Confidence and Eye Contact: Six Tips to Improve Your Public Speaking
Public speaking can be terrifying, especially as a first generation professional
It can take many years of experience to become comfortable on a stage or behind a podium. However, once you perfect this valuable skill, you can leverage it in a variety of challenging situations, from delivering valuable information during a work meeting to holding attention during networking events. Here are six of our favorite tips to improve your public speaking skills and convey your message with confidence.
Understand your audience
The first piece of good public speaking is in the preparation. Be sure to understand the audience of your message, which will inform your content and delivery. The audience will determine your word choices (including any industry terms or slang, or terms of art), the level of detail of your presentation (including how much background information or context you provide), if motivational interjection would be appropriate, speaking space and formality, and speech organization.
With this understanding, you can also gauge the reception of your speech by the audience’s reactions. (2). If they look confused, perhaps more detail is needed. If they look bored, perhaps less detail and more observations are needed. Use your best judgement and don’t be afraid to ask others to assist you in this determination.
Find the best prep for you
Preparation for public speaking can looking differently for every person. Perhaps you only need a few deep breaths before you take the stage; perhaps you need to spend extensive time in memorization in order to feel your most confident. Other ideas could include a pre-speech pep talk in the mirror, copying your speech onto notecards, reading your remarks out loud to a friend over the phone, physical exercise to shake out any jitters, or spending time in the presentation space prior to the speech.
If you’re not sure where to start, think back to some other reference point in your life when you were preparing for an important event, Nathan says. What did you use to do before a baseball game or piano recital or big exam? See if those things help now and iterate until you find the right combination. (4).
Remember: there is no incorrect way to prepare for public speaking so do not be afraid to try new tactics.
Practice, practice, practice
As with most corporate skills, practice makes perfect, especially if it is not a skill with which you have much personal familiarity.
The best way to overcome anxiety is to prepare, prepare, and prepare some more. Take the time to go over your notes several times. Once you have become comfortable with the material, practice—a lot. (1).
Once you have reviewed your materials (including saying the words out loud!), record yourself performing the speech, or practicing the conversation, from start to finish. Take note of any awkward phrasing or pauses, including overuse of filler words like “um” or “like.” If you are utilizing visual aids, such as PowerPoint or notecards, be sure to practice the timing of the transitions or moving from one card to the next.
Finally, if your presentation is virtual, such as on Teams or Zoom, ask the meeting attendees if you can record the conversation for future study. This will give you a good idea of how effective your communication is within a digital medium and if there are any unique mannerisms you perform when speaking to a screen vs. a live audience.
use an outline effectively
One pitfall for new public speakers is the temptation to read directly from your notes, or even read the entire speed verbatim. Try to utilize an outline. Not only will this keep you on track and remind you of the overall roadmap of your discussion, but the use of an outline allows for natural breaks between points or topics for anecdotes or jokes.
Trust your rehearsal and knowledge of the material to deliver about 70% of the script. Stephenson says, “When you try to remember your speech word for word, it reduces the conversational tone, which in turn increases disconnection with the audience.” Instead, she suggests to aim for “connection over perfection,” noting that social connection activates our body’s calming response and reduces anxiety. (3).
Eye contact and body language
Two of the most difficult aspects of public speaking are eye contact and proper body language. Eye contact with your audience will help you appear confident (even if you do not feel that way!) and, with more practice, help you adapt your tone or speed to their responses. When you are practicing your public speaking, include practicing making eye contact.
Body language is another way to demonstrate confidence in your public speaking. Even simple moves, such as casting your gaze across the audience instead of focusing on a single point, can create connection with your audience.
Here are a few tips to stay cognizant of your body language:
Use the best posture available to you and find your power pose
Keep facial expressions calm or appropriate for the tone of the presentation
Fidget as little as possible. One tried-and-true trick is to keep a small object in your pocket or on the podium to occupy any wayward hands.
Remember to breathe!
Begin dynamically and finish strong
The content of your speech will be the most memorable part of your time on stage. At the end of the day, your audience may not remember you stammered a few words or fidgeted with your hands, but they will remember what you told them and how you messaged it. Capitalize on early, rapt attention by drawing in your audience with a personal story or demonstration/situation of why your speech is important. You can also begin by establishing your credibility; explain what makes you the best person to speak on that particular topic.
[U]se a startling statistic, an interesting anecdote, or concise quotation. Conclude your speech with a summary and a strong statement that your audience is sure to remember. (1)
Other ideas for a strong ending could be:
A call to action that encourages listeners to take the next step
A memorable quote that inspires or illustrates a point from your presentation
A personal story that demonstrates why this issue is so important to you
A summary of the most important takeaways. (2).
Remember: The audience is there for YOU
In any setting in which you are leveraging your public speaking skills, keep in mind that people are genuinely interested in new people and perspectives. They want to hear from you, especially if you are an expert on the topic at hand.
“If you remember that the audience wants you to do well, that they’re on your side, it’s a much easier process,” says Lee. Focus on what you’re giving to the audience—as if you were giving advice or telling a story to your best friend—rather than on yourself and how you appear.(4)
With time and practice, you can leverage these six tips to hone your public speaking skills like a pro.
Citations
“10 Tips to Improve Your Public Speaking Skills.” Coursera, 16 Aug. 2023, www.coursera.org/articles/public-speaking.
North, Marjorie. “10 Tips for Improving Your Public Speaking Skills.” Professional Development | Harvard DCE, 17 Mar. 2020, professional.dce.harvard.edu/blog/10-tips-for-improving-your-public-speaking-skills/.
Waters, Shonna. “8 Tips to Improve Your Public Speaking Skills.” BetterUp, 28 May 2021, www.betterup.com/blog/how-to-improve-public-speaking.
Ziv, Stav. “17 Public Speaking Tips to Help You Crush Your Next Presentation.” The Muse, The Muse, 19 June 2020, www.themuse.com/advice/public-speaking-tips#tip9.
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