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What do you use public speaking for?
Public speaking is very much part of the work
of any activist, organiser or CSO worker. You use public speaking
to get your message across to large audiences and to win support
for your cause.
A good speaker is inspiring, clear and persuasive.
Many speakers are boring, long-winded and confusing. Most speeches
go on for far too long and do not get the message across clearly.
It is relatively easy to become a good public
speaker. You have to concentrate on the content and what you are
trying to communicate and make sure that is clear. You also have
to work on your presentation style to make sure that you do not
bore people or confuse them. Practice is the best teacher.
Important things to know about public speaking
Target audience
Your speech must suit the target audience that
you are addressing – find out before-hand exactly who you
will be speaking to, what their issues, problems and concerns are,
and how they feel about your organisation and the issues you want
to talk about.
It is also important to fit in as much as possible
with the audience you are speaking to – the way you dress
and behave should make them feel comfortable.
Make sure that you understand any religious or
cultural sensitivity in your target audience so that you can avoid
offending anyone and embarrassing yourself or your organisation.
Never smoke, drink or eat during an engagement unless it is part
of the event, like at a dinner.
How you come across
Sometimes the way you come across in a speech is as important as
what you say. Audiences can be put off you if you sound hesitant
or unsure of yourself, or if you sound over-confident or arrogant.
Most audiences feel very comfortable and will listen to you if you
are honest, warm and friendly, and show that you care about the
issues affecting them. Try to keep eye-contact and to talk directly
to the audience.
Never behave in an aggressive way, even when someone
in the audience is being rude. It is best always to stay humble
and to use humour whenever possible to deal with aggressive questioners.
You can be firm, but show respect for people who disagree with you.
Never tell your audience what they should be doing,
or how they should be behaving. When you want to change people’s
behaviour or to get them to participate in campaigns and programmes,
appeal to them to do so. Ask them to work with you. It is important
to come across as a person of the people, who trusts people and
who wants to work with them in order to solve problems together.
How to structure a speech
When you make a speech, it is very important that you get your message
across simply and clearly and that your audience knows exactly what
you are saying and where you are going. Try to make sure that your
speech always covers the following:
- Issue – In your introduction,
make it clear exactly what you will be talking about.
- Facts – Give the basic
facts about the issue or describe the reasons for the problem,
and what will happen if nothing is done.
- Options – Briefly tell
people what could be done about this issue or problem. Here you
can describe a number of alternatives.
- Proposal – Clearly
state what you believe is the right way to deal with the issue
or problem and describe your organisation’s olicies, programmes
or plans for dealing with it. Always try to end your speech on
a positive note and give the audience a clear way forward.
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How to present your speech
well
Here are some very basic tips to help you become a better
public speaker:
- Do not start your speech with five minutes
of greetings or welcoming of everybody. It becomes boring
and you may leave people out. Just start with, for example,
"Honoured guests, Madam Chair, friends."
- Start strongly so that you get people’s
attention. You can use a joke, but only if it is relevant
and really funny. It is often better to start by saying
why you are there and what the issue is, for example, "
Today we meet to discuss what we can do about the rapid
spreading of HIV/AIDS in this area."
- Don’t fidget and try not to make
"er" and "um" noises, which take people’s
attention away from what you are saying. Look confident
and calm and speak with authority.
- Make eye contact – look at different
parts of the audience so that everyone feels that you are
making eye contact with them.
- Try to speak as naturally as possible.
Don’t read a speech – rather make notes that
you can refer to.
- Keep your language simple and don’t
use any jargon or abbreviations, which your audience may
not understand.
- Keep your tone normal and human. Try
to change both the pace (speed) and tone (sound) of your
speaking, in a natural way,so that people don’t fall
asleep.
- Don’t be scared to use feelings
when you speak, but never become over-dramatic. It is good
to show that you genuinely care about issues.
- Try not to depress your audience –
when you share problems with them, make sure that you always
point out a way forward to overcome the problems.
- Don’t humiliate people publicly
when they ask questions or disagree with you. Even if they
are talking nonsense, try to be nice to them. People do
not like leaders who behave in a nasty way.
- Use humour when it seems right but don’t
make a fool of yourself. Audiences want you to be nice and
human, but they will not respect you if they see you as
a clown.
- Keep your speeches as short as possible.
You should never speak for more than 15–20 minutes,
and if you can keep it to ten minutes that is even better.
- Make sure that you say the most important
things at the beginning of your speech and then again at
the end, since people may fall asleep or become distracted
for the middle part.
- When you use statistics, make sure they
are presented simply and try to illustrate them.
- Be very careful not to say things that
will make your audience feel uncomfortable or embarrassed,
unless you can immediately follow them up with something
that will make them feel better.
- Never say "Finally," or "In
conclusion," unless you really mean to end at that
point.
- Always thank people who have invited
you and thank the audience, but do not make a five minute
thank-you speech at the end. Keep it short.
- Practice your speech beforehand.
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