October 5, 2015

Skill Series: Public Speaking Tips Part 2

By: AF Editors

ss2201_38367Part 1.

When you have got your ideas sorted and feel prepared, there are two more exercises before you finish.

Firstly, time-keeping is essential. Run through what you have prepared and be certain that it falls just short of your allotted time. Even setting aside the concerns of the moderator or chairman, it is always better to leave an audience hungering for more rather than fidgeting and looking at their watches.

Secondly, you are not going to stand in front of an audience—with or without a lectern—with your entire presentation written out in full (see my comments about eye contact below). Until you are elected president, you can be fairly relaxed about the media hanging on your every word. So you need to put all this preparation into note form—preferably a few words that can be easily viewed on one side of index cards. But please don’t do what one student memorably did for me and arrive for a 5-minute presentation with 35 cards in his hand!

Finally, why not rehearse? Get accustomed to what you have to say and how you are going to deliver it. You can do that in the privacy of your own room in front of a mirror or in front of a friend or family member. You will not be the first to do so; some of the best speakers do just that.

After preparation, the issue becomes one of delivery. This is difficult to put in writing since we are all so different. A hand gesture on one person can work just fine, while on another it might irritate or distract.

To misquote, the essence of speaking in public is to maximize your benefits and minimize your liabilities!

This post, written by Scott Hamilton, is an excerpt from the IHS “Creating Your Path to a Policy Career” guide. Tune in next week for an 8-step public speaking checklist.