How to speak confidently with the audience

Public speeches are challenging for many people in spite of the fact that we have been training to speak with the audience since school times. The problem is a lack of confidence. When entering the stage, speakers often feel awkward and constricted in the body. Someone can feel dry in the throat. Others verbally and non-verbally transmit uncertainty and disbelief in what they are saying.

How to learn to speak with the audience confidently, so that you were listened to and heard? This is what we will deal with within the article.

Confidence = Believing

First of all, let’s define what ‘to speak confidently’ means. Confidence is a way of thinking, whereas ‘confident speaking’ means ‘speaking by one being sure of himself/herself’. Self-confidence is equal to believing in yourself. This notion comes from the Latin word ‘confidere’, which can be translated as ‘have full trust’.  

So, confident speech is built on your self-esteem and your own belief in the truth of the information that you want to convey to the listener. Your speech is taken as confident in case that you trust your own judgment, value yourself and feel worthy, regardless of any imperfections or of what others may believe about you.

It is all from childhood

Do you know how people differ from each other? We are distinguished by our perception of ourselves, which is self-image.

It all starts from childhood. Most adults are critics and negativists. Therefore, most children get used to the fact that they are criticized and less praised. So, an opinion about oneself is initially formed from the judgments of the others. 

Growing up, a person forms his own opinion about himself, which can be very different from the points of view of other people. You start understanding the core of the well-known English proverb “Many men, many minds”. Everyone has the right to think as he wants, and you too.

List of Victories & Achievements

Most critics are not experts at all. So, believe yourself in the first turn. Believe that you are great! Of course, confident speaking and self-confidence need training. You can start from the list of advantages.

Just take a notebook and write down not less than 20 personal achievements.

For example:

1. Born
2. Learned to speak
3. Learned to walk
4. Learned to swim
5. Graduated from school
6. Entered the university
7. Graduated from the university
8. Got a job
9. Got married
10. Gave birth to a kid
11. Wrote a book
12. (...)

Read your achievements every morning. After a while, you will shape a sustainable self-image as of a go-getter, an achiever, or a winner.

Don’t Believe Critics

If people criticize you, don’t believe them. The main Einstein’s question is the following: “Is the world positive or negative?” Could you answer it? What do you think?

If you think - ‘positive’, Okay then. If your answer is ‘negative’, you might have problems because what you believe - happens to you. The self-confidence of a speaker is a self-trust, and a confident speech is just an emotional transferring of your personal state of mind.

5 Life-hacks for confidence from radio expert

Anyway, confident speaking lives by certain rules. Vera Shakhova, the famous Russian radio hostess, teaches special techniques on how to speak confidently with the audience.

 She speaks confidently and energetically, which is very attractive. Five simple but effective lifehacks from Vera Shakhova will help you feel and speak the right manner.

1 - Get Ready

Be sure to carefully prepare for your performance. Write down the text of a speech on paper, re-read it many times, and then retell your speech. You will remember it much better and you will be much more self-confident, which of course will felt by your audience.

2- Learn the Topic

You really should be good at what you are broadcasting. There will always be people who ask unexpected questions. Keep this in mind and prepare the answers to possible questions from the audience in advance. Then you can answer them clearly and look like a more confident speaker.

3 - Look Good

It is much nicer to look at a speaker who is neatly dressed, looks good, fashionable, stylish, attracting attention.

4 - Make the First Impression

Going on stage, you become the center of the event. So, it is extremely important to immediately begin to win the attention of your audience.

●      Introduce yourself

●      Tell about your merits

●      You might joke (but prepare your joke in advance, please)

●      Tell immediately what the audience will receive today after listening to your lecture

5 - Watch Your Pace of Speech

Remember that the human brain perceives not so much the meaning of words as intonation and your pitch. Therefore:

 ●      Speak clearly and loudly

●      Breathe calmly

●      Change the pace of speech

●      Use pause intonation

 One of the main principles of the methodology of performance according to Stanislavsky states: "Speak with fervor!" This means that whatever the topic of your speech is, you need to speak as if you are really interested in this topic, and as if you are on fire and really want to share important information with the audience.

By remembering these tips, you can speak confidently and efficiently in public.

Best regards,

Sergii Oliinyk

?? SimCorp Dimension Business Analyst & Project Manager