“Words transform. Speak only with a good purpose. Say only things that serve you and others. Choose your words wisely.” – Robert G Allen
While giving a presentation in front of a mass audience, your brain keeps racing, making you extremely overwhelmed to put forward your ideas, thoughts, and opinions quickly before you forget. You don’t even give a second thought to what you are uttering. But do you know that sometimes this impulsiveness can do more harm than good? Your impulsive behavior could have unpleasant consequences.
Impulsiveness while delivering the speech may sabotage the intent of your communication, leaving a negative impression on the audience’s mind.
Below are a few tips to help you put across your message with power, precision, and purpose. Let’s take a look!
1. Less is More in Public Speaking
One of the factors that ignite impulsiveness is your eagerness to cram too much information into your talk. Here, you must understand that people don’t remember much of what they hear in speeches. So, keep it less! You can bring the richness of the subject to life through fewer words, less extraneous emotion, and less detail.
Tip: For effective speech, structure your talk like this:
- Opening
- 3 Key points
- Closing
Start with a strong opening, then put forward the first key point, and then a story. Take a transition, deliver the second keypoint, and then tell a story. Again take a transition, deliver the third key point, and a story. Finally, summarize the entire talk and close with a powerful remark/note.
2. Align Your Talk With the Self-Interests of the Audience
As a speaker, you deliver your speech to inform, persuade, and engage the audience. However, the audience accepts or rejects your speech based on their previous experiences and own beliefs. If anyhow your talk violates their notions, they will look at you with skepticism. So, before preparing your speech, take your audience’s demographics and interests into consideration. Know the motivations that appeal to the audience and make them want to listen to you.
3. Channelize Your Nervousness in the Right Direction
Fear and nervousness of public speaking lead to impulsivity. If you want to make a difference with your speech, calm your nerves and channelize your anxiety into positive energy. If you envision a positive outcome of your speech, it will happen. So, instead of thinking that “I am turning to be terrible during the presentation,” imagine yourself getting a huge round of applause from the audience.
4. Have a Clear Intent
The power of your intent is directly related to the crispness of your thoughts. Crisp and clear thoughts stir up an electrifying conversation, whereas rambling intents will lead to vague conversations. Your intent gets overshadowed when you speak impulsively. So, understand your own sense of purpose and prepare a presentation that reflects your vision.
5. Pay Heed to Your Pace, Take Pauses
When you feel jittery, your impulsiveness and pace of delivering speech increase considerably. In such a scenario, you lose control of yourself and articulate whatever comes to your mind. The best way to get rid of this impulsion is to take pauses. Pausing will make your talk more conversational and help the audience get your message with clarity.
The Inference
Anyone can strive to be a speaker, but speaking is not everyone’s cup of tea. It is the purpose and passion that differentiates mediocre speakers from exceptional ones. Speaking with a purpose is the sure-shot way to earn authority and credibility in the eyes of the audience. Learn to master your impulsiveness, establish the purpose of your speech, and voila! You are all set to ace your public speaking gig.
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