Are you in a job or other vocation that requires you to do public speaking? We all remember those nervous school days when we had to stand in front of the class and give a presentation. Perhaps you reveled in it or, if you were like me, groaned as you slowly made your way to the front of the room.

If you do need to do public speaking in your professional or private life and find it a challenging task, you can build your skills and confidence in as little as 30 days.

I didn’t have the privilege of being able to ease myself into public speaking. I was thrust into it by my job requirements in which I was told I had to do presentations to groups of 50 people or more. Hopefully, you aren’t thrown into the deep end like I was!

If you do have time on your side, here is a 30-day program designed to give you confidence in public speaking. I will break down the process into weekly and daily stages.

Week 1: Laying the foundations

The first week is the beginning stages of confidence building. You learn to analyze your strong and weak points around public speaking. Also, you will take time to understand your audience so you can deliver a tailored message to them. The second half of the week is focused on the latter point: working on building the skeleton of your speech/presentation.

Days 1-3: Self-assessment, goal setting and audience research

Record yourself giving a short speech about whatever topic you desire. By doing this you set a baseline from which you can measure your performance.

Listen for the tone you use, how fast you speak, and the clarity of your speaking (do you mumble or talk so fast that the words blend into an incoherent sentence). Be aware of your body language. Is it defensive? Nervous? Confident? Open and friendly?

Once you have your baseline set, establish goals for the things you want to eliminate or improve over the next 30 days.

Take the first few days to gain insight into your audience. Think about:

  • Who your audience will be.
  • What are their demographics (age, profession, interests, gender, ethnicity, etc.)
  • What goals and/or challenges does your audience have?

Once you have an understanding of who will be listening to your speech or presentation, you can shape these so that they resonate deeply with your audience.

Use jargon and words that are appropriate for the crowd. For example, if your audience is all professionals then you can use more technical and industry-specific vocabulary. A general audience may require more simple and relatable language.

Days 4-7: Structuring your speech

Now that you have identified your audience, it’s time to put the initial parts of your presentation together. This is what the second half of Week 1 is dedicated to. A well-structured speech has a good flow and a lasting impact. The basic skeleton of your speech consists of:

  • Introduction: Make this an attention grabber and introduce your main point.
  • Body: For a presentation this part of the structure consists of key points and supporting evidence. If you are giving a speech the body should contain an entertaining story or anecdote that the audience can relate to.
  • Conclusion: As you have guessed, this is the summary of your points. Use this to deliver a strong takeaway for people to think about or a call to action.

The above layout ensures that your presentation is clear and logical (i.e. you have flow). There is nothing worse than listening to a speech that is disjointed and rambling. By sticking to the above formula you avoid this kind of public speaking disaster.

You can practice by writing a small speech and delivering it to a close friend or small, intimate audience that is willing to provide constructive criticism.

Week 2: Refining your delivery

In the second week, you concentrate on tweaking your public speaking and improving your confidence. The focus is on your verbal delivery as well as body language.

Days 8-10: Articulation and overcoming fear

Listen to the original recording you made on Day 1. As I mentioned earlier, pay attention to your pacing, tone, and clarity of voice. Now it’s time to experiment. Change your tone and enunciation. Does it sound better or worse? Don’t be afraid to screw things up as this is all about trial-and-error.

Are you emphasizing the right words and phrases? How much emotion is in your voice: not much? Too much? Just the right amount? Is your volume okay?

The big question to ask yourself is: Will this keep the audience engaged? That’s the sweet spot you are aiming for.

Anxiety is natural. You ask anyone who does public speaking and they will tell you it’s part of the package. However, there are pros and cons to feeling anxious. The benefits of anxiety are that it provides you with energy which enables you to be more enthusiastic during your speech. Additionally, your awareness is heightened, therefore you are more focused on the delivery. Increased awareness also alerts you to any environmental changes so you can adapt your presentation accordingly.

The negative side to anxiety is when you are overcome with stage fright. You can deal with this by doing deep breathing exercises before you step into the limelight. Another technique to minimize nervousness is visualization. Picture yourself giving a successful speech and your brain will believe it. Once you have your brain on board everything else falls naturally into place.

Days 11-14: Body language

For this stage of your journey, you need to visually record yourself giving your mock presentation. Look at the video and pay careful attention to your body language: both obvious and subtle.

Do you look awkward and clumsy?

What are your facial expressions?

Are you looking at the eyes of your audience?

Do your gestures match up with the key points that you’re making?

Make notes of the improvements you can introduce and then try again. It’s all about practice, practice, and more practice. Enjoy the process and commend yourself when you have made a breakthrough.

Week 3: Practicing in realistic settings and handling Q & As

We approach the second half of your journey by improving your public speaking skills. In week 3 you will be rehearsing in as realistic a setting as possible. Also, I will show you how to prepare for the Q&A sessions that may arise after your presentation.

Days 15 -17: Storytelling, examples, realistic settings

With your speech structured, look back over it and see how well you transition into and out of any stories or anecdotes you have included. Are these relevant?

Use the first few days of Week 3 to fine-tune everything.

The next step is to create an environment that emulates as close as possible the real-life setting in which you will be giving your speech. Here, once again, invite family and friends to be your audience.

Run through every step of the process from your entering the room, acknowledging the audience, giving your speech, thanking everyone, and then making your exit.

Afterward, ask for feedback from your “audience”.

Days 19-21: Handling Q&A, visual aids and props

If you have any visual aids, this is the time to see if they enhance rather than take away from your presentation. Check on their quality so that you can make the appropriate adjustments before your big day.

Practice using these seamlessly with your presentation.

One of the most challenging parts of public speaking is handling questions from your audience. Don’t feel like you have to respond quickly. Take the necessary time and stay calm. If you don’t know the answer admit to it (honesty gains respect) and say that you’ll offer to follow it up later.

Engage the mock audience by asking them questions. Look them in the eye when answering and encourage their participation. This makes it feel like it’s more of a conversation than a lecture.

Week 4: Mastering advanced techniques

We’re in the home stretch now. Most of the hard work has been done but it’s time to bump things up a notch or two. In the final week, you will focus on persuasion, polishing up your storytelling, and developing impromptu speaking.

Days 22 -27: Improvising

At times your presentation or speech may take an unexpected turn. It’s possible even after all the careful planning.  This is where being able to perform impromptu speaking comes in. It gives you the ability to handle those unforeseen twists and turns and come out the other side unscathed.

To develop or enhance this skill speak on a random topic for 1-2 minutes each day. This will help you think on your feet and organize your thoughts quickly, both are useful aspects of public speaking.

If your presentation aims to persuade your audience, here is an effective method:

  • Establish your credibility and show that you are an authority on your topic.
  • Use logical arguments and evidence to support your message.
  • Appeal to the emotions of your audience to create a connection.

By using the above techniques you can craft a powerful message that resonates with your audience. Practice your speech again and see if you have integrated the above features of persuasion into it.

Days 26-30: Putting it all together

Go over your speech once more and all the visual aids (if any) that you need for your event. Gather your “audience” again and deliver your presentation. Don’t forget to make a video of the rehearsal.

Compare this new video with the previous ones, especially the initial one that you made. Pay attention to how far you have come!

Take these last few days to add your final touches of finesse.

Now you’re ready to go!

It’s time!

You may think that improving your public speaking skills in 30 days isn’t realistic. But, it is entirely possible. It just takes consistency and practice. By following the steps I provided you will be well on your way to being a confident and effective speaker.

If you want to upskill even more I recommend looking at joining Toastmasters. It’s a non-profit organization dedicated to public speaking.

Now, go and win over the crowd!

 

– Brian Simms