Imagine you’re giving a TED talk in front of 1,000 people. You feel like the spotlight is burning into the top of your head, your heart feels as if it’s about to leap out of your chest, and you can feel your palms sweating.
Now, imagine you’re giving a speech at school in front of 30 people. There’s still a lot of faces in front of you, but it’s not nearly as bad as having 1,000 of them, is it?
As speakers, one of our biggest challenges is being able to adapt to different speaking stages and environments. You may very well have to speak in front of 10, 100, or even 1,000 people at different points in your life – for parties, school projects, work presentations, or other events. In any of these cases, you should be able to collect yourself and show off your best self. So how can you go about that?
Before you give any speech or presentation, follow these steps:
- Be prepared! Practice your speech as many times as you can ahead of time. Don’t try to memorize what you’ll be saying word-for-word, but get an idea of the major points you’ll need to hit. That way, you can calm some of your fears of “messing up” because you know your main points like the back of your hand- even if you don’t say it exactly as you planned. Also, practicing will let you try out different types of gestures and body language so that it feels natural by the time you give the speech.
- Judge the setting. It isn’t always possible, but if you can get a glimpse of the room you will be presenting in, try to do so! Getting an idea of how big your space will be and how many people will be watching can help you anticipate how you’ll feel when you step up to the podium or grab the mic. Certain rooms have better acoustics than others, so you’ll also get an idea of how loud you will have to speak for everyone to be able to hear you.
- Observe the audience. If you know the classmates or judges you’ll be presenting in front of, factor that specific audience into your speech preparation. Would they appreciate a good joke or should you keep your tone formal? If you don’t have the opportunity to see your audience ahead of time, use the couple of minutes you might get before you get up on stage to try to notice a couple things. By adjusting your speech to the audience, you can make sure your points are received how you intended.
- Remember your topic. Assuming your topic is audience-appropriate and well-prepared, you should trust that your own hard work will take you far. However, it does help to have chosen a topic you are genuinely interested in or invested in, because that passion will come across during your speech. Remember, if you don’t care about what you’re saying, your audience doesn’t have any reason to either.
- Stay calm! Above all, it’s crucial to keep your nerves in check. It might be difficult, especially in a completely new environment, but there are many techniques that help you stay calm. Drink some water and run through your main points one last time before taking a deep breath and walking up to the front.
No matter where you end up giving your speech, these tips will help you stay calm and collected. Your speech will reflect all the work you put into preparation, but deep breaths might come in handy, too. Keep calm and give your speech!
