Sunday, June 25, 2006

Your fly is down, or why public speaking skills still matter

I went to a public forum two weeks ago and listened to two presenters who despite an interesting topic failed to capture my attention. Was I turned off by the number of "ums" they had in their speech? Was it their lack of professionalism? I remember tuning out when one turned to the other and said, "Oh, I forgot we had all those slides."

Whether you are giving a formal presentation, making a pitch to a client, being asked by your boss for an opinion, or responding to a prospective employer's questions, your public speaking skills say a lot about you. If your skills are poor, it is the equivalent of smiling with spinach between your teeth or walking around town with your fly down.

Here are seven steps on how to improve your speaking skills.

1. Practice
2. Know the audience
3. Know the room
4. Realize that people want you to succeed – you don’t have to be perfect.
5. Don’t apologize
6. Concentrate on the message – give them something of value
7. Gain experience

I'll be going into more detail on this at Talking in Circles Toastmaster club meeting on August 15. Come visit.

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