Get Slightly Famous

Tips For Successful Public Speaking From The Toastmasters Club

Feeling some nervousness before giving a speech is natural and healthy. It shows you care about doing well. But, too much nervousness can be detrimental. Here's how you can control your nervousness and make effective, memorable presentations:

• Know the room. Be familiar with the place in which you will speak. Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and practice using the microphone and any visual aids.

• Know the audience. Greet some of the audience as they arrive. It's easier to speak to a group of friends than to a group of strangers.

• Know your material. If you're not familiar with your material or are uncomfortable with it, your nervousness will increase. Practice your speech and revise it if necessary.

• Relax. Ease tension by doing exercises.

• Visualize yourself giving your speech. Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear, and assured. When you visualize yourself as successful, you will be successful.

• Realize that people want you to succeed. Audiences want you to be interesting, stimulating, informative, and entertaining. They don't want you to fail.

• Don't apologize. If you mention your nervousness or apologize for any problems you think you have with your speech, you may be calling the audience's attention to something they hadn't noticed. Keep silent.

• Concentrate on the message -- not the medium. Focus your attention away from your own anxieties, and outwardly toward your message and your audience. Your nervousness will dissipate.

• Turn nervousness into positive energy. Harness your nervous energy and transform it into vitality and enthusiasm.

• Gain experience. Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking. A Toastmasters Club can provide the experience you need.

VISIT A TOASTMASTERS CLUB! Toastmasters clubs meet in the morning, at noon, and in the evening in approximately 70 countries worldwide. No matter where you live, work, or travel you are more than likely to find a club nearby. If you'd like to learn more about joining Toastmasters, visit http://www.toastmasters.org/.

Get On The Program

You don’t have to be a professional speaker to pursue speaking opportunities. There are plenty of clubs, organizations and professional associations eager to establish relationships with speakers who can present useful, interesting material to members at meetings, seminars, conferences and workshops.

According to Dottie and Lilly Walters, authors of Speak and Grow Rich, there are more than nine thousand speaking opportunities on any give day in this country. Although many of these are at larger venues, there is a tremendous amount of speaking opportunities at the local level among local business and community groups.

Start with organizations where you are already a member. Expand your search by strategically targeting groups that reach your target market. Make a few phone calls. Talk to your clients and customers; ask around to learn which organizations they belong to that offer speaking opportunities.

Make sure you consult the Encyclopedia of Associations at your local library. This directory will help you compile a list of local and national professional and trade associations likely to provide speaking opportunities. And don’t overlook local community colleges and continuing education programs, many of which provide ample opportunities to speak.

Keep in mind that many programs are scheduled from six to 12 months in advance, which means you should start early.

Speaking Is Selling

Many business people never consider standing in the front of their buying public to share professional wisdom. If you're one of them, you're missing the boat.

Speaking is a marketing strategy you can immediately embrace to get in front of potential customers. Speaking puts you within handshaking distance of your best prospects, many times helping you close sales before you leave the room.

By speaking regularly you can end the uncertainty of knowing where your next client will come from. Speaking can help you reach dozens, and sometimes hundreds of your best prospects every time. Speakers report that speaking regularly continuously fills their prospect pipelines, ensuring a steady stream of new clients and customers.

Speaking is effective because it showcases your knowledge before groups of people who eagerly show up to hear it. Your prospects may tune out advertising, but they'll pay attention to your talk because it presents your knowledge in polished form to people who think it will help them.

Speaking gives you tremendous visibility and credibility that increases over time. Whenever you are in the front of a room, you get noticed. People will remember who you are and what your business does. The more people see you speak and see your business name, the more successful people think you are.

Speaking gives prospects a taste of what you offer in a non-threatening environment. When they are in a room full of people, they feel comfortable. There's safety in numbers. They do not feel the sales pressure of a one-on-one meeting. It's also low risk, as chances are, they didn't pay as much to hear you speak as it would cost to hire you.

People hire caterers because they see them doing a cooking class. They learn about business coaches when they give a presentation at a Chamber of Commerce hire professional therapists after hearing them speak at civic groups.

The trick is talking about what you know and helping listeners solve problems. Choose topics based on your business that solve common problems related to your prospects. Give them a taste of what you can offer and prospects will eventually want more.