Tips For Successful Public Speaking

Public speaking is the art, ability and knack of presenting the content as per the expectations of the audience. It requires lot of knowledge about the topic and practice to become a successful speaker. Usually people are scared to speak in public. People are comfortable to speak ‘one to one’ or ‘one to two’ or ‘one to three’ people. When they are asked to speak in front of a huge audience, the butterflies fly in their stomach. It is said that public speaking is the most scared one and it is worse than the fear of death.

The objective of public speaking is not only to inform but also to inspire by changing their emotions. You can make a memorable speech, with a strange alchemy of factors and forces.

Below are a few tips for successful public speaking:

• Be passionate to become a successful speaker.
• Listen to the audio cassettes of great speakers.
• Join Toastmasters club which is meant for promoting public speaking and leadership qualities. Also join the related forums for interaction and inspiration.
• For practicing public speaking, go to a serene place, close your eyes and imagine speaking by using your body language.
• Know and analyze your audience thoroughly. Find out what is of interest to them, not to you. It is basically because what the audience wants is more important than what your interests are. There is a thin line separating a successful and an unsuccessful speech.
• Never miss your points and do not cross the time limit.
• Any public speaking is divided into three sections – introduction, body and summary. At the introduction, briefly tell the audience what you are going to tell them, at the body part, tell them the content in detail and at the summary tell them what you have told them with a clear and strong message. And at the end, thank them for giving you an opportunity.
• If required, mug up the introduction part for creating initial impact and then slowly and steadily get into the body and summary.
• Realize the fact that the 80% of your speech is learnt visually and 20% by aurally.
• Always keep extra chunk of material ready such as diary with anecdotes, motivational quotes, stories, jokes, role-play activities, as a stand by.
• Avoid using filler words like ‘um’, ‘ah’ etc.,
• Stick to signposting as it reminds the audience in which stage of the speech they are.
• Be cool and composed when faced with a hostile audience.
• Use non-flat and non-monotonous voice to engage the audience actively.
• Repetition is the key to successful public speaking. Repeat the key points to get the message across.


Learning public speaking is like learning how to swim and how to ride a bike. Practicing is the only key to success.

The End