How to overcome stage fear.

10 Fatal Mistakes – What not to do while delivering a speech.

#1 Don’t memorize the whole speech.

Under the pressure to deliver it wonderfully on the stage, you may forget  a part of it or even the whole speech. You know what follows next.

#2 Don’t read your speech out of a paper.

When your eyes are on the paper, you are unable to connect to your audience.

#3 Don’t put too many jargon.

You love showing off your vocabulary or your knowledge?

Save it for some other day. You are here to convey your idea to your audience, not to prove that you have memorized a whole dictionary.

#4 Don’t choke your speech with too much data.

Yes, it’s necessary to include some facts. In facts, data helps you in strengthening your point. But this never means to completely fill your speech with data. If it’s absolutely required, put it there, otherwise just leave it. Remember, you can engage people in a far better way if you convey your ideas through a story they can connect to, than with numbers they are not even interested in.

#5 Don’t speak it too fast.

Delivering your speech at a lightning fast pace ensures two things –

Your audience will not get a single word of what you are speaking.

They will conclude that you have memorized the whole speech, even when you haven’t.

See, speaking at a very fast pace defeats the very purpose of the speech, i.e.. conveying your message to your audience. You might have a really great idea to convey, but what is the point when no one gets even a word of what you are trying to tell?

#6 Don't tell them how awesome you are.

Keep your introduction as short as possible. While giving a short introduction about yourself helps in establishing your credentials, no one loves it if it's a long one. Keep important details like your education and experience, skip the trivial ones.

#7 Don’t sound like a robot.

My reference to robotic voice has nothing to do with tone. It refers to an emotionless monologue. Your voice should reflect the underlying emotions involved in the idea you want to convey. When you are talking about poverty, you should sound concerned. Similarly, your voice should be filled with excitement when you are talking about an upcoming project your firm is taking.

#8 Don’t ignore how you look.

I know that you won’t dress shabbily when you are going for an interview. But there is more to your appearance than just your dress.  Get yourself a well-tailored dress. Shave. You don’t want to look bad when a hall full of audience is constantly gazing at you.

Try to dress in formal. People take you seriously when you do so.

#9 Don’t admit that you are nervous.

You don’t have to tell about the butterflies in your stomach to them.

You forgot a line. It’s fine, carry on. Most probably, your audience didn't even notice that. But once you admit – “Oh! Sorry, I missed something” they will know for sure.

People turned up to listen to you expecting you to be a confident man who is in control of the situation, not a nervous guy who has no idea about what is is speaking.

#10 Don’t make it too long.

You too, must have been tortured by a long speech, at one point of your life or another. And I am sure you must have cursed the orator. You don’t want the same thing to happen to you – do you?

How to prepare for a speech?

How to prepare for a speech?

Who wouldn’t love a standing ovation for their speech?

You choose a topic, you write a speech on that topic, you read it out wonderfully, everyone is happy. Isn’t it that easy?

No, it’s not.

In fact, preparing for a good speech is one of the most daunting tasks. So much, that you felt the need to read this whole article.

Anyway, coming straight to the point – What all do you need to do for delivering a great speech?

Let’s start with the basics.

The first one is – choosing a topic which you are interested in.

The next job is to do research about the topic.

No matter how much you know about the topic, do it.

Then, prepare a speech based on the ideas you have gathered.

Look at your write-up. Find out if you can include some real life experience, or an interesting fact, or a humorous example in your speech.

But there is a word of caution – Never read out your speech from a piece of paper.
Memorizing your speech is not a good option either.

So, how do you know what to speak?

Seriously, is this even a problem, when you have already done so much research in the field.

However, there can be a problem, in case you forget. What do you do in such a case?

There is a way out for even that. Summarize your speech in five or six points and note it down on a piece of paper. Your points should be small and concise. This can act as a rescue in such cases.

But knowledge is one thing, delivering it with eloquence is another. And for that, you need to practice. 

Get someone to listen to your speech. 

Practice, practice and practice. Practice in front of your dog, the wall of your room, your mirror, or at any place where you can practice.

Visualize yourself in front of your audience and rehearse out loud.

Observe if your action and your body language are in sync with the tone of your voice or not.

Keep a tab on the usage of fillers. Practice your speech using a timer.

Revise your speech, if necessary. Pay attention to the number of times, you are using,  “umm”, or “ahh”, or “I mean”.

Avoid it.

In short, no fillers, no matter what.

One more thing, looks do matter.

As you are preparing to give a speech, you must be already carrying a dynamic personality.
However, there is always a scope of improvement.

Make sure that you appear your best while you are delivering the speech.
People take you seriously, when you look good.

Was this too much?

See, if you are new to the field of oration, you will have to put an extra effort.

However, all this will come naturally to you after a while.

It takes time and effort to achieve perfection, and it will come in due time.

Best of luck.

How To Connect To Your Audience?

Your Cheat Code To A Standing Ovation.

At some point in your life, you must have been tortured by a speaker who goes on and on. He seems to be the only person enjoying the speech, while everyone is glancing at their watches.

You don’t want to be such a speaker, do you?

You want your audience to wait for your every next line.

The question is – how?

The first step is to tailor your speech, according to your audience.

You probably won’t want a group of college students to be bombarded with data – right?

Similarly, while addressing a group of senior managers, you would like to cut the crap and come straight to the point.

In short – Give them what they want!

No one is interested in knowing who you are and what you have accomplished and how you have accomplished. They will be more interested in your speech if it’s about them.

So, use as many “you”s  as you can.
Talk about “their” lives, “their” jobs and “their” problems.

Greet your audience with energy and enthusiasm.

Let your voice reflect how pleased you are to meet them.
Your opening line sounds dull and mechanic; and you have already lost their attention.

