As a public speaking centre, we have taught a lot of students to be confident in themselves. But what is the main thing that makes you a good public speaker?
In this video, our students share what they think is the main thing that makes you a great public speaker, after going through our weekly classes that are offered by Ebright Public Speaking. You can watch said video below!
What are the basic public speaking skills?
1. Eye Contact
Not surprisingly, we have all students say that eye contact is one of the most important public speaking skills. This is completely true as when you are speaking in public, it is important to keep eye contact with your audience. Keeping eye contact doesn’t mean you need to stare them down without blinking, it’s more about how to naturally connect with your audience by looking at them while you share your topic! Hence, eye contact is arguably one of the most important skills of public speaking.
2. Hand Gestures
Besides, the students also share that hand gestures are important in order to become a great public speaker. Picture this, you are giving your speech on stage, but you keep your hands stiffly at your sides without doing anything with them. Does that sound like a proper way to engage with your audience? Certainly not! Learning how to master your hands while speaking is certainly challenging but once you get used to it, it will come naturally. The worst thing you can do with your hands is to act robotically, appearing not natural at all.
3. Clear Voice
Next, our students also shared that speaking with a clear voice is also one of the skills of public speaking. When speaking in front of a crowd, you would want to be heard, and not be drowned by the sound of people talking instead. When you find people talking during your speech, there’s something wrong with your volume, pick it up and start speaking a little louder to grasp the attention again. Remember, once you are able to hold on to your audience’s attention for the whole of your speech, you have successfully delivered your points to them.
4. PREP Method
Lastly, our students also say the use of PREP method in their speech preparation. If you are not familiar, PREP method is used when we prepare our speech, to come out with a complete speech that is packed with examples and reasons that greatly back up your points. When you follow this method diligently, often you won’t need to worry about your speech being incomplete. In Ebright, we strive to guide students to use this method in the beginning, serving as a simple guideline for them to follow. Of course, there are many other ways on how to deliver a speech, and you can start experimenting once you are familiar with the PREP method.
That concludes the end of the sharing session by some of the students in Ebright Public Speaking! Again, do give the video a watch to see the students talk about the basic skills of public speaking.
