So – over the past 10 days, we’ve been examining the top 10 tips for new and nervous public speakers

If you’ve stuck with us so far, congratulations – you are on your way to becoming an accomplished and polished speaker and presenter – Kudos to you!

We’re going to put it all together today, in a nice neat little package that I hope you’ll bookmark, and refer to again and again.

But if you are mathematically minded, you may think “But there’s only 9 tips so far!”

Well, there will be a tip number 10 … but don’t skip to the bottom to read it just yet!

 

 

 

 

 

And for those of you who just had to skip ahead, you could have saved the time because here it is ….

There are no shortcuts!

So – with that in mind, lets refresh ourselves with the earlier tips.

Tip 1 was Stand Up, Speak Up, and Shut Up.

Marshall your thoughts. Write them down. Work out your arguments and possible objections. In a life event, jot down what you MUST say – but also what you MUST NOT.

Say what you need to say – then sit down again. Brevity is the soul of wit. So be witty, not long winded 🙂

Tip 2 was Be Prepared.

Don’t try to ‘fake it’ – it won’t work. And ‘winging it’ is for the birds.   So, repeat after me (all together now) “Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance”. Yay!

Tip 3 was how to prepare for a presentation if you don’t have the time, or the inclination, to memorize a speech. My suggestion is to use the Memory Palace (or ‘Method of Loci’) to remind you of your outline. As long as you have done the PPPPP in tip 2, then it will all fall into place!

Tip 4 was a reminder that in the term Public Speaker, the PUBLIC comes first. The important part of any presentation (other than a speech contest) is not what YOU look and sound like – it’s what your audience get from your presentation. Always keep in mind : “What is the purpose of my presentation? ”

Tip 5 spoke about the most famous triple of all in Public Speaking – Tell Them (what you are going to say), Tell Them, Tell Them (what you told them).

There’s good scientific research to back up the strategy (including observations about primacy and recency) so consider why this technique’s been used since the days of the ancient Romans.

Tip 6 started a long time ago in a galaxy far far away, as we examined how and why stories work to make your message ‘sticky’.

Most people seem to be hard-wired to enjoy stories – and learn best from them. Wrap your message in a memorable story – your audience will remember the story, and the message!

Tip 7 spoke about the need to get involved, to become invested in your presentation – to let your excitement show! We looked at teaching the butterflies in your tummy fly in formation, to carry you aloft … and carry your audience with you.

Tip 8 was all about techniques for speaking off the cuff – and how to always something ready to present, if you need to.

We also reminded ourselves that WE are the experts when we speak – and we normally DO have the knowledge – even if we doubt ourselves.

For Tip 9, we looked at what the experts, the professionals, and the gifted amateurs all have in common … they have something to say. And if we ‘crowd-source’ their knowledge and expertise, we can all become better speakers. As the old saying goes: “Steal one persons work and its plagiarism – but steal 5 people’s work and it’s research!”

And Tip 10? You’ve just been reading it – there ARE no shortcuts.

Hints and tips, yes – but no shortcuts!

So thanks for reading – and I hope you have found these tips useful.

If you have ANY comments, I’d love to hear from you.

And may your presentations and public speeches be all that you could want them to be!

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I knew that someone would skip ahead … so number 10 tip is just this: don’t try to take shortcuts! Go on — back to the top for you! 🙂