20 Tips tip for better public speaking. Use these 20 tips as a checklist to get ready for your next presentation

1. 20 Public Speaking Tips
Peter Dhu

2. 1 Use your nervous energy
 It is not about getting rid of nerves, but rather harnessing the nervous
energy
 Nerves will put you into your peak performance mode
 It is about making the butterfly's fly in formation

3. 2 Leave your ego at the door
 Focus 100% on the audience and don’t worry about your own nerves and
your own self talk.
 If you focus on yourself then you are taking away from the audience

4. 3 Be clear on your purpose
 What do you want to achieve
 What do you want the audience to remember
 Why do they care
 What outcome/change/action do you want to occur

5. 4 Start really strong
 First Impressions count
 The first 30 seconds is crucial
 The rule of primacy – the first words are remembered

6. 5 What pain are you solving for your audience
 What problem are you solving
 What pain are you alleviating
 What questions are you answering
 What is keeping you audience
awake at night with worry
 Answer these questions and you will do a great job

7. 6 Use stories
Tell a story Make a point Link the point to a benefit for
the audience
Stories are your Unique Intellectual Property
You don’t need to learn your stories, they happened
Stories are memorable
Stories create an emotional response

8. 7 Have a call to action
 Ask them to do something
 Challenge them
 Make the status quo unacceptable

9. 8 Speak to the audience one to one
 Speak as though you are just having a conversation
 Be genuine, authentic and conversational
 Make eye contact one person at a time

10. 9 Get out of your comfort zone
 Take a risk every day that gets you closer to your speaking goal
 If you are comfortable, then it is not big enough for you
 Dr Susan Jeffers said “Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway”
 Just speak more

11. 10 Do your preparation
 Prior preparation prevents pathetically poor performance
 Spectacular performance is preceded by spectacular preparation
 Preparation is the foundation of every presentation

12. 11 Use your voice
 Use tonal variation and intonation
 Vary your speed
 Vary your volume
 Use pause to create suspense

13. 12 Always get feedback
 Feedback is the food of champions
 How do you know if you don’t ask
 Feedback will help you grow and unlock potential

14. 13 Establish credibility
 Why you
 Where does your data come from
 What is your experience
 Why should we believe you
 Build your credibility stack

15. 14 Don’t read your speech
 Use a mind map
 Have bullet points
 Tell your stories
 Speak extemporaneously

16. 15 Gestural intelligence
 Have inclusive gestures
 Develop a rich gestural vocabulary
 Don’t fidget or use distracting hand movements
 Eliminate bounce in your gestures
 Don’t point at your audience

17. 16 Connect with your audience
 Focus on connection, not perfection
 Build rapport
 Build trust

18. 17 Don’t be afraid of the
elephant in the room
 Acknowledge differences
 Acknowledge concerns
 Acknowledge problems
 Acknowledge fears

19. 18 Make your message memorable
 Use surprise or unexpected message
 What is in it for me
 Put a hook in your message
 Have a call to action
 Make your data concrete
 Use emotion

20. 19 Present with the right energy
 Match the energy level of the room – don’t be too high and don’t come
over too flat
 Understand that you are privileged to be before that audience.
 With privilege comes responsibility
 Communicate with conviction and belief
 Have a positive attitude

21. 20 Take care of your voice
 War m up with tongue twisters or humming
 Drink water before and during your presentation
 Do drink apple juice or pineapple juice to help lubricate your voice
 Don’t drink milk or soy based coffee
 Use a tick tack to avoid dry mouth
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