How to be a good speaker in the professional world?

Prepare yourself well enough to be a good speaker

Eloquence is an essential skill when you're appointed to lead a team. A manager needs to master the art of public speaking, as he or she will be called upon to lead meetings, defend a project, motivate colleagues and so on.

However, asserting one's leadership with employees, some of whom are more experienced, is not easy for everyone. Beyond the substance of the speech, posture, self-confidence and body language are essential elements of successful communication.

Becoming a good public speaker is a process. You need to practice public speaking, especially if shyness is one of your main character traits. To develop your ease in front of an audience, you first need to improve your self-confidence.

Become aware of your potential. Focus on your qualities and your successes, both big and small. Dare to speak up in discussions with your colleagues. This will improve your communication skills and enable you to take on more public speaking challenges. Don't hesitate to take a course in personal development to boost your self-confidence.

Work on your verbal and non-verbal language

Public speaking requires perfect mastery of your verbal and non-verbal communication. Gestures, posture, looks and tone are just as important as the speech that makes up your presentation.

For your first speech, make sure you have both feet firmly planted on the floor and remain free. If you're standing in front of a lectern, for example, avoid clinging to it, as this can indicate a lack of self-confidence and vulnerability.

Raise your voice when you speak and direct your gaze towards your audience. Avoid staring at one person in particular, so as not to be thrown off balance if you don't receive their approval. Regularly sweep your gaze over the audience so that everyone present feels involved in your message. Avoid putting your hands in your pockets. Instead, use them to illustrate the words of your speech and capture the audience's attention.

Once you've mastered non-verbal language, work on your verbal communication. This means improving your diction, turns of phrase and vocabulary. Consider taking a public speaking course to learn all the keys to excellent elocution.

Train yourself to speak with a steady voice, tame silences and banish stray words. Use the right register for your audience. In front of your colleagues, for example, you can talk about figures or use technical terms. For a sales presentation, storytelling is more appropriate to get the message across to your customers. But whatever your audience, keep your sentences short and to the point.

Manage your speaking stress

Stress is the biggest obstacle to public speaking. Are you scared every time you have to make a speech in front of employees or customers? Do you feel sick to your stomach every time you're asked to present an idea, no matter how brilliant? Do you suffer from impostor syndrome and feel you have no right to make a speech in front of an audience?

Whatever the reason for your stage fright, you need to tame it. Don't feel weak just because you're scared before a speech. As the greatest public speakers will tell you, fear and stage fright never disappear completely. On the other hand, they can be managed very well and can even help you improve your performance.

Here's some professional advice on how to manage your stress.

Keep quiet at the beginning of your pitch

It may seem contradictory, but the best thing to do when you have to make a public speech is to keep quiet. So don't hesitate to take a few seconds to manage the flood of emotions that overwhelm you when you take the stage.

This short pause will also help you to identify the stress level you're under when speaking. You can also take the opportunity to catch the eye or smile of a few supportive people in the audience.

Work on your posture and breathing

Posture and breathing are also very important in stress management. The straighter you stand, the more air will circulate. To help your voice resonate, hold your back and abdominal muscles without stretching your chin forward.

With stage fright, breathing can become inverted, and the voice generally becomes atonic. So do some breathing exercises in which you practice breathing in and out with your belly. If you breathe in, your voice will come out.

Also, try to be calm in the first moments of your presentation. Controlling your breathing will help you set the right pace so that you feel at ease throughout the presentation.

One very effective trick is to imagine that your audience is hard of hearing. In fact, everyone present will have to read your lips. You'll need to speak slowly, distinctly and in short sentences, so as not to confuse them.

Don't panic as a speaker!

All speakers have, at least once, been confronted with the hazards of public speaking. So you're not immune to slips of the tongue, memory lapses, stammering and so on. In such circumstances, you need to learn to keep your cool. Your audience may not notice if you manage to tame your panic.

It's not generally advisable to keep notes with you when speaking in public. However, you can write down the main points and key words of your speech on an index card. This way, if you run out of memory, you'll be able to get back on track quickly.