SlideBlog

Whenever we speak in front of an audience the way we use our body can have an impact on how well we are able to communicate our message. This is the non-verbal communication part of speaking. Today we will be looking at one of the things we can do with our body and how it can help us get our message across to our audience.

Body Movements

Body movement is to change your position or location during a speech; moving around. This is a very broad and highly visible non-verbal communication. Because of this it can be very powerful; a real asset or a real liability. Body movement can reinforce what you say. For example if you are talking about getting close to someone you can move your body closer to the audience.

Body movement can attract audience attention. Since body movment is so broad and visual it is sure to attract people’s attention if you move around a lot. Body movement can also help you burn up nervous energy and release physical tension.

However, body movement can also be a liability. If you move in a way that is inconsistent with what you are saying it will be confusing for the audience. For example if you are talking about getting close to someone but you move away from the audience. This is inconsistent and confusing.

One rule is: Don’t move without a reason. Moving without a reason or randomly will attract attention and your audience will likely search for meaning in your movement. This will distract their attention away from your spoken words. By moving with your spoken words you will attract attention and alertness from your audience and enhance what you are saying.

When speaking or presenting in front of an audience it is always challenging to connect with them. Connecting with you audience is difficult. One way that can help is to actively use eye contact.

What does that mean?

Eye contact is a powerful tool for communicating, non-verbally. It can help make your presentation direct, personal and conversational. Direct because it feels like you are speaking directly to the audience. Personal because it feels like you are speaking directly to the person you are looking at, tailoring your message directly to that person. Conversational because of the closeness between you and your audience. It feels just like you are one of them having a conversation.

If you don’t look at your audience you will break the communication bond. Each person, no matter how big the audience, wants to feel important.

So whenever you speak or present use your eyes actively by going around the room and look each person in the audience in the eyes. Hold the person’s eyes long enough to establish a bond, maybe 5-10 seconds or the time it takes to finish a sentence. But don’t hold it so long that it becomes uncomfortable and you appear to be staring at the person.

If you are presenting for a large audience, pick one or two individuals in each section of the room and make eye contact with them. Each person in that section will get the impression you are talking directly at them.

So next time look them in the eye

Last week we started looking at rhetorical devices, specifically what is know as simile. Today we will continue our discussion about rhetorical devices by looking at metaphors.

From Wiktionary we have the following definition of a Metaphor:

The use of a word or phrase to refer to something that it isn’t, invoking a direct similarity between the word or phrase used and the thing described, but in the case of English without the words like or as, which would imply a simile.

Metaphors are great for getting your message across. A very good example is from Isac Newton:

If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.

Obviously Newton wasn’t literally standing on the shoulders of giants. The example clearly shows how powerful a metaphor can be for making a point. It conveys so much power, information and meaning and really gets the audience attention.

Some other examples are:

• He was big. vs. He was a whale.
• She looked so old. vs. She was a raisin.
• That linebacker is massive. vs. That linebacker is a tank.

On the left side we just describe the person without using a metaphor and that works well. But when using a metaphor to say the same thing on the right side, we create images in the reader’s or listener’s mind that are much stronger and more vivid. Great imagery creates great stories. Using metaphors challenges the audience’s imagination and keeps their minds active and engaged.  Strong metaphors can really enhance a message and its memorability.

So think about how you can integrate metaphors into your speeches and presentations to really help get your message across.

Read more about metaphors here and here.

When writing a speech or preparing for a speech it is important to remember or realize that you can’t say it all. It is likely that you have tons of knowledge about the topic for your presentation and so much you could talk about. But it is important to keep the audience in mind and that they will not have the capacity to absorb all the information you want to give them in the time that you have been given to present or speak. Therefore you must find the one main, most important, point you want to make. What do you want your takeaway to be? The one thing you want you audience to remember after you are done. Once you decide on this you can build your speech around it and make sure that you convey that point clearly.

(part 2)

Before writing a speech it is useful to take a moment to think about who the speech is for, to do some research on your audience. It is like going on a trip somewhere and researching your destination so you can get the most out of your visit. When preparing your speech you want to be sure that it is tailored to fit your audience and their unique characteristics.

If you are speaking to an audience of scientists you want to make sure that your speech isn’t too simple and trivial, that it reflects their level of knowledge about the subject. If on the other hand, you are speaking to an audience of high-school kids about the same topic, you may want to use less scientific words and explain the topic in contexts they are familiar with.

Thus it is important to learn about who your audience so you can write a speech that fits their needs and meets their expectations. It will help you choose the right words, the best stories, the best structure, the most appropriate message. It will help to keep your audience engaged.

Some questions to ask are:

• Who is in the audience?
• What is their background?
• What are their values?
• Are they part of an organization? What organization?
• What do the audience have in common?
• How big is the audience?
• What message for the audience?

So before you write your speech, take some time to analyze your audience and customize your message.

There are several books (some can be found here, affiliate links) written about public speaking with lots of tips & tricks. There are many blogs with a focus on public speaking with tons of great information, some are linked here and a perhaps more complete list here.

However, public speaking is one of those things where “practice makes perfect”. It is like a sport; you can read a book about playing basketball, but unless you play the sport and practice, you won’t improve. It is really important to try out whatever tips & tricks you read in a book or on a blog. It is necessary to practice to become a better speaker.

One way to do this is to join a public speaking club such as Toastmasters. Toastmasters is a wonderful arena for practicing your public speaking skills. It provides a very supportive and encouraging environment comprised of other people also wanting to improve their public speaking. It is a great place to experiment and push your own boundaries to become the public speaker you were meant to be. So take the first step and join a public speaking club and practice, practice, practice.