life preparing and performing. If you have a video, analyze it in 4 steps:

1. The first viewing is to focus on the positives, what moments you like, what the audience reacts to.
2. Next viewing - watch without sound, evaluate facial expressions, gestures, poses, movement on stage.
3. The next run - we listen only to the voice, evaluate the pace of speech, volume, monitor filler words, diction.
4. The next review is to focus on the negatives, what can be improved, corrected.

Criteria for the effectiveness of public speaking

To improve your speaking skills, evaluate 5 key elements:

1. Style is all your non-verbal language. How did the body behave? Did it convey confidence? How did the voice sound - significant, authoritative?
2. Content – ​​did you manage to follow the structure or did you forget yourself, your thoughts scattered throughout the tree? Did you manage to improvise?
3. Contact - did you even remember that there were other people in the room besides you? Have you looked them in the eyes? Have you asked any questions? Did you give people time to answer them?
4. State – how you felt before, during and after the performance. What can you do next time to feel more confident?
5. Goal – did you achieve the goal of the performance? How did you understand this?

How to write a public speech: examples and tips

01/13/202119.08.2021 Elena LitvinenkoPosted in Oratory

In the words of Napoleon Bonaparte: “He who cannot speak will not make a career.” At all times, people respected those who knew how to speak and capture the attention of listeners. Today, the ability to speak beautifully is necessary not only for actors and politicians. And it’s logical to start preparing a public speech by composing the text of a public speech, isn’t it?

Internet activities are becoming increasingly important. Bloggers and video channel hosts need to make speeches of various types for video recording; trainers and experts need to speak online at webinars, record training materials and sales videos.

Smart people understand this, and many have repeatedly said that mastery of the word is the main weapon with which political and advertising campaigns are conducted. Therefore, the importance of the ability to briefly and succinctly express your thoughts cannot be overestimated.

As you know, the purpose of public speech is to bring a change in the behavior of listeners and spectators, to influence their minds and feelings. Therefore, you should first decide on the genre of your speech.

Modern classification of speeches by genre

1. Socio-political speeches

• Reports at meetings, conferences, congresses.
• Political and diplomatic speeches.
• Military-patriotic speech.
• Political Review.
• Propaganda and rally speeches.

2. Academic eloquence

• Lectures in higher educational institutions.
• Scientific reviews and reports.
• Information scientific reports.

3. Judicial speeches include

• Accusatory, prosecutorial speech.
• Defender's speech, lawyer's speech.

4. Social and everyday speeches

• Anniversary and congratulatory speeches.
• Toast or table speech.
• Funeral and memorial speeches.

5. Theological-ecclesiastical can be considered

• Church sermon.
• Council speech.

Of course, most often in everyday life we ​​use the social genre. But for work moments these days they are relevant:

1. Informational and educational speeches from academic eloquence.
2. Persuasive and advertising (selling) speeches with an appeal from the social.

If educational lectures were popular 10-20 years ago, now the interest of a wide audience in them is almost exhausted. Now interactive public speaking is in favor: seminars (webinars), master classes, trainings.

The most popular type of speech for online business is a persuasive short speech with an appeal. This includes various presentations of products and services, invitations to events and even self-presentations.

How to write a public speech correctly

A well-written speech always has a 3-part form: introduction, main part and conclusion. Even in ancient times, when the science of rhetoric was held in high esteem, special attention was paid to the beginning of a speech, which was then and is now recommended for speakers to memorize.

Even though you may spend the most time creating it, it should sound very natural. Here are 4 win-win options to get you started:

1. An interesting or shocking fact about the topic of the speech. You've probably noticed how speakers you like utter phrases like: did you know... at the beginning of their speech?
2. You can immediately focus on the relevance, importance, and usefulness of what you are going to talk about. And it often sounds something like this: I advise you to listen to my speech to the end, because...
3. A catchphrase or proverb on the topic would also sound great at the beginning. For example, for the text of this publication I found an aphorism by Napoleon.
4. A rhetorical question is a great way to start a speech, especially when it touches on a pressing issue for the audience you are speaking to.

What elements must be contained in a persuasive speech?

1) Arguments:

• some accomplished facts that can be mentioned;
• numbers, statistics;
• folk wisdom - signs, sayings, phraseological units;
• quotes, opinions of authoritative sources.

