Public Speaking Skills Coach Online
Public speaking — the bane of many lives in the business world. Whenever a public speaking event arises, most people run for the shadows and won’t show their faces again until it’s over. In 2021, it’s time to finally get over this fear. However, we aren’t going to suggest expensive professional public speaking courses.
While some people struggle to present in front of hundreds of people, others don’t like getting up in front of ten people in a meeting. Either way, confidence in public speaking makes a huge difference in your day-to-day life. As well as standing in front of people, public speaking also helps in conversations with customers, suppliers, and others.
Before talking about online solutions and other tips, we first want to address the topic of professional public speaking training. In our opinion, it’s not worth the time or money. Whether an individual or a business considering this training, it’s not necessary.
Of course, some people reading this guide will have been through public speaking training and will wax lyrical about how the training helped. With a professional in the room, you get instant feedback about your pace, volume, facial expressions, and mannerisms. One of the biggest problems, however, is that you get the same information by propping up an iPhone against a cushion and recording a speech. It might not come with much glamour, but the results are often the same.
Despite the many positive reviews of public speaking training, it’s also important to note the group of people who walk away unhappy. They feel as though public speaking training restricts their freedom and removes the authenticity that plays such an important role in public speaking.
When talking, you’re suddenly thinking about not slouching, speaking too quietly, walking too much, performing enough gestures, making eye contact, and a million and one other things. With so many pointers to keep in mind, you end up feeling like a robot walking around the stage and not able to deliver the speech as you wish (with passion on the topic).
While public speaking training is useful, it’s not entirely necessary if you aren’t planning to become a professional speaker. If you just want to feel confident enough to speak in front of your team and the odd event, you don’t need to become a master of the art. You want to speak with energy and clarity, you want to establish a connection with the audience, but you don’t need the ability to tour the country as a leading speaker.
Rather than coming from robotic movements and perfection, the required presence comes from small improvements and minor changes to your current performance style. Today, we’re going to look at some advice that will help to get you to the right level even without spending thousands of dollars on public speaking training.
There’s No Universal Solution
First and foremost, there’s no universal right answer when it comes to public speaking. Speak to ten presentation trainers about public speaking and you’ll quickly notice that their strategies and opinions differ. While some will tell you to make grand gestures, others will tell you not to distract the audience like that. Therefore, the advice you walk away with can contradict itself depending on who you choose for training.
With this in mind, you could have the world’s best public speaker come to visit the business and they still wouldn’t resonate with every single member of the audience. Just like not everybody likes the same chocolate, not everybody likes the same style of public speaking. Even after spending thousands, you aren’t going to make everybody happy, so keep this in mind.
Rules Restrict
Secondly, there are certain general tips to follow when it comes to public speaking. For example, you don’t want to shout in the faces of your audience, nor do you want to swear every two seconds. Yet, too many rules only restrict speakers because they’re constantly thinking about everything they need to remember.
Watch a video from a TEDx event and you’ll notice that not every speaker uses proper gestures and other techniques that a public speaker trainer will drill into you. Some speakers don’t follow the rules but still manage to capture the attention of the audience. You could have all the training in the world, but this counts for nothing if your presence doesn’t shine through while speaking. It’s the passion, personality, and knowledge of the individual that engages an audience.
Authenticity is Key
As humans, we’re good at sensing the authenticity of other humans. When somebody cares, we empathize and end up feeling similar emotions to the speaker. When somebody is disingenuous, we lose empathy and can’t relate to the individual. Therefore, most of the work is done as soon as you become authentic and passionate about a topic. If you believe in what you’re saying, and you’re honest, your audience will go on the journey with you.
What’s more, most people are naturally good at adjusting their authenticity for the occasion. In other words, you know not to speak loudly and extravagantly to a crowd of five people in a meeting room. With your presence at the core, everything else resolves itself naturally.
Stress and Anxiety Ruin Everything
Every day, you have fantastic conversations with family, friends, colleagues, and even people you meet in the supermarket. You know how to communicate, you know how to appeal to the needs of the listener, and you know how to vary your voice and presence speaking to one family member compared to seven. However, it’s the stress and anxiety that come along and ruin everything.
For many, public speaking is an anxiety-inducing event. In a moment, you forget the English language and how to talk to people. Consequently, it’s important to work on the mental aspect of public speaking since this underpins everything else. Regardless of your public speaking training, it all counts for nothing if you still can’t overcome nerves and anxiety when standing in front of people.
While some people need to imagine the audience naked, others need meditation, mindfulness, and other techniques to feel confident when speaking to an audience. Another top tip is to pay attention to your voice and body language when you have simple conversations with friends and family. When presenting, draw on the same movements rather than trying to copy somebody else. Since this is what comes naturally to you, this is the best way to present.
Time and Experience Heal Everything
As the penultimate tip, time is nature’s great healer and experience is your friend. Although it seems counter-intuitive, you need to get up in front of people more often if you’re to feel more confident with public speaking. Take every opportunity possible to stand up in meetings, speak at small events, and build your experience.
If you keep progressing, it won’t be long before public speaking is second nature, and you’ll wonder why you ever let it cripple your confidence.
Get Help Online
With all this information in mind, you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on a public speaking training course. More often than not, participants walk away feeling even more confused. Trainers on these courses can only talk about what works for them rather than the fact that we’re all different and present in unique ways.
This being said, you aren’t alone. These days, you’ll find some fantastic coaching tools online to help with your nerves. For example, Orai is powered by artificial intelligence and provides instant feedback on your presenting skills. It helps you to build the foundation on:
- Pace
- Filler Words
- Facial Expression
- Conciseness
- Confidence
- Energy
- Pausing
As you pay attention to the feedback, you should notice that your score increases over time. This is a brilliant way to improve your public speaking objectively, without the opinions of somebody who might do things differently from yourself. The feedback will allow you to speak at a strong pace, remove filler words, and build confidence.
When working with Orai, you’ll benefit from the interactive lessons as well as the progress tracking too. While training is often subjective and the opinion of the teacher, Orai builds on the foundations of what makes a good speech. You don’t need to spend thousands, you can record yourself whenever you get a few moments, and there’s no pressure of performing in front of a coach.
Summary
Even the thought of public speaking gets the heart racing for many, but this doesn’t mean that you’re a lost cause. Instead, it means that you need to find your presence and confidence. Rather than paying out heavy sums for public speaking training, listen to the advice in this guide, and don’t be afraid to use online tools such as Orai. Everybody has their style of public speaking, so find your own rather than copying the style of somebody else. Good luck!
