Know Your Speaking Environment before you Speak

Here's another tip to become an "Instant Public Speaker":

 

Know the environment of the room, stage or area where you’ll be speaking. Get to know the area around the lectern; make it your own. Practice using the microphone, the visual aid equipment and your props. Speak to the room and visualize yourself speaking to the audience, evoking laughter, thought and applause.

Whether I’m delivering a speech or a workshop I always get to know the area I will present in; sometimes weeks in advance. By knowing the size of the room, and the size of the audience, I can then determine 3 important things: I can “define” what my stage will be, a small space in front of the audience or the entire room; I can suggest a different seating system to make it a better experience for the audience; which then allows me to use the correct “proxemics” (the distance between the speaker and the audience depending on the depth of relationship; usually it’s “social” being 18 inches to four feet and “intimate” being less than 18 inches), while presenting.  Darren LaCrois, the Humorous World Champion Public Speaker uses and teaches “transitional movement” which meaning that you stand in one place to make one point and another place to make another point and so on, finally returning to the lectern. I also teach that because it then becomes “clearer” in the minds of the audience that each point has a “place”. My Toastmaster colleague, Angela Hatton speaks in more detail about setting up the room for optimum use here.

Visit my friend DarrenLaCroix’s site (I mentioned him above) here and take advantage of his materials; he’s good! I also have a few things of his that I recommend and sell via Amazon on this page.

If you have comments or questions, let me know. Be sure to become a follower by email so you’ll never miss any of these tips as I post them. Make it a great day! Ter Scott!

At your request, I will present my award winning presentation: Personal PR to your business group within a 100 mile radius of Duluth MN at no fee. In just 7 minutes your group will learn about communicating better using these simple communication altering principles from “A Short Course in Human (or Public) Relations”. You can hear the presentation at www.terscott.com/personalpr and place your request via my contact page: www.terscott.com/contact. Don’t live or have a business within 100 mile radius of Duluth MN? Contact my office anyway; I’m often speaking around the country and may be in an area near you.

ADVERTISE ON THIS PAGE! There are well over 12,000 readers to this blog and they could be seeing your ad. If you have something that is “relevant” to our readers, let us know via our contact page and we’ll get back to you with rates and submission details.