2) Justifications – based on human values:

• health;
• children, family, relationships;
• freedom - it is important for people to realize that they are free in their choice, that they have a free schedule, that they are free to do as they want, they have free time;
• Love, relationships.

Both arguments and justifications are very important, because people have different types of perception - some perceive numbers better, for example, while others react better to justifications. The main goal of persuasive speech is to motivate listeners/viewers to take some action.

In order for your speech to convince listeners and not allow them to switch their attention, be sure to use rhetorical techniques: metaphors, comparisons, epithets. Immerse them in a certain atmosphere or circumstance. Give examples, find moments where humor could be used in your speech.

The finale or conclusion of the speech depends on the genre you choose. For informational and educational speeches, it is best to summarize what has been said, as A.V. Suvorov said, “Repetition is the mother of learning.”

Propaganda and advertising speeches always end with an appeal, and it’s unlikely that “Long live peace, labor, May!” will suit you! (although of course you can wish them good health :)). Verbs in the imperative mood, calling to do something, are much more suitable: subscribe, come, take a business card, write down contacts, etc.

IMPORTANT! Never end your speech following the example of Dobrynya Nikitich from the film about 3 heroes: well, just like that...

If you are an expert, a master of your craft, then get acquainted with the persuasive speech algorithm, which argues your opinion with the help of examples. Watch an excerpt from Michael Bang's Mastery of Public Speaking training. Michael Bang, the world's best salesman of the 1990s, founder of the International Selling School and one of the most sought-after consultants in Europe.

Examples of texts for public speaking

Natalie Portman rose to fame at the age of 13, playing the role of a teenage girl in Luc Besson's film Léon, who befriends the hitman Leon (Jean Reno).

She showed her talent in her other works, but finally won the hearts of the audience by playing the role of Padmé Amidala, queen of the planet Naboo in George Lucas' film Star Wars. Episode I: The Phantom Menace."

Natalie Portman's speech (with Russian subtitles) to Harvard graduates 2015

The text of her public speech conveys an important message that she wanted to convey to Harvard graduates - personal development, the only thing at which we can definitely be the best. Personal formation is one of the themes explored in Black Swan, where her character Nina becomes artistically successful when she discovers pleasure in improving herself rather than trying to appear perfect to others.

“Accept your shortcomings in knowledge and turn it to your advantage,” said Natalie Portman and told the story of a famous violinist she knew who told her that he could not become a composer because he knew too many pieces of music and when he started writing notes, he a familiar, already existing composition immediately comes to mind.

Natalie believes that not knowing what graduates will face is one of the advantages. “You can compose because your mind is not yet filled with a huge amount of writing and you do not take many things for granted. The only correct way to do something is known only to you. You gathered here today will achieve many outstanding things. I have no doubts about this."

Steven Spielberg's public speech to Harvard University graduates 2016

“I create worlds that last only two hours. “You are the world that will live forever” – director, producer and screenwriter, billionaire, and one of the most famous people on the planet Steven Spielberg spoke in his speech to Harvard graduates in May 2016.

It took Stephen 37 years to get his degree, all because in his second year of college he was offered his dream job at Universal Studios, so he had to drop out. Then he told his parents that if the movie didn’t work out, he would return to university.

But everything worked out great. And the world saw “Schindler’s List,” “Jurassic Park,” “Jaws” and the Indiana Jones tetralogy. Steven Spielberg returned to university because of his children, of whom he has seven.

Because he insisted, while raising them, on the importance of higher education, but he himself did not go through this path, so at the age of fifty he entered California State University - Long Beach, and still received a diploma. He admits that he got into paleontology thanks to Jurassic Park.

Mark Zuckerberg's public speech to Harvard graduates 2017

Mark Zuckerberg is an American programmer and entrepreneur in the field of Internet technologies, one of the developers and founders of the social network Facebook and the head of Facebook Inc.

The youngest dollar billionaire in the history of mankind, did not graduate from this university, but received an honorary degree of Doctor of Law. Mark Zuckerberg's emotional speech, “The greatest success comes from being wrong,” inspired the whole world.

His public speech contains this key passage:

“In our society, we often don't do great things because we are so afraid of making a mistake that we ignore all the bad things that exist in society today and do nothing. In fact, everything we do will have flaws in the future. But that shouldn't stop us from starting.

