The ABC’s of Public Speaking

Public speaking is something that many people are scared of doing. In this video, I’ll teach you the ABCs of public speaking that you can use to make sure your event goes great.

I was asked by a group in my community to give a presentation on public speaking and I agreed to do it because I’m looking for ways to challenge myself and this seemed fitting. If you ask most people, they would probably say that public speaking isn’t something they enjoy, but I kind of do. I am a high school teacher, so I am used to being in front of people and there are a lot of parallels between preparing for a lesson in a classroom and preparing for a public speaking event.

So, I got planning and I came up with the ABCs of public speaking which are:

1. Audience
2. Build
3. Communication

The A stands for audience.

• They are the ones you are trying to impress, persuade, maybe scoring you, and many other things.
• Ask yourself these questions:

1. Who are they?
2. What do they know about your topic?
3. Why are they at your presentation?

Once you know the answers to these questions, you can then start building it.

The B stands for build.

You need to develop a well-built plan for your presentation.

You should begin a hook that gets the audience interested in your topic because you only have a few seconds to get their attention and peak their interest in your topic. Once you lose their attention, it can be almost impossible to bring them back.

You should then introduce who you are and what you are going to talk about. Explain why you are taking the time to speak to them about your topic and why it is important.

You then move into the main “body” of your presentation. This is where the key points of your presentation should be explained. People tend to remember things better when they are “chunked up”, so I typically like to group points in groups of threes and have a “takeaway” that way the audience is more likely to remember what you talked about.

Take this video for example, I could have just given you a bunch of bullet points talking about public speaking, but instead I came up with the ABCs of public speaking, so you’d have a simple acronym that you could recall the points of this presentation.

The presentation should end with a strong conclusion and be sure to thank your audience.

The C stands for communication, and remember there are many different ways to communicate.

• Verbal — In a presentation the most prevalent form of communication will be done through speaking. Be sure to speak at an appropriate volume, maintain a comfortable speaking speed, and speak with a language level that your audience will understand.
• Non-verbal — I believe that non-verbal communication plays an important role in a presentation as well. Stand up straight to project confidence, use your hands for emphasis and don’t fidget around, make eye contact with people (not too long, or too short) and work the room or stage by moving around at a comfortable pace.
• All of these will take time to get used to and the best way is by practicing your presentation beforehand. You want to practice and know your plan well, but don’t try to memorize or script everything.
• Resources — I think that communication doesn’t necessarily have to stop when the presentation does. If appropriate, take the opportunity to provide resources or links to your social media accounts, so that your audience can continue learning about your topic and engage in further conversation once the presentation is done. This can also be a good way to build your personal brand.

Conclusion:

1. The ABCs of public speaking are Audience, Build, and Communication.
2. Know your audience and why they are there.
3. Build your presentation to keep the audience engaged and they are able to leave your presentation having learned something.
4. Communicate in a way that shows you are confident, knowledgeable, and interested in your topic.

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