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Public Speaking Course:
Give Me a Break
Sometimes you need to give the audience a break... a mental break that is.
Remember the Simon and Garfunkel song, "Slow down you move
too fast..."?
In my public
speaking course I apply that same message to your presentations, most people tend to talk too fast (unless y'all be
from Aaalllaaaabbbaaammmaaa).
Here are some tips to help you slow down your talking.
- Imagine that your audience is filled with young children and you
need to explain some difficult concept to them. You must speak
slower than normal so they can understand what you are trying to say. Don't talk
down to your audience, but slowly and carefully talk with them. Slowly lift and
enlighten their minds with the important message you have for them.
- Try using difficult, but memorable, word combinations which
will make you slow down so you don't mess them up.
- When practicing during your public speaking course, do specific exercises
that concentrate on changing the speed of your delivery so you have better
control over your talks. Remember silence also communicates, so with
"fertile minds", use "pregnant pauses".
- By varying the speed of your presentation you make it more
interesting automatically.
- Practice your sessions out loud. I repeat, you must practice
voice pacing and inflection out loud. You can even use a digital recorder
to play back and be your own "worst critic" or your first
level professional speaking coach.
- To save time, the voice pacing exercises can be done in the car, or
while doing your hair or jogging, etc. Sure, people will see you at times
and wonder who your talking to, but when your audience hears what you sound like
after your public speaking course, they will likely remember "WOW"!
- Often "less is more", so cut out some of your material so
that you do not feel rushed to get it all in one speech.
- Going faster is usually useless because the retention level drops so
low that you may as well have not even said the material in the first
place.
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