So what are we waiting for? The time has come for the things that will define our generation. How about stopping climate change before we destroy the planet and getting millions of people to build and install solar panels.

How about curing all diseases and asking volunteers to track their health data and share their genomes? Today we spend 50 times more on treating sick people than on finding ways to keep people from getting sick. It is pointless. We can fix this."

You can read the full translation into Russian on the Present Time website.

Stages of preparing a public speech

To make a successful public speech, you need 3 main stages of preparation:

1. Collection and analysis of information.
2. Drawing up the text of a public speech.
3. Speech pronunciation training.

We often admire and re-listen to the speeches of great speakers. Were these speeches improvised? No - of course they were prepared!

There is a famous quote from Mark Twain: “It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a brilliant impromptu speech.” He was preparing for “what” he would say and “how”. After preparing the meaning of your speech, it is very important to practice pronouncing it.

Even if you have mastered intonation, the emotionality of speech also plays an important role - alternating smiles and seriousness, slowing down and speeding up. It is also important to find logical stresses in this text - on which words you need to strengthen your voice, where to pause.

“What” and “how” are two sides of the same coin. If you have an excellent “what” - meaning, logic of presentation, but the “how” is lame, no one will want to listen to you. And vice versa - with the “how” everything is in order - the speech flows unimaginably, unfortunately, without deep meanings we will never remember this speech, and, moreover, we will not have the idea to take a pencil and start taking notes.

This may be useful to you too:

How to prepare to wish well on the holiday

What does timbre depend on and how to change your voice in life

How to protect and not lose your voice - practical advice from professionals

Speech voice development: exercises for changing pitch

Typical mistakes of speakers

It is worth listing the main mistakes in public speaking:

1. Bury yourself in a piece of paper, mumble the text . Why are you needed there then? You might as well put on a recording of your performance. The effect will be the same. It’s better to make small A3 cards with color lamination.
2. There is nothing worse than a monotone voice . Even if the speaker says something important, it is impossible to listen to him. Monotony is the killer of any performance. Practice dubbing famous announcers out loud, recording yourself on a dictaphone, trying to repeat their intonation.
3. Do you put yourself above the audience ? In public speaking, arrogance towards listeners is not allowed. They will immediately feel it, and there will be no result. Don't pretend that you are the smartest. It’s better to say: “We are all with you” or “We are together today.” Tune in with the audience, be on an equal footing.
4. Vanity and unnecessary body movements will quickly tire the listener’s attention. The pose of the statue will also depress the audience. Relax and meditate for 5 minutes before your performance.
5. You are a speaker, which means you are a leader. Do leaders make excuses and constantly apologize ? Replace excuses and apologies with gratitude.
6. "Cramming" of the text . A memorized text sounds dry and lifeless. You are not there. People want to feel you. Learn to improvise and speak from points.
7. Unreliability of facts . Triple-check the facts that you doubt so that it does not lead to a fatal failure. Especially if you don't know how to joke and improvise.
8. Stress and pronunciation . Sometimes one mistake in stress or pronunciation can ruin everything: “Hello everyone, I’m from Moscow.”
9. Machine Gun Man . Out of excitement he speaks 1000 words per minute. He seems to be energetic and smart. And from the outside he looks like a coward in a hurry. He who understands life is in no hurry.
10. You have to be able to joke . There are jokes that only we laugh at. They must be tested many times on different people long before the performance. If you haven't laughed at a joke in at least ten different situations, don't use it in public speaking.

Colloquialism.

The style of presentation should be predominantly conversational, the presentation should be in the nature of a casual conversation. This is the conversational style of speaking.

Paul Soper wrote: “Public speech should have the qualities of a good interview, with some adjustments in voice, manner and topic to suit the situation of the speech.” The same idea was expressed by D. Carnegie: “A good speech is, first of all, a conversational tone and spontaneity, somewhat accentuated. Speak at a charitable trust meeting as if you were speaking to John Henry Smith. After all, the members of the fund are nothing more than the sum of the John Henry Smiths.” The colloquial nature of an oratory significantly increases confidence in the speaker, and therefore in the content of his speech.

There is no need to use a lot of special, bookish, foreign words, you need to speak more simply - this is also a manifestation of the requirement to be colloquial. You can use (in moderation!) colloquial words, humor, and jokes.

