Delivery: the delivery

1. Use your voice, and your body

Again, when we deliver public speeches, we tend to do it in a way that is very different from casual, face-to-face conversation. This means that we miss a lot of the additional features that usually help communication be more effective. When we deliver public speeches, we might tend to not use normal voice inflections and intonations the way we would do when we have a casual conversation. Our advice is to try control this tendency and use your voice effectively. Change the speed at which you talk. Use emphasis and intonation, changes in pitch and all of this will help make your voice more interesting and hold the attention of your audience longer. The same thing applies to how you use body language during your speech. Avoid certain postures that signify closure, such as crossed arms or hands in your pockets  – even if all of this is contextual. To a certain audience and at certain times, it might come across as a friendly, close attitude to keep your hands in your pockets. Generally, make sure your gestures are open and confident and, if you are on a stage, try to move naturally. Sometimes it can be good to move among the audience, if it is possible.

2. Develop your personal style

You may not be the most eloquent speaker in the world but we are all recognizable for something and this can be your strongest point as a speaker. Maybe you know a lot about statistics and are good at making the audience visualise the date in a way that it is signficant for them. Or maybe you have a very dry but strong sense of humour. Or you are a very sweet and convincing person. Identify what is part of your unique personal style and always make it part of your speeches.

3. Smile and make eye contact with your audience

This is very self explanatory but what many of us do not know is that smiliing releases endorphines. These have a great calming effect, so even if it does not make much sense at first, try to smile exactly when you are more nervous, because it will help.