How To Convert Your Concerns Into Strengths In Public Speaking

All public speakers have their strengths and concerns while delivering their public speeches. Identifying your strengths and concerns and adopting right tools and techniques helps you grow as a great speaker. Hence, you must list out your strengths and concerns based on the feedback that you receive during your presentations. It helps you capitalize on your strengths and guard from your concerns. Here are some strengths and concerns of public speakers with solutions to grow as better speakers.

Strengths:
1. If you are strong in creating your own content and delivering your presentations, it is a great thing. Audience doesn't appreciate average and routine content. They want something extraordinary and innovative to arouse their interest and hold them during the entire presentation session. Hence, do adequate research to create your content with stories to share with your audience members.

2. If you are expert in attention grabbing techniques, it is an asset. And if you deliver your content in a simple and straight language, your audience will appreciate it. The objective of any presentation is to ensure that even a layperson must be able to understand and digest the content.

3. If you make your presentation interactive and engaging, your audience will appreciate it. Two-way interaction is better than one way sharing information. It helps the audience think and respond and involves them into the learning process. It ensures effective learning takeaways ultimately.

4. If you are an energetic speaker, continue with it. When you demonstrate your energy, it indicates your passion to share your knowledge with others and the difference you want to make in their lives. Additionally, it helps inspire your audience easily and effectively.

5. If you substantiate each idea with a story or an example or anecdote, it is a great practice. You must continue following it. Collect inspiring stories and examples and file them separately. You can use them during your presentations keeping the audience profile and depending on the topic.

6. Anybody can share their knowledge with others but it requires extraordinary passion to change the mindset of the audience. If you are strong in transforming the people by changing their mindsets, you will be remembered beyond your lifetime.

Concerns:
1. If you think that you don't get appropriate words while delivering your presentation, you must acquire a huge vocabulary. You must read various books on public speaking and on your area of interest to build a great vocabulary. It builds your confidence. Research shows that an average person's vocabulary contains about 25,000 words and Winston Churchill's has been estimated at 65,000.

2. If you encounter tongue twisters, prepare in advance to replace the words with comfortable ones to communicate with your audience. When you write a book, you can use any kind of words since you don't communicate verbally with them. However, when you speak in public places, you must have a free flow of words which is possible with proper preparation and planning.

Remember, all speakers have their own tongue twisters due to their personal, linguistic, cultural and regional factors. Taking this precaution helps you overcome this challenge effectively.

3. Don't be serious in your facial expressions while delivering your presentation. Be cheerful and smile. Remember, smile begets smile. Smile connects with your audience quickly. Audience feels comfortable with your smile and receives your message easily. Hence, practice is the key to improve your smile.

4. If you are not good at signposting, cultivate the knack of informing the status of your presentation to your audience to enable them to understand the status of your presentation on the stage. It is very easy especially at the outset of your presentation. You must indicate them when you are in the middle of your presentation by numbering them. You must indicate them when you are in the conclusion. It helps the audience members prepare mentally about the status of your presentation. For instance, when you go by road, you find signs beside the road indicating the distance in kilometers to reach your destination. Similarly, signposting helps audience members understand the completion of your presentation.

5. If you have the practice of crossing your stipulated time to deliver your presentation, keep the timer or ask someone to signal you just before the presentation. Additionally, plan well ahead about your presentation time that includes your presentation and question and answer session. Remember that your actual presentation takes 20 per cent longer time than the rehearsal presentation.

6. Don't get emotional. Be stable to deliver your content effectively. Include all ingredients including emotional elements to impact your audience.

Conclusion
To conclude, all speakers have their strengths and concerns. The great speakers are aware of them and know how to convert their concerns into strengths during public speaking to evolve as accomplished speakers.