Public Speaking Effectively: The Four Cs
According to various polls and polls, public speaking is one of the scariest things a person will ever do in their life, often more feared than serious physical dangers, even death.
For some people, public speaking is a fairly natural part of life’s routine. Teachers, salespeople, supervisors, they all have to talk to crowds of a certain size on a regular basis. And perhaps certain personalities gravitate towards jobs and situations where public speaking is a necessity. It is rare to meet a teacher, trial attorney, or military instructor who is meek and shy and afraid of hearing his own voice come out of his mouth in front of a group. But it is common to meet scientists, librarians and architects who have these fears. As well as delivery men, construction workers, and accountants. Anyone who is not required to speak to crowds in an organized, convincing, and articulate manner can harbor extreme trepidation at the prospect of public speaking. In fact, even some of the aforementioned people who do Speaking in public on a regular basis may not feel that they are up to the level of ease and effectiveness that they would like to have or that they believe is expected of them.
The need to speak in public often arises outside of one’s job or profession. Maybe you need to toast someone at a wedding, or give a humorous speech about memory lane at a birthday party or anniversary dinner. Perhaps your house of worship suddenly asks you to speak to the congregation. Or you join a social or political organization where you unexpectedly find yourself in a leadership role. You may find yourself in court, called to the stand at trial, and rise to the occasion as Jack Nicholson’s character in “A Few Good Men” and deliver a gripping and unforgettable speech capped by the legendary phrase ” You can’t HANDLE the truth! ” Whatever the case, it is almost certain that you will be presented with cases of important prayers in public.
Instead of dreading your moments in the limelight, you can easily take a few simple steps and learn to thrive there; to be the bold and confident public speaker who puts everyone at ease and inspires confidence and increased listening to your every word.
Let’s look at four essential ingredients for a great public speaker. If you only remember what I call ‘The Four Cs’, you will be way ahead of the game. In fact, you will be able to look like a pro. The four Cs are composure, cadence, communication, and comedy. Let’s find out exactly what they entail.
1.) Serenity. This means how you present yourself or behave. Your body is your instrument. You’re thinking, “Wait, my mouth is my instrument when I speak.” Yes, but your entire body is physically the vessel that carries your voice, and visually, emotionally, and even spiritually, your entire body helps you connect with the people you are talking to.
Try to stand up straight and straighten your spine and limbs. Not sticky, taut, rigid and straight, but respectful, imposing. Stand up to your full height. If you feel a lot more comfortable leaning over a little or slightly leaning over, that’s fine. The point is to find your “position of power” where your body feels most naturally authoritative and deserves to be looked at and heard.
Look and observe the crowd. Develop hand gestures that convey strength and discipline. Perhaps the fingers together, looking up, like a “church steeple”, or a very loose fist like Bill Clinton used to do, or a flat “karate punch” hand. Some people point out. Some give the “thumbs up”. Some tap the table or podium below them for emphasis. The point is, experiment beforehand and find your “power position” and your “power moves” or “power gestures”.
If you feel nervous at the beginning of a speech, take more time before you begin, be more deliberate and look around the room and crowd for a few moments. You know exactly why you take the time and look around you. Everything you do is on purpose. You have the control. You are leading and the crowd will follow. This is just a law of nature.
2.) Cadence. This means the tempo, pace, or speed with which you are speaking. Most people, most of the time, just talk too fast. They rush. If you are the nervous type who has a penchant for talking fast, especially when nervous, then SLOW DOWN. Make yourself speak a good fraction slower than what initially comes out of your mouth.
Slowing down helps you appear more deliberate and in control. To the audience, what sounds slow to you probably sounds very coherent and actually easier to understand. Also, if it doesn’t sound rushed and hasty, then, almost subliminally, the message to people is that “as much as he says it and we sit down to hear it all, we know it must be interesting and good.” It’s worth listening to, because you don’t rush or apologize for having to tell it. Actually, it must be important. “
However, if you suspect that you may be a naturally slow talker, ask some friends or confidants and confirm it. If you really are a very slow talker, then speed it up a bit. But most of you will naturally be on the fast side when you initially speak in public.
3.) Communication. Well, you know what this word literally means. But what do I really mean by that? It’s very easy to forget when you’re speaking in public, but you’re really just having some kind of conversation with human beings. It could be a presidential speech, a trial attorney in court, an actor thanking the Academy Awards, or a comedian doing his part. Everyone is TALKING TO HUMANS. Sure, the audience doesn’t respond literally, and sure the size and scope of the situation is very different from intimate conversation, but the basic mechanics of intention, emotion Y personal need they are really the same. And I know that everyone reading this knows how to talk, how to just talk to a person, be it a family member, a co-worker, a friend, a shopkeeper, whatever. When you talk to another person, you naturally and unconsciously attach real emotion and urgency to what you are saying, because the words really mean something to you. They come from a need, whatever it is: “Can I have some fries?”, “I can’t believe you finished your report,” “I hate the 405 freeway!” or “Can you give me a hug?” It sounds simple, and in your everyday life it IS simple.
Being a human being, you are a GENIUS at communicating in a realistic and convincing way. Now, just take it to your public address. When you speak, imagine a real person you know, right in front of you or in the audience. Talk to that person if necessary. Connect with that person on your mind. Convince him of the importance, the deep meaning of what he is saying. Unless you’re just calling bingo numbers or reciting statistics for half an hour, you’re not just saying words. You are saying THOUGHTS, FEELINGS and IDEAS. You are communicating MEANINGS.
Now, of course, emotional doesn’t mean loud, too dramatic, or scary. It literally means that there is some emotional component or a feeling of attachment to it, the way ordinary people actually talk almost all the time, at least ordinary people you want to hear.
So, to sum up your communication, practice speaking in public as if you were conversing with close friends or people who are not intimidating at all. And make personal and emotional associations with what you are saying to make it seem like you care about those ideas. Because you really care about them. Because then the audience will care.
4.) Comedy. Humor, lightness, grace, comedy. Either way, it is a very powerful and valuable weapon for public speaking. Presidents use humor. Corporate CEOs use it. The police use it. So do military leaders, athletes, teachers, managers, and professionals of all stripes, stripes, and ranks.
Human beings use humor, and not just those that we consider “clowns”, “jokers” or “funny”. Sometimes the most deadly serious character can break a sharp comic line and bring the house down, raising his stature and dominance to even higher levels. Think of the character of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Terminator films. It was a huge robotic killing machine, without a heart. And it had a series of funny phrases that have become the most used and appreciated in the world. Now you are probably do not a heartless robot with no sense of humor. In fact, probably do You already use humor sometimes in your life. The key is to bring an appropriate and crisp humor to your public speaking.
If you feel unable to write clever, appropriate, relevant, and outrageously funny lines in your speech or presentation, fear not. There are professional comedy writers who can make you laugh at the right times for a reasonable and affordable price, and no one in the audience has to be the wiser. In fact, everyone may assume that you are the brilliant comic mind behind the golden gossip.
Turns out, I own a company called The Funny Business that creates custom-written comic content for any need. We have held speeches, toasts, and roasts for weddings, birthdays, bar mitzvahs, and corporate promotions. We have made presentations involving fairly detailed and specific corporate and technical jargon. We have made standup material for both high-level comedians and aspiring comedians. In fact, if you come to The Funny Business and request that something funny be written, we will do it! Unless we can’t do it, and we’ll tell you later, but probably in a fun way.
Not everyone was born a giant of public speaking: a Bill Clinton, a John F. Kennedy, a Winston Churchill. But with a little work, a little preparation, and a serious focus on The Four Cs, almost anyone can become a strong and compelling public speaker.