Tips for speakers

Techniques for successful public speaking include more than just tricks for effective speech. Please also consider the following:

1. Stylish, bright appearance can attract attention. Problems with taste? It's better to consult a specialist.
2. The beginning is not in words. Start with a pause. Gather attention and greet the audience in complete silence.
3. When greeting and introducing yourself, lower your intonation at the end of words.
4. Do a diaphragmatic breathing exercise 3 minutes before your performance - this will lower the timbre and give significance to your voice.

How to present information to different audiences

People perceive information differently. For example, in the morning it is better to give more logic than emotional arguments, and vice versa. There are more women, children, and elderly people in the room—focus on emotions. When speaking in front of representative people, try to minimize emotions and speak to the point.

Secrets of famous speakers

Napoleon began each speech with a long pause. You already know why he did it. George Washington made a bet on how he looked. Dale Carnegie was a master storyteller. Everyone loves stories. Start practicing and you will have your own “tricks” in public speaking.

Online Rhetoric Lessons

The public speaking training posted on this website is an integration of many techniques described by public speaking experts. Each of the lessons involves the development of a specific skill that contributes to the development of your public speaking abilities. Naturally, each person can master these skills differently, so try to pay attention to those lessons that seem most useful to you.

Lesson 1. Preparing a speech

This lesson provides general guidelines for preparing a public speech. Speech preparation is the most important secret of oratory. Many rhetoric experts call preparation the main rule of successful speech. Dale Carnegie wrote that a well-prepared speech is nine-tenths a delivered speech. However, the process of preparing a speech is not only good content material, but also a set of certain stages of its design, structuring, and presentation, which allows you to avoid standard mistakes of a novice speaker.

Lesson 2. Speech plan

As you learned from the previous lesson, to prepare a good speech, it is important to know what to talk about and how to convey your thoughts to the audience. To do this, you need to draw up a plan for your speech, based on which you will be able to deliver an excellent oratorical speech. Naturally, the structure of each public speech is individual and depends on many things, which include: the number and characteristics of listeners, their interest, time of speech and much more. This lesson shows the basic rules for creating a public speaking plan that you can apply under any circumstances.

Lesson 3. Oratorical techniques

Having collected the necessary material and understood what you want to talk about in a public speech, as well as drawing up a plan, you can move on to the substantive design of the speech. To do this, it is useful to use special oratorical techniques that are aimed at improving the perception of information by listeners. There are a lot of oratory techniques. This lesson describes the main and most popular of them. In addition, here you will find examples and recommendations for using these techniques to develop your public speaking skills.

Lesson 4. Speech technique

In the last lesson, you were introduced to rhetorical techniques that help better reveal the content of your speech. In order to give a speech in front of an audience, it is important to use methods of presenting material from which speech technique is created: intonation, diction, articulation, tempo, gestures, etc. This lesson covers oratorical techniques that will help you when delivering your speech.

Lesson 5. Memorizing text

In the process of preparing for a speech, you often have to memorize important parts of your speech, the structure of the speech, various facts and quotes. Sometimes there is a lot to remember, and this can cause some difficulties. In addition, during a speech, due to anxiety, important things can simply fly out of your head. The ability to keep key details of a speech in mind and attention is a very useful skill for any speaker. This lesson provides important techniques and programs for memorizing the text of a public speech, and also suggests some useful techniques for developing memory.

Lesson 6. Working with the audience

Every occasion you give a speech is unique. If this is a work report at a meeting, you will be listened to by default. But it also happens when you need to fight for the audience’s attention, try to convey your views to them, and get support. The success of not only a specific performance, but also the realization of your global goal may depend on this. Remember how in the movie “Wall Street” the young broker, played by Ch. Sheen, had only 5 minutes to convince the “shark” of the stock market (M. Douglas) to take him on his team? And in fact, no matter how competently the speech is composed, no matter what artistic means and techniques are used, no matter what the preparation, the final success depends largely on how interested you are in the audience in perceiving what is said. Undoubtedly, the speech should be appropriate, but there are times when apathy, or even unfavorability, needs to be overcome not only by relevance or beautiful words. You need a strategy for working with the audience that will increase the significance of the speech, convey its message and turn the listener into a follower of your views. We want to talk about some mechanisms and tricks of interaction with the audience in this lesson.