Public Speaking Tips Online

Brenda,

Isn’t it amazing what a supported breath can do?

@mo
Mo,

Interesting question. I have found that it happens to me on occasion for two reasons. I am well into middle-age and I have too much on my mind. Women are very good at multi-tasking, but there comes a point when too much is too much.

When you are speaking, are you actually presenting? If so, I would suggest note cards with your topics and subtopics in BIG, BOLD letters — one or two per card — in which you have just a word or two as your descriptive word; i.e., I often talk about Jack Burghardt, a man who had a tremendous speaking voice. On a note card, I will have Jack’s name only. That tells me to talk about Jack, his voice, his son (who sounds just like him), etc. The information on Jack is a good 2 minutes.

Then, when you forget what you were talking about, you can refer to your card and it will jog your memory.

The other question is whether you have gone off track. I recently wrote an article on this topic and I strongly recommend staying on track. Throwing in anecdotes or more material than you had planned for is dangerous. Keep to your outline as much as possible.

In addition, because I ‘wing it’ and don’t use cards (I have been speaking on the same 3 subjects for years now), I don’t have a reference point. If I lose my train of thought, I stop, look at the audience, admit my mistake, and, at that point, something comes to me. It always works for me. Honesty is the best policy.

I hope this helps. I would love to hear back from you

Nancy

PS I just reread your comment. As I am not sure how you are sharing your information, I had another thought. When it is your turn to speak, focus on what you are saying. Try to keep all other thought out of your mind.

Mo,

Now that I know that you are leading a study group, I understand why you are sometimes losing your focus. A study group involves a lot of interaction. Someone may ask a question, for example, and that question can lead you into a different direction. At that point, it can be difficult to remember where you were.

Having good notes as a guide will help because in referring back to them, you will probably remember where you were before the question.

I hope this helps.

@mo
Mo,

Your study group is a wonderful place to start but I would also like to see you have an opportunity to give a presentation — one in which there would be no interruptions and also one in which you would be standing — sometime in your future. Teaching or leading a study group is not the same as standing at a lectern.

Does practice make perfect? Good question. Practice definitely makes one better but do not strive for perfection in public speaking. It is subjective. What I may find perfect, someone else may not. I’ve written several articles on this subject, one of which is titled, Forget Perfection, Strive for Excellence.

Food for thought!

Nancy
PS Love your interest in the blog and your comments!

Mo,

Here is a link to an article on my Public Speaking Tips Online website entitled Trying Too Hard in Public Speaking.

Let me know if that helps,

Nancy

Over the weekend, I had a chance to listen to a couple of speakers. One of the individuals used the words, “You know.” He opened his sentences with those two words and 99% of the time completed his sentences — which ended up making them sound like questions.

In truth, ‘you know’ is as annoying as uh, um or ah. After about 5 minutes listening to this man, I lost all ability to concentrate on what he was saying and instead started counting them.

Have you ever been in a situation like this (although maybe it happens to you as well) and how do you think one can fix this redundant problem?

Nancy

Barry, Check out my article below about verbal tics.

Stop the Ums, Ahs and Uhs and Get Your Message Across

Have you ever listened to a speaker who used so many ahs or ums that you started counting them? When that happens, you then lose the ability to concentrate on what the speaker is saying. Suffice it to say that the ums or ahs become the message.

Ums, ahs, uhs and you know are verbal tics usually heard from inexperienced speakers although I have certainly had occasion to hear them from well-known presenters too. Generally, these verbal tics are found at the end of a sentence or a paragraph but they can also be heard in the midst of a sentence as well. (If you are um-ing or ah-ing every 4-5 words however, either you really do not know your material or you need to work on your communication skills.)

An occasional um or ah is not the problem. The problem occurs when we hear these interruptions in a constant or repeated pattern. This is where the counting begins.

I once had a client, a young college student, who was taking my course along with several other telesales colleagues I would video the participants on the phone in real conversation with perspective clients and then play it back. When this young man heard the number of uhs he used, (he couldn’t even say the name of the company for which he worked without an uh!), he got up, left the room, and did not return to class that evening. A basketball player with amazing drive and determination, this fellow came back the next week and surprised us all when he was able to speak on the phone with nary an um or an ah! What an incredible change we witnessed.

Some presenters are afraid of silence. Admittedly, in conversation, there is always the possibility that your listener may interrupt you; but, on the podium, chances are not likely that someone will try to take over your speech or presentation. [Seminars are a bit different, however, because of the more relaxed nature of the medium in which questions are often asked during the presentation. Should you wish not to be interrupted, inform your audience that you will take questions at the end of the session.]

In public speaking, silence is known as the pause and it is a very effective means of keeping your audience’s attention. It is short, sweet and to the point, but it is there. It allows you to breathe as well as your listeners – to be bombarded with constant verbiage is tiring for your audience. While the pause can nicely fill the gap for the um or the ah, that does not mean pausing every 4-5 words because that type of rhythmic delivery will put your audience to sleep faster than your ums.

If you have a problem with a verbal tic, record yourself delivering part of your presentation. Play it back and listen for the ums. Practice your presentation again, concentrating on your words and the tics. This will take some effort because you will have to train yourself to be more cognizant of the occurrences. When you feel the need to ah, for example, just pause momentarily and then continue.

With a little determination and practice, you can rid yourself of these annoying tics. The notion that ‘silence is golden’ is truer in public speaking than you may have thought.

Nancy