Public Speaking Check List

The Following tips will help you to engage your audience throughout. I reccomend referring to this when preparing a speech.

I give this checklist to my clients towards the end of their public speaking training, by which point they will have tried and tested all of these strategies.

• Eye contact- to create rapport and engage your audience
• A strong, concise opening: getting straight to the point- avoid excuses, waffle  or bad jokes. Your voice should be strong and attention grabbing

• A clear, thought evoking message
• Quotes
• Rhetorical Questions
• Incite interaction with the audience: 'raise your hand if...'
• Pick on/ mention facts in relation to members of the audience: this makes people feel important and is similar to those inside jokes that we all love

• Plenty of image evoking words
• Engage as many of the senses as is appropriate: what did you feel, see, hear, taste and smell
• A clear theme running through from beginning to conclusion
• Plenty of pauses to create suspense: The story could unravel slowly and end with a twist
• Movement and gestures to strengthen the message: Movement can facilitate pauses- take a moment to move a few steps and pause in between points- this also gives your audience time to digest what you’re saying
• A strong conclusion- both vocally and in terms of language: the conclusion should leave a lasting impression- this is the message that will stay with your audience
• Start with the end in mind: don't forget your purpose. A good speech should incite change in some way- it could be inspirational, motivational or persausive

 I will discuss each of these points in further detail in later blogs on public speaking.