4 Tips To Become A Powerful Public Speaker

By Author: parinz
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In a world where robots may one day drive us to work and fold our laundry, public speaking is one skill we still need to master for ourselves. No matter how automated work and life become, we still need to communicate with each other to accomplish tasks. Whether your employees are giving a formal presentation, making a sales call, sharing ideas in meetings, or navigating a “hallway ambush” with their boss, they need to speak clearly and confidently to move business forward.
As organizations navigate a digitally transforming world, leaders need to help their workforce master the soft skills that humans excel at over robots. Here is an exclusive preview of the top tips to help speakers build confidence, credibility, and connection in public speaking training:
Know your people
Clients typically open a slide deck or start drafting their speaker notes, which often lead to common mistakes. Before deciding what to say, consider the people you are addressing. Think ABC: Audience Before Content. Ask: Who is my audience? ...
... What questions do they have for me? What parts of my message will make them hesitant or sceptical? 
These questions take only a few minutes to integrate into the workday and help you craft messages that stick in people’s minds long after the presentation ends.
Know your stories
It is easy for people to assume that stories do not matter and that if you have got the data, you can make your voice heard. But if data is king, then stories are queen. And like in chess, the queen ultimately runs the show. But what stories should you tell? The stories can be from your own life, from your customers, or from other people. One key to telling a great story is to know the point you are trying to make and clarify it to your audience.
Know your body
Picture this: You ask a colleague for their opinion on your project, and they say, “It is great!” But as they say it, they avoid eye contact with you and cross their arms. Which do you believe: Their words or their body? Their body, every time. The same holds when people give a presentation: If their slides are great but their delivery is awkward, the audience will lose confidence in them. The same applies to media coaching.
Know how to manage anxiety
While your fear of public speaking may never completely go away, this is not necessarily a bad thing. By proactively tackling anxiety, you can move forward and speak with greater confidence. For clients who prefer a comprehensive approach to managing fear, consider having them write out all their worries on a whiteboard and then develop a list of coping strategies for responding to each problem.
Conclusion
Regardless of your industry, practical public speaking skills can empower your employees to be more influential and persuasive, enabling them to achieve their goals and ultimately succeed in their careers.