Uneasy about that next presentation? Taking your speech to the next level—possibly even from dull to dynamic—is as simple as incorporating these top ten speaking tips. Here are the first five and I’ll post the next five in a couple of weeks.

  First, get off to a good start by using an attention device such as a quotation, story, or startling statement. I might start a presentation on overcoming stage fright with a quotation from Maggie Kuhn, “Stand before the people you fear and speak your mind—even if your voice shakes.”  A startling statement might be, “The divorce rate for couples with a special needs child is over 80%.”

          Second, know as much about your audience as you can. The more you know about the audience, the more effective your presentation will be. Talk to people who will be in your audience. Ask questions of the person who requested you to speak. Go online and find out as much as you can about the group from a relevant website. Obtaining as much information as possible about the audience will also encourage you to think more about specific audience needs as you prepare your speech.

          Third, practice your speech at least three times. To get better at golf, you have to practice. To get better at tennis, you have to practice. To present a great speech, you must practice! Practice once when you have a rough draft, practice another time when you have the content pretty well completed, and then do a dress rehearsal. Go through the speech as though you are in front of the live audience. If you don’t practice, then your actual speech is a practice session; too much is at stake for you to practice in front of your real audience.

          Fourth, choose material that you get excited about. It is hard to have enthusiasm for material that is uninteresting to you. If you have several examples or case studies to choose from and they are all equal in value to your topic, pick the ones that engage you the most. Audience members can see and feel your excitement—or your indifference. If the audience can tell you do not buy into the material, then they won’t either.

          Fifth, pick out friendly faces to speak to. Don’t concentrate on the people with frowns or those who fold their arms when you begin your speech. Look at the friendly faces who are smiling at you. Of course, you have to smile as you begin in order to stimulate the return smiles. If you try to win over an indifferent or negative person, your energy will be depleted and you can lose your concentration. Friendly faces will also help you overcome any nervousness you may feel at the beginning of your presentation.

          [The next five tips will be posted in a couple of weeks. If you can’t wait, email me at [email protected] to request the other five tips.]

A man walks into a bar and orders a drink. After sitting for a few minutes, he hears a voice say, "Nice tie." He looks around but doesn’t see anyone near him. Some time passes and he hears the same voice say, "Nice shirt." This time he looks everywhere but he doesn’t see anyone. A few minutes later he hears, "Nice haircut." He can’t stand it any more, so he calls the bartender over and tells him he has been hearing this voice but can’t figure out who is speaking. The bartender says, "Oh, that…that’s the nuts…they’re complimentary."

You may not hear voices, but if sometimes a great idea or phrase comes to you unexpectedly, it may seem like a voice from nowhere. I like to call this phenomenon “the little guy in the basement.”  The idea is that a “little guy in the basement” has a trap door in my brain that he sometimes opens to shoot in a suggestion as to what I should say next. I have a split-second moment to reject the idea or to speak it. If you have this experience, my recommendation is to speak it!  You may call it intuition or the light bulb going on in the brain; whatever you call it, use it. I have found that some of my best material either in a conversation or a presentation comes to me from the “little guy in the basement.” 

I’d like to suggest some techniques that will cultivate the little voice that will prompt you as you speak. One important way is to spend as much time as possible thinking about your conversation or presentation before you speak. When I have an important meeting to prepare for, I go through the conversation in my mind, picturing different ways of approaching the situation. The more time I spend pondering the dialogue, the more frequently the little voice speaks to me during the conversation. During my practice sessions for a presentation, the little voice will sometimes give me words that I had not previously considered. I quickly write down the new words or phrases that come to me during a practice session.

          Another way to cultivate the little voice is simply to go with the flow. A conversation may be going in a different direction from what you had planned. Instead of trying to bring the conversation back to the point you had anticipated making, just go with the line of thought the other person has taken. Sometimes the little voice will give you essential input to clear up any ambiguities. During a presentation, occasionally I will say something that was not in my notes. Instead of retracing my thought process, if I just continue on that thought pattern the little voice will often provide essential direction. If I try to get back on track, I sometimes stumble and hesitate because I seem to be forcing the direction of my message. If I continue in the alternative direction, there are more opportunities for my intuition or little voice to guide me. You may find the same to be true.

          A third suggestion is to be present before you make a speech or share your ideas. Listening to other people speak before you speak will sometimes set the stage for intuition to guide you when you make a contribution. Knowing the tenor of the meeting by listening first will sometimes encourage the little voice to speak to you.

          When voices start speaking to you, you may not be losing mental capability. Instead you are simply developing better content in your message by paying attention to “the little guy in the basement.” In fact, I am in agreement with the person who said, ”Nine out of ten voices in my head agree that I am sane.”

Stephen D. Boyd, Ph.D., CSP, is Professor of Speech Communication in the College of Informatics at Northern Kentucky University. He is also a trainer in communication who presents seminars and workshops to corporations and associations whose people want to speak and listen effectively. See additional articles and resources at www.sboyd.com. He can be reached at 800-727-6520 or at [email protected].