Afraid of Public Speaking?

How to improve oratory skills.

People get blank before entering a room full of people. Few of them experience sweaty palms, dry throat. Feeling nervous, anxious, and the urge to back down is common. It happens to many people when they have to speak in public.

Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking to an audience, including pre-recorded speech delivered over great distance using technology.

These are a few ways to improve as an orator:

Change the attitude-

Everyone is not a born orator. Few people have to work and improve their skills. The best orators like Adolf Hitler, Abraham Lincoln, M.K. Gandhi, and B. R. Ambedkar did not become public speakers overnight.

They took time to work on their oratory skills & delivered the best speeches to the audience. Having a positive attitude will help to learn from other speakers & improve along the way while negative attitude will only pull backwards and create disbelief. Work on your weaknesses.

 Know the audience-

To deliver a successful speech, knowing who is going to listen is helpful. While speaking in front of friends/family, school, office, the content and style will vary with the audience. Delivering a speech to the right audience will lead to applause.

Prepare the content-

Prepare and practice to deliver a good speech. Preparation starts with researching the topics, writing the content, reviewing it from your mentors, revising it based on the feedback, and making it error-free.

The content should include the introduction, middle part, & concluding remarks. The introduction has to be engaging, while the middle sections should consist of in-depth points. End the speech with a light section. Cover all the main elements. Exclude unnecessary topics.

Practice the speech-

When ready with the content, practice to make it smooth and easy to deliver. Try to practice in a realistic environment. Use friends as an audience & take feedback from them. Practice multiple times in front of the mirror & change the body language as needed.

Use references to learn-

To learn from other orators, use them as references. Try to read about them and understand how they are delivering good speeches. Watch videos, listen to podcasts and learn. Record to see the hand gestures , body movements, delivery, voice modulations.

Know the attention levels and use humor-

To keep the audience engaged, try to understand their maximum attention span. Start with a high-impact part to interest the audience and draw the audience’s attention. Use humor in between to lighten the mood and make the audience laugh.