How to Be an Effective Public Speaker

Even accomplished public speakers worry about whether or not their presentation is effective. Fortunately, improving your effectiveness as a public speaker is very simple! To be an effective public speaker, prepare a well-developed speech that fits your audience. Then, practice your delivery prior to giving the speech.

Finally, connect with the audience, articulate your words, and use gestures as you give your speech.

1 Know your audience. This includes the expected size of the audience, as well as their age, gender, educational background, and socioeconomic status. It’s also important to know their level of knowledge about the topic you’re presenting. Finally, consider how the audience views you and what they will likely expect to gain from your presentation.^[1]
- For example, will you be presenting to people who are relatively new to the topic, or are you speaking at a professional event where people will have some familiarity? You’ll need to adjust your material to fit their needs. You want to avoid talking over people’s heads, but you also want to avoid giving them a lot of information they already know.
- Similarly, your presentation will differ depending on how the audience views you. If they see you as an expert on the topic, your speech should convey that knowledge and authority.
2 Determine the appropriate tone for your speech. You can think about the tone of your speech as the mood of the speech. It will be determined by the audience, occasion, topic, and purpose of your speech. You’ll also want to consider your personality, as you’ll want to use a tone that’s natural for you.
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- If your topic is serious in nature, you may use a grave tone. Alternatively, you might choose a humorous tone for a speech delivered at a celebratory dinner.
- Generally you can use a conversational tone for any speech, regardless of the topic or size of the audience. Most important is to be authentic!
- Keep in mind that you don’t need to use the same tone for your entire speech. For example, your presentation may start out serious but end with a fun, interactive segment. In this case, you’d want to adjust your tone as the presentation progressed.
3 Conduct research, if necessary. If you’re already an expert on your topic, then you may be able to compose your speech from memory or from your own notes. However, it’s important to do research if there are any gaps in your knowledge. Keep in mind that the audience may notice those gaps and ask questions. Also, audience members may appreciate statistics and facts that back up your points.^[3]
- If you know a lot about your topic, you might want to start writing your speech before doing research. This way you won’t waste time reviewing information you already know. For example, a biologist may be able to give a speech about cell division without doing additional…