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I remember, when I was chosen as an MC (master of ceremony) in the alumni function, way back in 1997. That was the time, when I was doing a Public Speaking course from Tough Track. I was required to deliver a keynote speech of 10 minutes and had an entire month to prepare for it, but I wasted about 25 days just to decide the public speaking topic.

Ever since I became a public speaking trainer, I have seen people unable to decide their topic of speech or laptop presentation till the eleventh hour.

If you are also sailing in the same boat and mostly indecisive, here are a few suggestions which may help you in future.

1. IS IT IMPORTANT TO ME?

Now what I am going to say is contradiction in terms.

We always ask our students in our Public Speaking Course, to speak for the audience, give them a ‘ takeaway’. Your audience doesn’t come to see you, to appreciate you or to applaud for you. They want their benefits. They would listen and clap for you only if they get something out of it. It’s simply a ‘give and take’ philosophy. As the same time, when you are selecting the topic, you must ask yourself, what is IMPORTANT TO ME?

So keep both the things in mind, while deciding the topic.

2. FAMILIARIZE THE JARGONS OF YOUR TOPIC.

People believe you if you have your expertise in that subject, and knowing the jargons of it, influence your audience. Use impressive but comprehensible words in your presentation.

3. CAN I SPEAK ON THIS FLUENTLY?

There are many topics which are good to read, but are not good for oral presentation. Speaking fluently and smoothly on the subject increases your credibility and is counted most in your presentation skills. While deciding on your topic, ensure you can speak on it fluently and impressively. Don’t forget, it’s not what you speak, it’s how you speak that influences your audience in public speaking.

4. WILL THE TOPIC RETAIN LISTENER’S ATTENTION?

There are scores of things which can make your talk inspiring and interesting. And your topic is one of them. Ask yourself, will this topic make my listeners interested in my product? Self test gives you better results.

5. CAN THE TOPIC BE DELIVERED IN THE ALLOTTED TIME?

Inquire the time allotted to you from the organizers of the public speaking event. There are talks which cannot be delivered in 4-5 minutes. Also remember, that you have to leave the stage (exit the stage) before your audience starts getting impatient. Always speak less than the allotted time. Do you remember the KISS formula? It is “Keep it short and simple”.

Lord Reading advised “Always be shorter than anybody dared to hope”. 

 6. PHONE A FRIEND.

Talking to your friend, spouse or a family member may give you good ideas. Sometimes, we are so much occupied in our box of thinking, that we often ignore simple topics which are extremely easy to speak on.

So near yet so far……..

If you have any doubts or suggestions on this topic, mail us at info@anuragaggarwal.com

The author Anurag Aggarwal is a public speaker and a trainer on Public Speaking, Presentation Skills and Personality Development for nearly 12 years and has conducted over three thousand workshops, trainings and seminars so far.

For more details on Public Speaking and Personality Development Course, visit http://www.anuragaggarwal.com

 

public speaking, Public speaking course

TweetPublic speaking means to speak before a group of people in a structured manner with the purpose of entertaining or informing the audience.

In public speaking, as in any form of communication, there are five basic elements, often expressed as “who is saying what to whom using what medium with what effects?” The purpose of public speaking can range from simply transmitting information, to motivating people to act, to simply telling a story. Good speakers should be able to change the emotions of their listeners and not just inform them.

In public speaking, it is very important to note that who says what to whom.

If used effectively, it can be a very important tool for the purpose of leadership, motivation, influence or simply entertainment.

 Public speaking is an art and it can be learned through practicing. Here are some tips for public speaking:

1. Be familiar with the place where you have to deliver a speech.
2. Know your audience well before whom you have to speak.
3. Prepare your speech or any material to be delivered.
4. Practice your speech well (before the mirror).
5. Be sure that you present your speech in such a way so that your speech sounds informative and entertaining so that the audience maintains interest.
6. Relax yourself before the speech begins.
7. Never point out your mistakes. You are the expert on this topic during the time        your speech is made.
8. Look for a creative angle on your topic and capture the audience’s attention this way.
9. Finish your speech before your audience does. Don’t overstay on the podium. An audience appreciates a short organized speech over a long rambling effort.
10. Maintain an eye contact with a number of people in the audience and glance at the whole audience every now and then.
11. Give some time to the audience and yourself to think and respond. Give pauses in your speech from time to time rather than racing through it.
12.  Do not read from the notes. You may just glance at your notes at times.

These are just a few tips but there is much more to be learned. If you are not confident, it is very important to become one by joining some groups or societies where you can get opportunities to speak before small and large groups. Where you can learn about public speaking and also you get opportunities to show your talent.

One such institute in Delhi which offers public speaking and personality development course is ANURAG AGGARWAL INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC SPEAKING. Here you can learn to become confident, prepare speeches, laptop presentations, impromptu speeches, debates and much more. This course helps you in presentation skills, marketing skills, personality development, public speaking, motivational talks and English improvement.

The courses are held inDelhi(north, south, west, east, central), Gurgaon, Gaziabad and Noida.

For more details, visit www.anuragaggarwal.com or call Shivangi Seth: 91-9999996242.

public speaking, Public speaking course

TweetCan you recall to have listened to a presentation in which you had no difficulty paying attention? How often your mind got distracted? Was it because of the topic of the presentation or because of the way the public speaker presented it?  

Audience plays a vital role in public speaking. In public speaking, we often have to give presentations before a large audience but many times we do not realize if the audience is even listening to us or not. The presentation may be about something interesting but due to certain mistakes made by the public speaker or the presenter, the audience may divert their mind. And certainly, the biggest mistake made by the speakers is that they do not realize how the audience listen.

It must be noted that the attention span of the audience behaviour is very short. The attendees of a presentation may be willing to listen to you, but they are the ones who also get easily distracted. If they start disliking your speech they will be deviated from the topic and will start talking to the other person or in some other way would not pay attention to your speech.  Give them the topic of their interest. Give them what they want to listen, what they would be interested in. Or even if you select a topic of your choice, present it in such a way that they would want to hear.

Almost everyone listens in the beginning of a presentation, but by the time it reaches half, the attention may drop to around 10-20% of what it was at the start. Again at the end, many people start to listen again, particularly if you announce your conclusions, because they want to take something from the presentation. They also may try to bring out some conclusion from your talk too early when they disagree to your point or something. At this time they would want to reject you. Do not say anything which may bring out some conclusion to the audience by themselves.

Since the audience is most attentive in the beginning of the presentation, you must make sure to give the most important point in the beginning. If you want to get your message to get through the audience, you should state it loud and clear in the beginning and also repeat it at the end.

Do not make too much movement or do not use too many colours in your presentation as they are also a cause of distraction of mind.

It is also noted that most people do not have their opinion; rather they do what others want them to do or what others are doing. For instance, a person may not understand a joke but he would laugh aloud just because others are laughing.

Do not keep beating your own trumpet; the audience would not be eager enough to listen to you in this case. On the contrary, if you tell some negatives about you, they would surely listen to you.

There are also some people in the audience who want to show off their intelligence. Tactics must be learned to handle such people for continuing public speaking.

All in all, the best approach could be to divide your presentation in several parts, each ending by an intermediate conclusion. This would help the audience who got distracted to catch up with you, particularly if you outline the structure of your talk in the beginning.

Understanding this behaviour of the audience would surely be of great use to people in public speaking. This would help them to improve their public speaking skills.

You can also consider joining Anurag Aggarwal Institute of Public Speaking that offers public speaking course. These public speaking training classes are held in Delhi and NCR. For more details, visit www.anuragaggarwal.com

 

anurag aggarwal, public speaking, Public speaking course