Developing The Public Speaking Mindset

The ability to communicate well has become very important for success. They say that in communications the biggest dimension is the ability to listen to understand, not just listen to reply. However, communication, especially in the world of business really nurtures how our business relationships foster and thrive. Whether we speak to our clients or our internal teams or even make a presentation, our public speaking abilities bridge a better comprehension of what we are trying to communicate and what is being understood. Public speaking today has evolved much beyond reading out your presentation or from a page of notes. Its about target audience empathy, proper connect, emotional regulation but also about storytelling, inspiration and even the right appearance and body language.

Here are some quick tips to evolve into a persuasive public speaking mindset-

Polish your spoken English

I love spreading my three decades of multi domain and multi country experience to aspiring PR practitioners at various business schools. There are two prime reasons that drive me. One, that’s my personal community service by giving back to my profession and two, each time I teach, I relearn from my students. However, the ability to communicate through effective public speaking becomes one of the biggest problems. Most of our corporate speaking across India is in English, excepting Government organisations in various States. So, polish your spoken English skills well and/or any language you need to speak in for your business.

 Structure your public speaking piece

The way you start your piece is very important. There were many recommended ways in the past to start your speaking to get your audience hooked from the beginning including cracking a joke or even starting with a good quote. However, over the decades gone by and the digital explosion leading to a whole lot of content being hurled at us, smartphone alerts etc., distractions appear more often. Therefore your opening has to be out of the box and excellent, to grab the attention of those you are addressing from the very beginning. Otherwise people will just hear you and not listen to you. They will be physically present during your session but mentally absent.

You become an actor

With the right balance what you roll out while public speaking are not just facts and figures. How you say it matters. It all begins with a pleasant personality that you bring to the fore. Who listens to grumpy speakers anymore? Come to think of it, most speakers and presenters are either established or budding leaders therefore, energy, enthusiasm and connect are the perfect qualities to have and reflect. Plus be an expert at what you speak about, project analysis with conclusions. Create shock and awe with the well put together content of the subject you are speaking about. Exude confidence in the way you speak. Become an actor, pause, walk, use your hands, facial expressions and voice.

The 90 second nervous reset

Standing up and speaking to a group of people needs guts. Almost anyone gets uncontrollably nervous but if you are not careful this nervousness gets written all over our face. The negative perception that gets created can firstly cause a credibility problem as it looks like you are unsure because when you get nervous, your fingers tremble, your voice becomes shaky. Some even get unsteady on their feet. It’s best to interrupt your speaking and ask simple questions like “What’s your opinion about what I just said?” “Any initial inputs”? Take out 90 seconds while they answer and do deep passive breathing usually your nervousness gets reset. This is one of the many tricks of the trade

Establish eye connect with at least 5 people in the audience from left to right, and while speaking connect with them in circles. This way it will look like you are talking to the entire audience, spelling an atmosphere of inclusivity.

“Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.”

 Ralph Waldo Emerson

The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.

Amitesh Banerjee

Amitesh is a seasoned positive integrated communications disruptor with several years of multi- country/multi- domain experience. He has worked for reputed organisations in senior leadership positions including JWT, ITC, New Zealand Dairy Board, Seychelles Marketing Board, Perfect Relations, Genesis BCW, Adfactors, Della Group, H+K Strategies among others. Amitesh is Senior Vice President of Beanstalk Asia- a leading Integrated Marketing Communications firm.