Take care not to choke your speech with too many difficult words.

The purpose of a speech to convey the message, not to show off about vocab.

Keep it simple and speak slowly.

You don’t want to deliver a speech that only you are able to understand.

The other important thing is, to keep the session interactive and not turn it into a monologue.

Don’t just keep on forcing your ideas, ask them questions. Encourage them to ask questions and keep them engaged.

Instead of asking them to switch their phones off, and pay attention, try to win their attention.

Who doesn’t like to laugh a little?

Even if it’s a “serious” speech, put some jokes in it. You don’t have to be a stand up comedian for that.

But, that doesn’t give you a freedom to put any random joke from the internet into your speech.

Think of funny instances from your experience and use them to convey your ideas.

But there is a warning here – Don’t put too many of these jokes in your speech. It makes your speech sound less “serious”.

And yes, look the audience into their eyes.

It shows that you are confident about your subject.

It also helps you in winning the trust of the audience, because people trust confident people.

And one last point – Realx!

I know that you can do it.

How to overcome stage fear

Overcome your nervousness on the stage

Stage fear!

Yes, that is what they call it.

But do you know that these two words describe perhaps, the human race’s greatest fear.
Right from forgetting your lines, to shaking of legs on the stage – the list is endless.

You feel nervous before delivering a speech?

Relax! It’s natural. You are just one among the millions, who share your fear too.
But if it’s that natural, why are we even discussing it?

Because your nervousness has detrimental effect on your speech. Quite a few times, it even shows up in your speech.
So, how to overcome your nervousness?

Let's begin with the basics. Before you enter into the stage, get yourself a glass of water.
No matter how stressful the situation, it always comes handy in decreasing the stress level.

One more thing to do is, to visualize your success. 

Imagine the audience clapping, better still, giving you a standing ovation – It will boost your confidence.

When you enter the stage, face the audience with a smile. It makes you seem confident. It also actually makes you confident.

Even if you are feeling butterflies in your stomach, just pretend that everything is under control. Eventually, you will gain confidence. The idea is to, “Fake it, till you make it.”

Speak slow and clear. It buys you time to recollect your thoughts.
It also helps the audience in understanding your message in a better and more effective manner.

But what if your worst fears come true?

What if you forget a line or a phrase? 
What do you do then?

The idea is simple – pause.
Pause for a second.
Don’t be nervous. 

Just pause and think.

No “umm”s, no “ahhh”s, no “I think”s – No fillers, whatsoever.

Simply pause.

It not only buys you some time to recollect your thoughts, but also helps you in getting the attention of even the least attentive people in the audience. 

When you pause briefly for a second or two, you keep them waiting for more.  In fact, you compel them to look what has happened, even when they are busy with their cell phones.

This is what we call as winning the attention of the audience.

The other big problem comes when you commit a mistake, while on the stage. 

You stated the facts wrong – So what?
It’s just a speech. The audience probably didn't even notice it.

Just ignore the problem and move on. The more you think about it, the more are the chances of you, spoiling the speech.

Even if you have committed a mistake or two, just pretend that everything is fine.

Remember, if the audience has put so much effort to show up to listen to you, it’s because they were expecting a great speech from a confident personality.

People want you to excel, that’s why they have turned up.

Give them your your best and you will excel.

Just give it some time, you will overcome it.

Remember – Even a diamond is just a piece of charcoal that has handled stress exceptionally well.

How To Become A Good Orator

Oration Tips – Do’s And Don’ts While Giving A Speech

#1 Know your audience.

Prepare your speech, keeping in mind who your audience is. You wouldn't want to bore teens with facts and data.
Similarly, if you are addressing a group of senior managers, you would like to cut the crap and come straight to the point.

#2 Water

Drink some water before entering into the stage. You don’t want your throat to be dry – do you?

It also keeps you calm and helps you to deliver your idea in a more effective manner.

#3 Smile

Smile – it hides how nervous you are. The fact that faking a smile, actually decreases your stress level; is an added advantage.

#4 Look straight into their eyes.

When you look into their eyes you appear confident. And remember – People love confident people. Moreover, this helps you in connecting with your audience, a key ingredient to any good speech.

#5 Add humour

No matter how serious your topic is, there is always a scope of a joke or two.
Does this mean that, just to make your speech funny, you put any random joke in your speech?

– A big no.

Think of some funny instances related to the topic from your past experience. Put those examples in your speech. Make use of these instances to convey your ideas. It always helps.

#6 Plan your finish

We all prepare for a great start. But in the process, we at times ignore a suitable ending.
An ending without a proper conclusion, defeats the very purpose of a speech. What is the point in delivering a great speech, if it leaves the audience clueless about the final conclusion?

Conclude your speech with the central idea you wanted to convey through your speech.
End it with a popular quote or something which that sticks in their minds.
And never forget to wish them a great life ahead.

#7 Ask questions

Your speech should not be a monologue.  e.g. While delivering a speech on climate change, ask – “How many of you feel that the greenery of the earth is vanishing?”

Asking questions, engages your audience.

#8 Put energy and enthusiasm in your voice

Right from your opening line to the conclusion, your voice should be filled with energy.
When you give your audience an idea that can double their sales percentage, you should not convey it with an emotionless face. You should actually sound excited about the whole idea.

#9 Quote some real life example

Elaborate your point with some real life examples. People connect more to a real life examples than data or facts.

#10 Engage your audience

Before you make your entry to the stage, ensure the availability of mic with the audience as well.

When they ask you a question, ask them to first introduce themselves.

Repeat their question by saying – “So, our friend xyz is asking if  …………….”

This way your audience feel that they are not just being delivered a speech, but they are very much a part of it.

Plus, it gives you time to think of an effective answer – a bonus.

BEST OF LUCK!