Leadership ForumHow to Master the Art of

Public Speaking

Brief Overview

Opening your speech Good eye contact with your audience The use of notes and visual aids What to do with your hands Avoiding filler words - um, ah and like The importance of recording yourself Using your voice dynamically Control nerves, be prepared and be yourself Closing your speech Class Activity – Letter Lecture

Open your speech

Address all members of your audience - “Principals, Faculty, Students: Good Evening.”

You have 10 seconds to grab the attention of your audience

Make a bold statement, use humor or self-deprecation, ask a question or quote a famous line from history!

Example of a good opening:Bill Gates’ Harvard Commencement

Make good eye contact Engage your audience Make them feel like YOU are talking

directly to THEM Make a short bulleted list of notes in

order to avoid reading If using a visual aid, do not turn your

back on your audience

What to do with your hands

Begin with your hands at your side in order to develop natural hand gestures

Avoid clasping the microphone, podium, both hands together, hands in pockets, crossing arms and hands behind back

Example of what NOT to do:Ricky Bobby Hand Interview

Avoid using filler words – Record yourself speaking Um and ah Like, uh, and like… Most people use

these frequently without noticing

Even the pros do it!Obama “Uh” Count

The best way to overcome this is to record yourself and play it back

Once you are aware, you can focus on improving your speech by speaking slowly

Pause when you are about to use a filler word and then begin your next sentence

Use a dynamic voice

In order to keep your audience from falling asleep, vary the pitch, volume and speed of your voice

Once you have written your speech, use different colored highlighters to indicate to yourself when you are going to speak loud and fast, or slow and quiet

Control your nerves –Be PREPARED and be YOURSELF

Change your focus from worrying about what the audience is thinking to how you can inspire, entertain and educate.

All good public speaking should be based on letting your real personality shine through.

It’s OK to make mistakes! Don’t be too hard on yourself if you aren’t a perfect speaker right away.

Bush-isms

Close your speech

A good closing is as important as a good opening

Make a bold statement, ask for a call to action, etc.

Most importantly, make sure to THANK your audience for their time and attention

Class Activity – LETTER LECTURE

Practice this speech with your own opening and closing using voice inflection in the body. Example:

“Welcome classmates! A, BCD! e, f, g, H? I, jkl - M. NOP! Q, R, S, T, uvw? x. Y, Z. Thank you so much for your attention. Are there any questions?"