I recently read an article about fears.  It stated that fear of public speaking was greater than the fear of death in most people. That means at a funeral, more people would rather be in the casket than delivering the eulogy. No one ever started out loving public speaking. It is neither natural nor comfortable to stand in front of a crowd and be the center of attention. There are many things one can do and understand to help being a better public speaker. Let’s explore a few tips for public speaking.

First, you need to understand there are three modalities that people communicate. There is the visual learner. For these people, when you speak have visual aids such as handouts, white boards or PowerPoint presentations. If these are not possible be sure to be animated yourself. In other words move around and use your hands. The second modality is auditory leaners. Auditory leaner’s need to hear the presentation, so you need to be well spoken at a nice pace and use voice inflections. This means when you are talking about something exciting, sound excited. If speaking about something sad, sound sad by lowering your voice. The third and last modality of communication is the kinesthetic learner. The kinesthetic learner needs to feel your emotions. They connect primarily through emotion. If you are excited they get excited. If you are sad they will be sad. Some kinesthetic learners like auditory aids and some like visual aids but ultimately they just want to feel your speech.

Now that you realize in a crowd of a few or many people, all three modalities will be represented. When you prepare your speech, keep in mind the visual aids you may need. Be prepared to move around, you are not a statue at Disney’s Hall of Presidents. Practice your voice inflections. No one likes to listen to a monotone. If not, you will sound like the teacher from Peanuts Charlie Brown. Lastly, speak with emotion. In other words, feel what you are talking about, excitement, sorrow or happiness, when you feel it the audience feels it. These are keys to good public speaking.

Next do your homework, know your audience. I recommend using some type of topical humor. You do not have to tell a joke, especially, if you are not a good joke teller. But you need to lighten the mood of your crowd. One thing is certain, if you make your audience laugh, you will command their attention. Once this is achieved, you will find you will become more relaxed and confident for the rest of your speech. Another really important tip is when you speak to a crowd, do not look at the crowd and never look over their heads. Instead, have many short conversations with the audience members closest to you. Make eye contact as if you are telling just one person something important. After 30 or 45 seconds move on to another person, don’t be creepy. I find if I move around and speak to an individual it helps calm my nerves, because I don’t feel like I am speaking to a large group, just  having a one to one conversation and moving on to the next person. Your audience will like you more as a public speaker because they feel connected to you. These tips will also help you become more comfortable with public speaking as you grow and do more engagements. Always remember there is no short cut, practice, practice, practice your public speaking. Now go get’em!

“Only the prepared speaker deserves to be confident”—.Dale Carnegie

Image by Stuart Miles at www.freedigitalphotos.net

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Tim Wilhoit is owner/principal of Your Friend 4 Life Insurance Agency in Nashville, TN. He is a family man, father of 3, entrepreneur, insurance agent, life insurance broker, salesman, sales trainer, recruiter, public speaker, blogger and team leader with over 27 years of experience in sales and marketing in the insurance and beverage industries.