FIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING STRATEGIES TO TRY IMMEDIATELY:
- Relax tense muscles by using isometric exercises:
- Press your palms together in front of your chest for 5 sec. Turn one palm up and the other down and lock fingers, then pull for 5 sec. Relax and shake out arms and hands. Repeat several times.
- Sitting in a chair, pull up on bottom of the seat for 5 sec, then push down on the top of the seat for 5 sec. Relax and shake out arms and hands. Repeat several times.
- Place hands chest high on a wall and push for 5-10 sec. Relax. Repeat several times. (Yul Brenner did this every night that he performed “The King and I” to help relieve his stage anxiety!)
- Identify the one point you want the audience to take away with them and emphasize it in your delivery.
- As you prepare your remarks, use strong action verbs and vivid adjectives to help the audience “see” what you're describing. For inspiration look at your favorite writer.
- Use visual aids whenever possible. Eighty-three percent of what people learn is through sight.
- Write as if you're having a conversation with one person, not “speaking to the masses.” It will sound more natural and less preachy.
