Public Speaking Tricks | Dominate The Podium

Too much body movement can be distracting

Posted on 15. May, 2009 by Crazy J.

What kinds of mannerisms are distracting?

- Swaying to and fro in front of the audience
- Hanging on to the podium
- Finger tapping
- Licking your lips or biting your lips
- Fidgeting with clothes, pockets or jewelry
- Frowning
- Fussing with hair
- Bobbing your head
- Flailing arms at inappropriate times

The movements you make in your speech should be planned or at least controlled by you. Any movement that is not planned could potentially be distracting. Many of the above mentioned mannerisms stem from being nervous about being on stage. Additionally, they could also come just because you don’t know you are doing them. Either way, you’ll need to minimize and eliminate as many of these movements as possible.

1. Make a video tape of yourself. Do you even know that you are making these movements? Probably not. A video will help you identify which distracting movements you’ll need to work on eliminating.

2. Review your video tape for places where you make distracting mannerisms. Make a list of the mannerisms you have and thoughtfully practice your speech without those mannerisms. Rerecord yourself and keep reviewing your tapes until you a satisfied that all the mannerisms are gone.

3. Work on feeling comfortable with delivering your speech. You should feel natural as you speak about your topic. You should feel like you are sharing information with a long time friend. This will come when you’ve spent many hours practicing, reworking and revising your speech. This will also come because you speak from your heart and let others know the way you feel about your subject.

4. Work on eliminating nervousness when delivering your speech. This will come as you get more familiar with your material. This will also come as you take the time to focus on delivering your message instead of focusing on the feelings of fear and anxiety.

5. You can also review your video tapes for place in your speech that you need to add body movements into your presentation that will make it more interesting. Let your movements show the way you feel. These movements should be natural and can work in your favor as you emphasize specific points in your presentation.

6. Consider this when deciding which body movements to incorporate into your presentation. Body movements should look natural. You can use facial expressions and make eye contact with your audience for maximum effects.

Every movement should be planned during your presentation. You can easily lose your audience with distracting movements because your audience’s focus and attention will be turned to these movements instead of what you have to say!

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The Importance Of Body Language

Posted on 11. Dec, 2008 by Crazy J.

Public speaking is something of a double edged sword. At best, it is a powerful way of reaching a large audience and to convey a clear message on a particular issue or topic.
At worst, it can be a hellish experience for the speaker, who may find their message is lost in translation due to a last minute bout of stage fright. It is imperative that you have a firm grasp of your chosen subject matter that you have a clear structure as to what you wish to discuss.

You also have to give some consideration to your audience. Are they experts in the subject which you are going to discuss, and so will be able to keep up with your use of jargon and technical terminology? If not, then you may need to modify your speech accordingly so that the message is clear and understood.  It does not matter how well you deliver your speech or material, if your audience cannot understand what you are talking about, then you have already lost!

The subject matter may also dictate your approach and style of delivery, a formal presentation will require a clear logical progression of the material, combined with supporting evidence such as statistics or graphs to emphasize your argument. An informal setting will mean that colloquialisms and slang terms will be more suitable rather than dry, academic terminology.

Make sure to maintain eye contact with your audience, there is nothing more off putting than a public speaker who constantly stares down at their notes.  Failing to maintain eye contact will only serve to alienate your audience, and they may be so distracted by your own personal performance, that the content of your material is also lost.

You may find it easier to keep a rough structure in your mind, and work around that rather than reading off your speech from your notes. Constantly looking down at notes will also break your argument, meaning that you will be more likely to make mistakes and lose your place. It also distracts your audience from your arguments as well.

If you feel that your voice may crack or tremble, that your breathing is becoming labored or any other unpleasant physical symptoms, make sure you stop for a second, breathe and compose yourself. This will give you a chance to recover, as well as giving your audience a much needed opportunity to process all the information they have just heard.

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