Recently we came across an older article in Entrepreneur about the gifted Simon Sinek and his public speaking ability. The author, Kim Lachance Shandrow, put together these 7 Powerful Public Speaking Tips From One of the Most-Watched Ted Talk Speakers. Its a nice little article to read through if you are still a nervous public speaker or want to develop more as you work on your presence before crowds. Here are a couple of Shandrow’s tips. Check out the article for the entire list.
Enjoy!
1. Don’t talk right away.
Sinek says you should never talk as you walk out on stage. “A lot of people start talking right away, and it’s out of nerves,” Sinek says. “That communicates a little bit of insecurity and fear.”
Instead, quietly walk out on stage. Then take a deep breath, find your place, wait a few seconds and begin. “I know it sounds long and tedious and it feels excruciatingly awkward when you do it,” Sinek says, “but it shows the audience you’re totally confident and in charge of the situation.”
4. Speak unusually slowly.
When you get nervous, it’s not just your heart beat that quickens. Your words also tend to speed up. Luckily Sinek says audiences are more patient and forgiving than we know.
“They want you to succeed up there, but the more you rush, the more you turn them off,” he says. “If you just go quiet for a moment and take a long, deep breath, they’ll wait for you. It’s kind of amazing.”
Here is another Project Kinect article on Simon Sinek.
