Getting better at public speaking takes preparation as well as practice.

Approach the task with a clear mission in your mind and awareness of who your audience is, whether you are giving an after-dinner vote of thanks, delivering a graduation ceremony speech, or speaking to an industry conference.

Then, follow these steps below to prepare well, perform brilliantly and make your speech a fantastic Communication Moment for everyone.

1. Make an argument

Being clear on how you want your audience to feel and what you want them to think will get you focussed, helping you to get beyond that blank piece of paper moment to get words down on paper quickly.

Winston Churchill, a man who moved millions to action with his oratory, believed that all good speeches make argument. To do this you can aim to change their opinion, maybe challenge them with a different world view or teach them something.

When doing this a simple technique is to use Aristotle’s Three Rules of Persuasion to make sure you connect deeply and argue well:

Logos – persuasion through logic, data & statistics or through reason
Ethos – Credibility through achievements & experience
Pathos – appealing to the emotions

2. Tell a story

Painting a mental picture in your audience’s mind will remove barriers to being understood and make what you are saying memorable. Stories connect through emotions, if something has made us frightened, elated, sad or angry we are more likely to remember it.

But a story does not have to long to be powerful. Anecdotes, analogies and short personal stories will do the job for you. One of the most powerful phrases in the English language to create connection and conjure creativity is, “Imagine if…” and amazing imagery in a supporting presentation can do similar. Use this and build a shared experience.

3. Structure what you are saying

Ronald Reagan believed that no speech should last more than 20 minutes. He was “The Great Communicator” so advice worth listening to. If you are still prone to going long, then consider that TED Talks must be shorter than 18 minutes and tackle some of the biggest advances in academic research.

Three ways you can structure what you are saying to make it easier to deliver and understand:

Use story structures
Use lists of three
Chunk large sets of content into easier to understand categories (like I have here)

4. Start fast!

While preambles are well meaning and polite to your hosts, plus you may feel more comfortable warming yourself up into your performance, your audience will not appreciate it. Instead, start fast and wow from the word go using:

Story, story, story to grab and keep attention.
Stats, a killer statistic can amaze and inform. One I learnt recently is that “30% of people at work are actively avoiding communicating with other people”.
Use a statement that everyone can agree with: “Humans are inherently social even someone who is an introvert like me. We need each other to thrive not just survive.”
Surprise is a great way to get someone’s attention.
Suspense, start with a question that you leave unanswered until later leaving your audience engaged and enthralled.

5. Humour

A shared moment of laughter can bring a group of strangers together and make the audience like the person who made them laugh (that’s you!). So do seek to amuse but follow these guidelines:

Take care to get your tone right but being amusing shows you care about your audience.
Levity and lightness, not stand-up comedy and no profanities.
BUT when you speak, you should aim to entertain – too often this is forgotten when preparing for every type of public speaking event.

6. Aim for deep connection – have a conversation

By aiming to have a conversation you will perform far more naturally, use better everyday language and examples but above all, build a deeper connection with your audience. Do this by:

Using stories, anecdotes and analogies (yes, yet again!).
Keep eye contact.
Think ‘We’ instead of ‘me’ and ‘you’.
Smile and watch your audience smile back (always a great feeling).
Use the right emotion that matches the moment, story or example you are using.
Use small words. I’ve never met anyone who used multi-syllable words and deliberately complicated language in everyday conversation. This includes Nobel prized winning scientists. So you shouldn’t either.

7. Get your audience involved instead of just observing you perform

As you are aiming to have a conversation with your audience you should build in an opportunity for them to be, not just feel, a part of that conversation. You can do that in a few ways depending on the occasion, room set up and audience. If it feels awkward it won’t work, so take care, but do get them involved to make it a shared experience:

Q&A’s to make the Communication Moment less formal.
Polls are easy and quick to administer in presentations.
Rhetorical questions can be used to challenge, inspire and get people thinking.
Constantly put yourself in their shoes and see the world through their eyes.
Keep reminding yourself what you want your audience to Think, Feel, Do

8. Performance matters

It should be a full body workout that is exhilarating and tiring in equal measure. Be warmed up and prepared to be exhausted after you have finished, then:

Vary your pitch to keep attention. High or low inflections are in everyday speech so they should also be in your public speaking. You are, remember, having a conversation.
Use volume for emphasis, whether loudness or softness.
Pace changes keep the connection so vary your rate and don’t be a robot.
Pauses help to illustrate key points and reduce barriers to being understood or help to add punch to key words.
Movement helps your performance but can underline key points and make sure you connect with everyone in the room.

9. End with a call to action

I told you great public speaking takes a lot of preparation and practice.

Now don’t ruin it with a cliched ending, instead finish so your audience is satisfied and leaves full of energy.

Remember your aim is to inform, influence and inspire. Challenge yourself to do this with your ending.
All good communication starts with your audience so remember what your mission is and how you wanted your audience to think, feel and do after you had finished speaking.
END well. Do not finish with ‘any questions’ instead look to ENGAGE, NEGATE any lingering doubts or barriers to understanding your argument and DRIVE people to take the action you want.