Public Speaking - Enliven Your Speech By Preparing, Not Practicing

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Every now and then, I have a dream where I’m about to go on stage to play the lead in a musical and I don’t know my part, my lines, my songs or even what musical I’m singing in. It’s a terrifying feeling, and I’m so relieved when I wake up.

Perhaps you’ve had a similar dream, or shall we say, nightmare. There is something truly terrifying about being in the spotlight, to have something be expected of you, and not knowing what the heck to do.

That’s why so many public speaking experts will tell you that in order to feel anxiety-free and full of confidence when speaking, you need to practice, practice, practice your speech over and over. And then practice some more. These experts are trying to keep you from the nightmare of being in the spotlight while being unprepared. And while their intentions are good, their advice may not be.

But there are some serious disadvantages to this practice, practice, practice approach, especially if you’re new to public speaking:

— Your speech can become a robotic recitation.

—You can become so bored with your own speech that you don’t have much fun communicating it, and your audience doesn’t have any fun listening to it.

—You try so hard to have your speech come out of your mouth just so that when something unexpected happens, like you forget a certain phrase or fact, or a busboy drops a tray of glasses, you freak out and lose your composure.

—But most importantly, you are too focused on “performing” your speech rather than connecting with your audience.

Speaking is about communicating, not performing. If in your desire to do well you over-practice to the point that you lose the conversational feel of your speech, you may entertain and inform your audience, but you won’t engage them.

Let your speech be a conversation, a co-created experience between you and your audience. Create enough space and room to play within your speech that you are able to respond to what’s happening between you and your audience moment by moment. Because remember, even though you may be the only one talking, there is still a conversation going on. There is always a constant exchange of energy, attention and even information between you and your audience.

So, be prepared and a little practiced before you speak your speech. By this I mean know your material well enough to have an impassioned conversation about it. Be clear on what it is you want to say without needing to say it exactly the same way every time. Yes, you want to have a structure to your speech, a beginning, middle and end that includes the points you want to make as well as stories, statistics and anecdotes. But within this structure should be a lot of flexibility and room for spontaneity.

Am I saying you don’t need to practice? No way. You definitely need to practice what you’ve prepared. Practice by taking each section of your speech and letting yourself just talk about it easily and conversationally. Then, practice it in its entirety while imaging that you are talking to friend and telling him or her all about it. Play with your speech in this way until you feel comfortable with its structure and content, but not to the point where each word and phrase is cast in steel.

Preparing and practicing in this way will keep you and your speech fresh, fluid and fun for both you and your audience.

If you’d like some more tips on how to prepare your speech so that you can feel confident and enjoy every moment of your speaking experience, sign up for my free monthly e-zine, Becoming Fearless here: http://www.unconditionalconfidence.com

You can also learn the three power tools for creating a magnetic connection with your audience on the “Engage Your Audience” CD.

Nancy Tierney teaches entrepreneurs how to speak in public with confidence, ease and their own kind of charisma. You can discover how to be completely confident any time you are expressing yourself in any way by going to: http://www.unconditionalconfidence.com

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