A Priceless Formula to Successful Public Speaking

Dear Friend,

       Today I'm going to give you a simple, 4 step formula for getting rave reviews when public speaking.

Step One
When you are alone, rehearse out loud the exact words you are going to use to present your ideas. Most people assume that articulate people are spontaneous. This is rarely the case.

       Virtually all top performances are heavily rehearsed. I learned this from one of Canada's top comedians, Irwin Barker. Irwin confessed to me that the real genuis of live performers is that they can deliver rehearsed material in an off-the-cuff way...as though they just thought of each joke.

       You can do the same by preparing your words and then delivering them in a casual, relaxed way.

Step Two
When you are preparing for the meeting, imagine you are already at the scene. Visualize the audience in your mind. Hopefully, you will get a little nervous, and then you can work on calming your nerves.

       To calm your nerves, you must realize that public speaking is not that difficult. It is not necessary for you to be brilliant, funny, or entertaining. Entertaining people is not what public speaking is about.

       You can be average. You can make mistakes and get tongue-tied, and still have your audience rate you as excellent. All you have to do is give your audience valuable information, and they will enjoy their time with you.

Step Three
Just before your presentation, if you are nervous, say to yourself: 'It's OK to be nervous. It's OK to be afraid of making mistakes.'

       Most people do the opposite. They say to themselves, 'I'm calm, confident, and cheerful!' when they are filled with anxiety. This makes them feel worse, because they are pretending to be confident when they aren't.

       Telling yourself it's Ok to be nervous will relax you, because you aren't forcing yourself to try and feel confident when you aren't. You're just trying to accept yourself.

       Also: you can't control your voice, your throat, or your fear. If you could, you would never feel anxious or shaky. Since you can't control these things, simply accept yourself by telling yourself that your reaction is completely understandable.

       Your audience is aware that you are vulnerable up there, and they appreciate your vulnerability.

Step Four
When you are speaking, stop paying attention to how you feel, especially if you are stressed out. Instead, pay attention to what's happening with the audience or meeting. What's being discussed? If you are giving a presentation, you can do this by interacting with the group by asking them questions about your topic. Then you can genuinely respond to what they are saying.

       Bring yourself into the present moment.

       When you are in the NOW, you don't get stressed out about success or failure. You're just responding to what people are saying.

       This takes practice, so start bringing yourself into the NOW as often as you can when speaking to a group. Connect with one person at a time. If you take the focus off yourself, something radical will happen: you'll start having fun.

I'll talk to you again soon.

Your friend,
Lisa B.