Possibly the most frequently ignored aspect of speaking in public is the correct care of your voice.
The majority of people imagine that all they need to do to become a successful public speaker is to take a deep breath, open their mouths and let the words tumble forth. How wrong they are! But even competent speakers are often guilty of ignoring the most crucial tool in their speech-making arsenal. Few speakers spend any time at all working on good speaking techniques and even less time in looking after their most important asset - their voice.
After all, no voice, no speech!
So what are the golden rules that will ensure that your voice is kept in excellent condition for speech-making? Here are the three greatest tips for delivering crystal-clear presentations:
1. Make sure that you don't strain your voice in any way and that means no shouting at your favourite sporting event! No matter how much encouragement your team needs to score the winning point - let others do the yelling and shouting.
2. Have plenty of water to drink. Get into the habit of continually sipping water throughout the day and you'll find that you will soon feel the benefit all round - not just in your voice. When delivering a speech, make sure that you have a glass of water easily to hand so that you never feel the need to struggle with a throat that is becoming dry.
Avoid excessive alcohol intake in the days preceding a speaking engagement and leave the stuff alone completely in the 48 hours immediately prior to making your speech.
And no matter what the state of your nerves, absolutely no alcohol on the day of your speech. Your voice will benefit and so will your audience!
3. Run through some gentle warm-up exercises for your vocal chords half and hour or so before making your speech. If you only speak occasionally, you may feel a little self-conscious humming and singing to yourself but just remember that all professional actors, speakers and singers run through warm-up exercises in just the same way as professional sportsmen. If you really are serious about delivering the best speech possible, these exercises can make a big difference to your performance.
And the better you perform, the better you will feel. And the better you feel, the more relaxed you will become. In turn, your audience will pick up on your confident manner and come away having enjoyed every word that you have spoken.
Your voice will have been your greatest asset - and you won't have suffered the embarrassment of delivering your speech sounding like a frog with a sore throat!
About the Author:
Be sure to get your free copy of Jane Thomas's 7-part video eCourse that will show you exactly how to become a Superstar Speaker . You'll discover many more public speaking tips simply by following the highlighted links. .
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