Khalid Ouzguid is an ESL teacher. He is certified by The British Council ( TEFL Certificate in 2013), he is teaching at Catering College (English for specific purpose) ,Ouarzazate City. He conducted Applied Linguistics’ classes at Multidisciplinary faculty of Ouarzazate. Khalid is a short storyteller and writer.
Ouarzazate, Morocco
No one denies that speaking in front of an audience is an expected experience in life. All of us, in one way or another, have experienced speaking to a group of people. Who does not remember the high-school presentations conducted in front of forty or fifty classmates? And who does not remember the overwhelming emotion connected with that very first public appearance? And who does not remember how he/she performed in his/her first speaking duty?
Yes, some of us were good at speaking with enough confidence whereas others could not perform well. In this article the focus will be on the strategies for becoming a better speaker.
Are good public speakers born or made? Most people agree that they are made because effective public speaking skill is a learnable strategy. All you need to do is to exercise and execute the following tips:
First, plan your speech appropriately. The selection of an appropriate topic should suit you and your audience. This step will automatically lead you to a point where some serious, advanced and detailed research needs to be conducted in order to absorb the accurate information from every possible source.
Then, you need to focus on your audience. The different aspects of your eminent listeners, such as gender, age, culture, beliefs, etc. should be taken under serious consideration. Remember: the more you understand your audience, the better self-performance you will deliver.
The next step is to organize your materials for the speech and put them in a logical order. Divide your speech into subtopics where each subtopic should be treated equally in terms of the length and time. This approach has a positive impact on your audience as they can simply follow your speech from the start to the end. It also helps them to retain what they have heard.
Finally, you must deliver your speech. Here, you need to use your innate abilities, voice and body language in such a way to support your message. Although you will feel nervous being on the podium, show your desire and willingness to speak to your great listeners and be enthusiastic about the topic of your speech. Before starting your speech, take a few seconds to practice the eye-to-eye or eye-contact with your audience as it helps to release anxiety and fear.
In a nutshell, the public speaking strategy is a learnable skill. It helps you gain self-confidence, self-esteem and courage. It is a kind of simple technique that makes people look strong, powerful and influential.