9 Public Speaking Tips for Students

A fear of public speaking is very common in people of all ages. During high school, giving presentations and talking in front of large groups becomes a regular task. And it happens even more when students get into college.

Are you a student struggling with anxiety about public speaking? Edignite offers some public speaking tips that help you overcoming those fears and excel the next time you have to speak in front of an audience.

1. Know your audience

Before you begin to speak in front of people, consider who the message is intended for. Try to learn as much about your audience or listeners as you can.  It will help you determine your choice of words to deliver, level of information, organization pattern, and motivational statement.

2. Practice and Prepare

The best way to overcome your anxiety during public speaking is to practice, practice, and more. Spend your time to go through your material several times. Once you are comfortable with your notes, practice a lot, and get someone to critique your performance.

3. Know your purpose

Create a structure for your speech. Write a separate note of the topic, general-purpose, specific purpose, central idea, and main points. Make sure to catch your audience’s attention in the first few seconds of your speech.

4. Let your personality come through

Be only yourself, don’t become a talking head while communicating. You will get better credibility if your personality is shown through, and your audience will trust what you have said if they see you as a real person.

5. Use vivid language

Vivid language helps your audience create a strong, distinct, clear, and memorable mental view of images. It also helps listeners truly understand and imagine what you are saying. The most common ways to make your speaking vivid are through the use of imagery and rhythm.

6. Learn from the Pros

An effective way to practice your speech is to watch other’s speeches and figure out what works and what doesn’t. Adopt these examples into your own style of learning. Watch high-quality presentations online and get some great advice.

7. Use your voice and hands effectively

Nonverbal communication carries most of the message. Good and perfect delivery does not only grab attention but instead conveys the speaker’s ideas clearly without distraction. Do gesture sparingly, using defined or “clean” hand movements.

8. Let mistakes go

Let your audience see that you’ve made a mistake and that you are mild regret about it. You can do this by making a good-natured comment or gesture that acknowledges you have made an error before you keep going with it.

9. Watch for feedback and adapt to it

Keep your focus on the audience. Gauge their reactions, adjust your speech, and stay flexible. Delivering a canned speech will define that you lose attention or confuse even the most interesting listeners.

Nobody expects you to be perfect. Edignite suggests that putting in the requisite time to prepare will help you deliver a better speech. Minimize your public speaking anxiety by the above-mentioned tips. Good luck!