Tips On Public Speaking - 3 Mistaken Assumptions

Anyone contemplating making a speech who isn't a professional speaker will, inevitably, want to pick up as many tips on public speaking that they can. And they will want those tips to convey some kind of 'magic formula' that will enable them to deliver a speech that is witty, to the point and delivered effortlessly with confidence and panache!

The reality, however, is frequently somewhat different.

No matter how much thought a person might put into their speech preparation, there are three mistaken assumptions that will make their public speaking task all the more difficult.

Assumption No.1:

That all audiences are hostile towards speakers and that in order for your speech to be successful, you will need to win their approval.

In fact, the opposite is true. Your audience actually wants you to make a successful speech. Human nature dictates that our natural empathy with a Fellow Being means that we will feel another person's discomfort when we witness it. If you are experiencing embarrassment, nervousness or unease whilst addressing your audience, then they will be sharing in that experience too.

And who in the audience wants to feel bad on your behalf? So you can begin to understand that, instead of being hostile towards you, your audience is actually willing you to make a good and entertaining speech.

Assumption No.2:

That the most important tip on public speaking is that you definitely need to include lots of jokes or anecdotes in every speech in order for it to be entertaining.

Wrong - although you will find this assertion high up on nearly every list of public speaking tips you might come across. A successful speech really does not depend on the inclusion of jokes and anecdotes.

After all, if you were an absolute ace at telling jokes and stories, you'd be a professional comedian, right? But most of us have great difficulty in even remembering a punchline, let alone be able to deliver it with style, so why make delivering your speech even more stressful than it already is by trying to carry off three or four 'funny' stories just for their own sake?

Assumption No.3:

That you need to show that you are an expert on the subject you are speaking about or your audience will see you for the fraud that you are and heckle and boo you.

Again, this is a common held belief and an entirely misplaced one. In fact, you really don't need to know anything in depth about your topic in order to deliver a cracking and satisfying speech.

What is vital to know, however, is how to research your topic well, so that you are able to discover the best and most relevant material possible for your audience's delight. If you can master this skill - and it is simply a matter of learning the correct research technique - you will soon be able to construct a speech on any topic and for any audience easily, successfully and for time after time.

So, before you begin your search for a list of 'magic' tips on public speaking, make sure you get rid of these three, completely misleading speech-making assumptions.

Keep in mind that your audience isn't automatically hostile towards you - they are willing you to do well and deliver the best and most satisfying speech they have heard in a long while. After all, they want to leave the auditorium feeling good about themselves - not bad.

Secondly, that there is no absolute requirement that you need to include jokes and stories in your speech. Unless you really do feel at ease telling anecdotes and can deliver punchlines faultlessly, don't put yourself under extra stress trying to be a comedian as well as a speech-maker.

And finally, don't struggle in the belief that you need to be an expert on the topic you are speaking about. Your sole duty is to deliver your speech well and in doing so, your audience will naturally accept that you are knowledgeable about your subject. This you can achieve by thorough and appropriate preparation and research before actually building your speech - a much more achievable task than attaining true, expert status, wouldn't you agree?

So, when searching for tips on public speaking, look first to rid yourself of these three, common misconceptions and you will have already gone a long way towards your goal of delivering a successful, confident and satisfying speech for your audience.

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