The Entrepreneurs Library
4 Effective Public Speaking Tips For Entrepreneurs
Public speaking ranks as one of the biggest fears when the general public is polled on the matter. There are those out there who actually fear public speaking more than death, which is quite silly when you stop to think about it. When it comes to public speaking, there is no reason to be afraid.
Entrepreneurs often experience fear before public speaking engagements. Their opportunity to convince clientele and investors of their products’ worthiness hangs in the balance and this can cause a speaker to become tongue tied and sweaty. But when you follow these effective public speaking tips for entrepreneurs, you can overcome the crippling fear that keeps so many from reaching their goals and dreams.
1. Practice Makes Perfect
Of course, this is a cliché, but the reason why clichés endure is because there is a great deal of truth to them. There is no skill in life that cannot be improved by practicing it over and over again and public speaking is no different. Write your speech down and read it to yourself several times. This will help you make sure that you did not use any language that does not make sense and ensure that the speech flows naturally.
Enlist friends and family who are not afraid to tell it like it is. Getting friends and family that are known for sugarcoating the truth will not help your speech either. You need as much honest feedback as you can possibly get. Those who know you are bound to be much more forgiving than those who are considering investing their resources in your product.
The more you practice, the better your delivery will become, which allows you to develop a greater connection with your audience. It also decreases the chance of your audience becoming bored and restless during your speech. As you practice, larger portions of the speech become committed to memory and you are able to increase the level of eye contact you have with audience members.
Developing more comfort with your speech is crucial. You can begin to add jokes or humorous anecdotes to spice things up and take the time to include every one of your most important points, while also trimming the fat to ensure that you do not run over the time you’ve been allotted.
2. Learn The Space You’re Using
Before giving your speech, it helps to take a trip to the space that you will be using, so that you can learn more about the acoustics of the area. It will also help you to walk around a bit on the stage or to stand at the podium. The entrepreneur can mentally picture a room full of people and make sure that their voice will be easy to hear.
Taking these sorts of steps ensures that you will not be caught off guard by any minor issues related to the room being used. Checking out the room you’re going to be speaking in is a great use of your time and should be done by any entrepreneur who is looking for ways to calm their nerves prior to the day of the speech.
A greater understanding of your surroundings is pivotal to giving a great speech. Removing the element of surprise from your speech is a boon to both you and your audience.
3. Learn Your Audience
When you are preparing your speech, it is best to know what kind of audience you will be speaking to. Is your audience younger, with a shorter attention span? If so, you may want to add some visual ads and incorporate slang terms that can help to get your point across when necessary. Use any method that can help the speech resonate in the mind of your audience.
Or you could be speaking to an older, more seasoned audience. They may not be as apt to respond to visual ads and will want cold, hard facts to help them in their decision making process. No matter who you are speaking to, knowing the audience and being able to decipher their needs and wants is important.
Another component to be aware of is your virtual audience. More and more speeches are being live tweeted and streamed for interested parties all around the world. If this is true for your speech, make sure you include content that has a much greater chance of being able to go viral.
4. Know What You Want To Say
This sounds deceptively simple enough, but there is a difference between speaking about yourself and speaking about the goods and services you provide. It is good to tie in some personal facts about yourself during your speech, but not at the expense of any knowledge that could be dispensed about the product you’re speaking about.
The best speeches are those that do not come across as sales pitches, while still giving the audience all of the pertinent information that they came to hear. Walking the line between being informative and entertaining is an incredibly difficult balancing act. The person who is able to do so will have a captive audience for the duration of their spiel.
When you are formatting your speech, know which points you want to take and what knowledge you would like to impart. This will help you to tie in important information, while still being able to remain entertaining. No one wants a speech filled with personal anecdotes or one that is larded with dry facts that do not hold their interest.
Recommended books on public speaking tips for entrepreneurs:
What More Can I Say by Dianna Booher
Charisma On Command by Charlie Houpert
EDGY Conversations by Dan Waldschmidt
Powerhouse by Mike Clayton
Credibility by James Kouzes
What are some other effective public speaking tips for entrepreneurs? Share yours in the comments:
Cody Faldyn
Cody is a blogger, social media specialist, graphic designer, and the Marketing Evangelist behind The Entrepreneurs Library. With a long time passion for personal growth, Cody helped create a website and podcast with the intent to educate aspiring entrepreneurs on the latest and greatest books on business growth and personal development.
