What are the top 5 mistakes in public speaking?
There are lots of mistakes that speakers make but these are my top 5 mistakes in public speaking. Of course I have a much bigger list!! But focus on getting these right first.
1. The audience will listen to me because I’m an expert.
Oh no. They are in the room because the advert said you were an expert. You are the speaker because you are allegedly the expert. Now it is up to to you to prove it. Be entertaining, informative and keep them from falling asleep. They should leave with a “takeaway” and they should have learnt – and remember what they learnt – from listening to you. Public speaking is imparting memorable and new information. If you do not do that you have probably failed in your public speaking effort.
2. Speaking too fast.
It is almost impossible to speak too slowly. Read that again.
It is almost impossible to speak too slowly. You want people to understand and absorb – and think – about what you are saying. So stop babbling. Stop rushing to get to the end. Stop sprinting. Easily said – it is always helpful to know what you are talking about before you get up speak in public – know why you are there and what you want to achieve.
3. Saying too much because you are scared of missing something out or being accused of doing so.
Keep it short, keep it simple and shut up before they start praying that you will.
There is a not an audience in the world who will remember more than 3 things that you say – so why go on and on and on….? You are speaking in public – not writing a dissertation. So say what you have to say – keep it to three main points, arguments or case studies – then finish.
4. Speaking in a dull and monotonous voice.
Speeches should have changes in tempo, pauses, paragraphs, capital letters and exclamation marks. You do not operate in a vacuum – people get bored easily, attention span are down – and everyone has a mobile phone that they can and will use to start checking emails or Facebook if the speaker is boring.
5. Not maintaining eye-contact with your audience.
Turning your back to the audience, pacing the stage and looking at the floor, readingg the presentation or speech instead of delivering it. No eye contact is rude – don’t do it.
So these are the top 5 mistakes in public speaking. But there are many more. Feel free to add to the list in the comments section.
