Simple Speech and Persuasion Skills

Public speaking is reported as being the number one fear. It even ranks above the fear of death. Allow these tips to make all your presentations more pleasant for you – and your audience will love you.

Choose a vivid vocabulary. Paint motivational pictures with your words. Use words that add color, smell, action, dimension and emotion. Use a thesaurus to develop a wide array for action words and bold descriptions. Do not use offensive language or situations that would make your audience uncomfortable.

Practice eloquent enunciations. Words and grammar go together. Use proper verb tense, correct sentence structure and accurate usage of words. Speak clearly and do not slur; refrain from using slang. Your listener will become irritated if he cannot understand your words. Employ complete word endings such as ing, o, ed and day as in going, talking, pillow, tomato, attacked, foraged, Tuesday, yesterday. Do not transpose letters in pronunciation; it is perspire, not prespire.

Look for opportunities to incorporate humor. Use puns or a play-on-words, exaggerate, down play, irony, satire, absurdity, a good story or take an unexpected turn. Use pauses for emphasis. Allow time for the listener to respond. Laugh at yourself and with others. Use self-depreciating humor sparingly; too much is uncomfortable to the listener.

Add variety through dialogue, accents, mimicry or dramatization. Employ questions, quotations or a good story. Give an anecdote or shocking statement

Watch your timing, both in delivery and in time frame allotted by the program. Get to the point and do not beat around the bush.

Formulate a strong conclusion. Summarize the main points and reaffirm the purpose. Offer a call to action. Give a challenge for the client to buy, join, support or follow your ideas. Leave them wanting more.

Enjoy the presentation. Make the message YOUR message. If you have a good time, your audience will too. Be open and honest, people can spot a phony.

Using Visual Aids. Visual aids are a great way to increase understanding and memory of the subject matter. Determine what visual aids will enhance your presentation and how deft you are in using them—go with what works for you (power-point, graphs, whiteboard, flip charts, audio, video, props, costumes). Check beforehand that all props are in working order and are properly placed. Practice until you can handle the aid smoothly and with confidence. Do not allow the visual aid to keep you from making personal contact with the audience. End your speech completely and wait for the audience response before you begin to remove items.

Microphone Techniques. If a handheld, hold the microphone parallel to the floor with your hand to the side of your face and speak directly into the top of the microphone. If on a stand, adjust to the proper height and slant from the side and speak directly into the top. Give enough space between the mike and your lips so you do not spit or breath heavily into it. Speak in your natural voice with an even tempo and at conversation level of loudness.

Conversation is speech making also. Use these principles in day to day interaction and the great presentation will become second nature.

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