TOASTMASTERS: where leaders are made Many years ago, I used to feel uncomfortable when I was asked to speak in situations where I hadn’t prepared. When I was at university someone suggested I join Toastmasters to help improve my impromptu speaking. Since then I have never looked back. Toastmasters gets its name from a toast …
MANNERISM: a person’s particular way of talking or moving. -Merriam Webster Learner’s Dictionary When we talk about mannerisms in public speaking we generally mean any kind of body language or movement that distracts from the speaker’s message. Most people have one or more mannerisms when they speak. These often become more noticeable when you are …
It is important, no matter how many points you have in your presentation, that you transition between each of those points clearly and smoothly. You need to let your audience know that you are moving on and changing the subject. This is why we use a transition device. Here are four ways to make it …
BODY LANGUAGE: the movements or positions of your body that show other people how you are feeling, without using words. – Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary & Thesaurus Our body can communicate a lot of things even if you are not speaking. It gives away that you are nervous with shaking hands or a rigid posture. …
VISUAL AID: something that you are shown, such as a picture, film, or map, in order to help you understand or remember information. – Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus The most important thing to remember about visual aids is that they are AIDS. What most people forget is that visual aids are there to …
EYE CONTACT: the situation in which two people look at each other’s eyes at the same time. -Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary How would you feel if you were having a conversation with someone and they never looked at you directly? You might feel that they were nervous or that they weren’t really interested in talking …
PITCH: the degree of highness or lowness of a tone – Oxford Dictionaries The only thing that baseball pitches and voice pitch have in common is whether they are low or high. Voice pitch is something that mainly singers and actors pay attention to. However, it’s also important for speakers. Have you ever listened to …
This magic three-letter word is the key to connecting with your audience and the most important word you can use in presentations. In English it is grammatically correct and culturally appropriate to use the word you when addressing the audience as a whole or just one person. Your audience is self-centered. They don’t care about …