These communication tips and motivation techniques will help you prepare for a speech or presentation and feel relaxed on the big day.
Communication is a Young Professional skill that’s a powerful mix of how you present yourself, how you influence other people, and how you share information and ideas with them. It will get you far in life… but it’s like a muscle you have to train.
These communication tips can help you relax when doing practice speeches and presentations so that you can give your best when you’re giving your speech for real!
Say it out loud
Prepare in advance by saying your speech and presentation out loud. This will:
- Help you see if you are going too fast or slow
- Help you know how long your speech or presentation is likely to last
- Help you get comfortable with hearing yourself give your speech out loud
- Help you relax on the day, because your speech will feel more familiar to you
Aim to do a practice speech more than once. The more times you try your speech on for size, the more comfortable you will feel. On the big day you will be less worried about looking at your notes. You will be less concerned about how you are coming across, because you will be more relaxed and enjoying yourself more.
TOP TIP: Try reading other things out loud, too. Like shopping lists or the most recent conversation on your phone. This will help you just get used to hearing your own voice!
The audience wants you to succeed
How we feel about giving a speech or presentation can really affect our comfort levels. With these tips, when it comes to the big day, you might even enjoy it.
Remember that everyone listening to your speech and presentation wants you to do well. They are looking forward to your speech and what you have to say.
Making eye contact helps you as well as the audience
When giving your speech or presentation, you will feel much more relaxed if you grin and breathe and look into someone’s eyes now and then in order to connect with the people you are talking to.
You can give this a try when you are practising your speech at home. Just arrange a few toys or even coffee mugs in a row and give your speech to them. Yes, it sounds daft, but giving your speech to a teddy bear staring back at you will actually feel more like the real thing and help you get more comfortable with how it will feel to give a talk on the big day. Giving a practice speech to an ‘audience’ will really help you get used to connecting with your audience, and then giving your actual speech will feel more normal!
What to bring on the day of your speech or presentation
- Anything technical you need – flash drives, laptop etc.
- Make sure you have water to sip if you get dry-mouthed or thirsty, it can help you relax
- A bite to eat – it helps to give your speech on a settled stomach
- Any notes you have made – you may not need them, but they will make you feel even more in control to have them there.
Final motivational thoughts
It may be hard to imagine, but on the day of your speech or presentation, you will probably enjoy it. You may surprise yourself by having so much fun that when it’s finished you will want to do it all again.
Once it’s over you’ll have added a really impressive achievement to your life’s CV. Every talk you do will give you that little bit more confidence in your own abilities.
You are not alone in feeling nervous or anxious about giving a speech. Everyone gets butterflies – even employers, politicians and senior business leaders! It’s good to feel a bit nervous. On the day itself, you will channel that energy into your talk, and everything will be fine.
Employers are impressed when they know you have given a talk or presentation. They know it takes preparation and courage and is a great sign that you are working on your communication skills.
Best of all? You will prove to yourself that you can do this. And that will feel really, really good.
So congratulations! Pat yourself on the back, because giving your first talk, speech or presentation is an impressive achievement for any Young Professional and YOU DID IT!
See more on PUBLIC SPEAKING:
- Ways to boost your presentation skills
- 5 amazing public speaking tips
- Volunteer with us as a Youth Ambassador and get trained in public speaking!
