5 Tips That Public Speaking Courses Will Give You

Posted on 22nd February 2022 by Ariana Mortenson

How good are you at speaking and presenting? Do you have stage fright? Are you rhetorically fit? Many perceived weaknesses have nothing to do with a lack of talent or insufficient speaking skills. Much is just a matter of practice. Therefore, even an inexperienced speaker with diligence and training can deliver a better performance than a professional who is not sufficiently prepared. Even if you don’t have time for joining a public speaking course at the moment, you can still practice very well and improve your speech performance:

Hear the opportunities for improvement

When training for your speeches, use the dictation function of your smartphone or a recording function of your telephone. Speak freely – just as you would give the speech in front of an audience. Your advantages: You can then listen to where your speech has gaps in content, where you got stuck and where you are too fast or too slow. After just one practice with sound recording, you will feel much more confident the next time, speak more fluently and avoid filler words more often.

The mirror gives you visual feedback

You can train your body language directly in front of a large mirror. During mirror training, also pay attention to where and how you move in the room and later on the stage. Are there special places in your speech where you can also take special places on stage? This is a common technique in every course that helps you learn public speaking.

An analysis with amazing insights

Speakers are often startled when they see themselves on video for the first time and discover a previously unconscious quirk. This is where possible weaknesses are probably most visible to you. If you hold your speech in front of a camera, you can then assess your performance comprehensively.

Watch your performance on video and slip into the role of the spectator. In this way, viewed from the outside, you will quickly recognize any unsightly peculiarities and can work on them in a targeted manner.

A test viewer is enough

Ask your colleague in the office or a good friend to watch you practice. Speak to that person exactly as you would to a large audience. The presence of this single listener puts you in a small but real performance situation. By doing this exercise, you reduce insecurities, and your listener can give you important feedback to improve your speech.

Harness the power of the mind

With mental training, you can prepare excellently for your speech. Imagine the entire performance situation. Look at your audience, listen to the applause inside, and start your speech. In your mind’s eye, move around the stage and speak inwardly: move your tongue and lips without making a sound. Vary the volume and speed of speech in your mind’s ear. Also, make the pauses exactly as you planned them. Mentally gesture, walk and stand as if this were your real performance. Imagine being completely relaxed and mastering the speech situation perfectly.

During mental speech training, you should be as concentrated as possible. It doesn’t matter where you are doing it – in your office, on the train or plane, in the bathtub.

To conclude:

The effect: things that you practice well, you can then do more safely and confidently. This also works if you mentally practice these things. Sentences and words, for example, which are difficult to pronounce or which are associated with emotions, you will then be better at your actual appearance on the lips. You already know in advance how to deal with pauses in speaking and reinforce your dramaturgy through different positions on the stage. Give it a try – you will feel your performances improve. However, joining a good online public speaking course will never hurt and just deliver some extra tips to you.