Public Speaking Tips: What to Do Before You Start and After You Start

The following public speaking tips will ensure you open every presentation in a confident, interest-arousing style that will capture the attention of your audience:

The Minute Before You Start Speaking

Take three deep breaths the minute before you get up to speak. Breathe deeply by inhaling through your nose, then hold your breath for about 2 to 3 seconds, and then let go slowly through the mouth.

The easy breathing exercise can have a dramatic effect on you as a speaker. You will feel more relaxed and your opening words will hit the audience with maximum impact.

Wait For Attention

If the audience is still stirring when you get up to speak, DON’T START! Wait until the noise has subsided and the audience is giving you undistracted attention.

This doesn’t have to be embarrassing. Just keep a relaxed expression on your face, look around the hall in a pleasant manner and wait until the message gets through that you are ready to start. If the noise continues, then, you may want to speak and welcome everyone, telling them it’s good to see them present and suggest as they take their seats.

You could tactfully say something like this: “As soon as everyone is settled we can begin the program.”

Your First Words

This public speaking tip can make a huge difference to the attention you get from the audience as you start speaking:

Your first words should be given careful consideration seeing they are like a funnel which catches the attention of the audience and then channels it into your presentation.

Write out the first 1-3 sentences of your presentation and fine tune the exact wording. Learn them by heart so the launch into your subject is confident and unfaltering.

Variety Of Openers

Develop the skill of using a variety of opening sentences to grab the attention of the audience. Your first few words can make or break your presentation so it demands that you give them careful thought.

You could use:

A list of questions highlight aspects of the subject your audience might not have thought much about before

Quoting a prominent figure or authority or including statements from a press release

A true life story that ties in well with the main theme your are developing in your speech

Length Of Introduction

Make sure your introduction is in proportion to the length of your presentation.

An introduction lasting three or four minutes is probably a reasonable length if you are allotted half an hour for the whole presentation. However, if you are only speaking for ten minutes then your introduction will need to consist of a few simple sentences lasting 30 to 60 seconds, just enough to capture the attention of your audience.

Make sure the relationship between your introduction and the body of the presentation is not a case of the tail wagging the dog!

Newer public speakers often launch into their presentation without giving thought to the public speaking tips noted above. Nervousness often causes that. If only serves to highlight their lack of confidence and speaking anxiety. Discipline yourself to follow these steps and you can be sure your next presentation will appear confident, relaxed, and a pleasure to listen to!