Presentations

 
 

Vocabulary

pick (2)	audience	presentation
intense	effective	over and over
honest	sink (2)	second nature
art (2)	spot (3)	component
overdo	objective	extraordinary
impact	attention	expression
leap	advance	springboard (2)
except	prepare	subject (3)
gesture	share (2)	make/take notes
vocal	critique	subjective
benefit	dramatic	consistent
grab	engage	public (2)
hold	point (2)	quote (2)
humor	variety	exaggerate
pause	care (2)	repetition
stage	engage

 
 
 
 
 
 

Video

 
 
 
 

Transcript

Public Speaking

Hello, I’m Brian Tracy.

There are three components you must know in order to improve your presentation skills for better public speaking.

When someone asks me how he can build effective communication skills and improve his public speaking, I quote to him the words of Elbert Hubbard who said, “The only way to learn to speak is to speak and speak, and speak and speak, and speak and speak and speak.”

Three Ways

And while it’s true that the only way to become good at anything is by repetition over and over, until it becomes second nature, there are many things that you can do to be more effective in speaking in front of audiences.

Here are four components you must know in order to improve your presentation skills for better public speaking.

1. A Good Subject

The starting point in the art of public speaking is to pick a subject you really care about.

It’s to think through the subjects that have had an extraordinary impact on you; the subjects that you would like to share with others because you intensely feel that others could benefit from your knowledge.

With this, you have a springboard, off of which you can leap into your first public talk.

2. Preparation

The second part of public speaking is preparation for effective communication.

Preparation is more important than anything else, except caring about your subject.

It’s not unusual for a person to spend many hours and days, and even weeks preparing for a single talk.

The most common approach is to gather and organize your thoughts onto notes. Like an article or story, there should be an introduction, a main body and a conclusion.

If it’s a presentation, Power Point is an effective tool.

3. Practice

If the first two parts of successful public speaking are caring and preparing, the third part is practicing and improving your presentation skills.

If you have a tape recorder, or player or video camera, record yourself giving the talk from beginning to end.

Then listen to it or watch it — and make notes on how you could make it better.

If you’re using a video camera, look into the camera and use the same facial expressions and the same body gestures that you would use if you were speaking to directly to someone you like.

Feedback

When you critique yourself, be very hard on yourself: remember, the more honest and objective you can be about how you come across to others, the faster you will build effective communication skills for success.

Practice makes perfect, and perfect practice makes it even more perfect.

If you practice consistently, you will find that your presentation skills have dramatically improved over time.

Remember, your ability to speak effectively in front of people can do more to advance your career and your life than any other skill you can develop.

4. Techniques

Lastly, here are a few techniques to help you stand out while speaking.

1. Use humor to grab and hold onto audience’s attention.

2. Your body is an instrument — use vocal variety, hand gestures and raised eyebrows. But don’t overdo it. Don’t exaggerate.

3. Pause to let key points sink in.

4. Use the entire stage; don’t stand in only one spot.

5. Engage audience to get them thinking about your topic. Ask them questions.

Questions

1. The ultimately and only real way to become a good speaker is to have a lot of experience speaking. Yes or no?

Can this be applied to other aspects of life?

2. Should you talk about your secrets to making money?

3. Most speakers just get up and “wing it”; they speak spontaneously, off the top of their head. True or false?

4. What are the traditional tools that speakers and lecturers use? What do people use nowadays?

5. When you practice speaking, what is the best tool or technique?

6. Speeches are minor in a person’s career; technical skills are the most vital, i.e. computers, finance, engineering. Is this correct or wrong?
 
 
A. I have given speeches (at school, university, work). Yes or no? What was it about? Did you enjoy it? How did you feel?

B. Do you or your friend or colleague have to give speeches, talks or presentations as part of his or her job? What does she or he talk about?

C. Who are some good speakers that you know? Who are your favorite speakers?

D. Do you think good speakers deserve to make lots of money? Why or why not?

E. Could you give professional speeches, talks or seminars on a topic you are an expert in? Could you do that someday (in the future)? Would it help your career?

F. What will happen in the future regarding speeches and speaking (e.g. popularity, media, Facebook, Youtube, etc.)?