Learn Your ABCs...

  • A - Anticipate

  • B - Breathe

  • C - Conceive

Anticipate

  • Audience: Know who you are talking to (formal, casual, in-between)

  • Amount: People, words, length, time

  • Audio: Volume of voice, microphone, sound, amplification

Breathe

  • Beat: Know your beat/cadence. Find your rhythm.

  • Balance: Balance your talk - not too word heavy, joke heavy, stats heavy or too dependent on visual aids

  • Break: Take pauses in your talk. Don't be afraid of 2 seconds of silence or even 6 seconds, seriously. SLOW DOWN

    • Watch this video of the amazing Tig Notaro . (It's 16 minutes but you certainly don't have to watch the whole thing to know what I'm talking about. Although the story is really funny. Tig is great at pausing and breathing.)

Conceive

  • Coordinate: Thoughts, ideas, intention

  • Construct: Words, segments, storyboard, characters, information, visual aids

  • Comprehend: Will the audience understand what you are talking about? Read their body language and facial expressions.

And besides those ABCs - these are just as, if not more, important...

  • A - Adaptable

  • B - Bendable

  • C - Changeable

Be prepared to adapt, bend, and change according to your audience. Sometimes you never know how you're audience will react. Or the venue might change. Or the audio/visual won't work. Or all of the above.

ADAPT.

BEND.

CHANGE. 

Your voice is a powerful tool. Learn how to use your voice properly in order to get what you desire.

Whether you are talking with 1 person or 21 or 201 - you are public speaking. Anytime you open your mouth whether to order a pizza, tell a story, or to give a presentation - you are public speaking.

I know - public speaking can give you anxiety or a feeling of panic. You can become a sweaty shaking mess with all those people staring back at you. I get it. I’ve been there. It was my first semester at college. The first class I enrolled in was a public speaking course.

I think if I knew what I was getting myself into, I wouldn’t have taken this course. This was kind of scary. I can remember my speeches were full of anxiety. My body would shake. I didn’t know how to breathe properly when talking in front of people. I spoke way too fast. And I never felt I knew how to end my speech. I would just end it by saying, “Well, that’s it.”

What you might not realize is that public speaking is a skill you can massage and develop so you aren’t a sweaty shaking mess in front of all those people. YOU CAN be a phenomenal public speaker.

This is what I can do for you. I will... This is what you’ll achieve. You will...
...help you feel confident in front of an audience. ...feel comfortable in front of an audience.
...coach you on breathing. ...have better control over your breathing.
...guide you on the volume of your voice. ...know when to raise or lower your voice.
...show you what words to emphasize and put a “punch” on. ...know how and when to emphasize and “punch” your words.
...let you know when to S L O W D O W N. ...learn to not talk too fast.
...teach you about visualization and imagining your awesome self speaking.You will visualize your awesome self giving that speech.
...show you when it’s ok to have silence in your talk. ...be ok with silence when standing before your public.
...help you with movement (pacing, rocking, stiffness, etc.). ...be in control of your body and how it is seen to the audience.
...coach you on your language and how the audience perceives you. ...feel comfortable with the words coming out of your mouth.