Public speaking also called oratory or oration has traditionally been defined as the art of effective oral communication with a live audience. Nowadays the term ‘public speaking’ can also refer to speaking to an audience through digital technologies such as video-conferencing, multimedia presentations, and other non-traditional forms of presentations. It has been considered as a skill used to educate, entertain, and influence a live group of people for centuries. When we think about public speaking, we usually think of formal occasions or a staged event like corporate updates and conferences, but public speaking actually refers to every time and anywhere we talk in front of a group of people face to face whether they are friends, clients, colleagues or customers. There are a lot of philosophers like CONFUCIUS an ancient Chinese philosopher and ARISTOTLE an ancient Greek philosopher who believed in the art of public speaking. Today, public speaking skills play a vital role in presenting oneself to a group of people. A good public speaker is always considered a man of parts.

Importance of Public Speaking

It is crystal clear that public speaking plays a significant role in enhancing one’s thoughts and ideas. Speaking in public is the most powerful way in one can communicate with people. It is a basic and direct way of communication. Speaking in public helps boost one’s confidence and develop one’s personality in a very effective way.

Learning how to become an effective and influential public speaker can help you succeed in your career and achieve your dreams. Developing skills to speak in public not only benefits the speakers but also encourages the listeners to get interested in the topic of speech. It also helps the listeners to get purified and filtered information of something. As a speaker, you get the credit by leaving a long-lasting impression of competence and confidence in your chosen field.

Public speaking skills are important for developing leadership abilities because it help you convey your ideas and thoughts effectively to your coworkers, bosses, clients, employees and maybe even a big audience. Having the ability to deliver your message to a large number of people effectively and confidently can have an enormous impact on your career path and your success in your selected industry.

Public Speaking; as Education

It is unknown to anyone that public speaking has played an important and cultural role in human history. Public speaking was studied in ancient Greece and Rome where it was analysed by prominent speakers and thinkers as a central part of rhetoric. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, also known as the father of public speaking, indicated three speech purposes;

1. Deliberative (it indicates to political speech)
2. Forensic (it indicates to courtroom speech)
3. Epideictic (it indicates to the speech of praise or blame)

Confucius, an ancient Chinese philosopher and a prominent public speaking scholar believed that good speech should impact individual lives, regardless of whether they were in the audience. He believed that someone in power could influence the world through his own words and actions.

There have been many studies that have proven the benefits of teaching students strategies for speaking in public in their academic careers. It includes a high level of self-confidence and helps to render community well-being with access to a variety of information.

Strategies for Public Speaking

It is obvious that everyone wants to make the audience interested and get them attracted to his/her speech, but it is a difficult task. One must have some strategies to influence the listeners in public speaking. Listed below are some of the strategies one must follow to make his command of speaking in public.

1. Selection of the topic

• One should select the topic only after identifying the speaking event and the purpose behind it. The topic must be relevant and in accordance with the purpose and nature of the event.
• The speaker must know his/her audience and gather information about their age, gender, education, hobbies, experience, field job and expertise, etc. knowing the audience and their nature makes selection of the topic easier for the speaker.
• As a speaker, one must make the topic fun for the audience. But this is possible only if the speaker does this in his own way. The topic you are interested in can be more fun for you and help you attract the audience to your speech.

2. Preparation of the speech;

• A good public speaker should prepare well before delivering the speech before the audience.
• Your speech should include logically arranged paragraphs in which the topic should be elaborated by casting relevant information and examples of data in support of the information you gave.
• Practise well to make the speech interesting and fun for the listeners by adding your ideas related to the topic.
• The more you practice the speech, the more confident you feel when you are delivering the speech in front of your audience.
• Practising your speech repeatedly reduces nervousness and helps you boost your confidence.

3. Confident body language

• Body language is a non-verbal communication skill that supports your public speaking skills.
• Strong body language displays confidence and keeps the audience engaged because they know you are able to provide information.
• Your body language can convey as much information as your words, so it is important to use it effectively.
• When moving to the stage, always keep your shoulder and spine straight and have a gentle smile on your face. Your facial expression must match the overall energy and tone of your speech.

4. Eye Contact

• Being able to engage the audience while delivering the speech and get them attracted to it, is an essential quality of a good public speaker.
• To improve this, ensure you make eye contact with as many people as possible while moving on the stage and emphasizing a relevant point.
• It makes the audience feel like you are speaking directly to them.

5. Confident Public Speaking

• Having an energetic and positive start and a gentle smile on your face makes everyone feel comfortable.
• Avoid starting directly with the main point.
• Using simple and understandable language makes the listeners feel calm.
• Connect with the audience from the very start of the speech, it will boost your confidence and reduce your nervousness.
• You may start narrating a story to grab their attention.
• Speaking too fast from the beginning of your speech is not a sign of a good speaker.
• After certain points, you must take a pause. It enables the listeners to soak in the given information and allows them to think of the points and examples you delivered to them.
• Instead of standing in place, make use of all the space available to you in walking.
• Your speech may become more personal when you can intermingle with them by walking and making eye contact.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, we can conclude that speaking in public is an art that can make you confident to pursue your dreams and build your career. A good public speaker has more influence on the audience by which they get trapped in his words. One must take care of one’s preparation before speaking in public and must have good body language and some influenceable strategies while speaking in public so that listeners can pay attention to one’s impressive mode of communication. 

.    .    .