 How can I improve my public speaking skills?

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 Richard Newman, Founder at Body Talk
 Updated Jul 16
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 Money shouldn’t be a barrier to learning—but for many people it is.

 With public speaking, many people will turn to a quick Google search or YouTube
scan to find “tips and tricks” for free. But you can only hear “stand up and speak up”
so many times before you wonder if there is more to learn.

 And while nothing can replace in-person feedback, attending conferences, courses,
and coaching can be expensive. Even if you can afford training you’ll need to keep the
momentum going if you want to excel in this area. Many of the people I coach ask me
about what they can do to keep the learning going after our workshops.

 Thankfully there’s a whole range of ways to improve your communication skills for
free or at a reduced cost.

 Personally, I believe everyone should have the ability to communicate their ideas
effectively, so Body Talk offers free videos and blog tutorials on a wide range of
subjects including storytelling, stage presence, and mindset. But Body Talk is only
one of many varied resources for practicing and improving your speaking skills:

 1. Raise a glass with Toastmasters.

 This international non-profit is dedicated to helping people improve their public

speaking skills no matter the occasion.

 When I was first starting out as a professional speaker I attended a few of their clubs
simply to gain more experience in standing in front of people. I always found the
members to be kind, supportive and clear in their feedback so that I could improve.

 Although the name denotes a celebratory function, Toastmasters actually helps

people hone their professional and business-related speaking skills as well. And there
are more than 16,000 clubs in 143 countries, so there’s bound to be a group near you.

 If you’re looking to brush up on your own, the official Toastmaster website offers
some basic tips for just about every type of speaking you can imagine—delivering a
technical briefing, presenting an award, actually giving a toast, etc. But for those
 willing to spend about $90 a year, you’ll get a regular workshopping experience from
fellow speakers. Meetings generally have a variety of specialized helpers present—
including someone who counts your vocalized pauses and someone who helps with
your grammar. I especially enjoyed the 60-second contest, where you had to talk
passionately on a random subject for exactly one minute, throwing in the ‘word of
the day’ for extra points!

 2. Watch speakers in action - live.

 TED talks seem to have taken over the world! A simple search in your local area will
likely bring up dozens of events each year. They are usually reasonably priced or free
and you get to see a range of speakers. The speakers often hone their talk for months
in preparation so you may see some terrific demonstrations of how to tell a story and
captivate an audience.

 I recommend the live experience, which will really help you to understand the
connection between the speaker and the audience. However, you can even search on
YouTube to watch someone flawlessly deliver a good speech on public speaking itself!

 By seeing how the best perform, you can see what works well with an audience and
begin to emulate that behavior. The bonus? You can learn a little something about
the science behind public speaking along the way.

 If you have been studying communication you can also analyze the speakers and
think deeply about why some of them engaged the audience more than others. This
critical thinking will allow you to reflect on your own style and improve at home.

 You can even extend this to watching comedians and entertainers on stage. Notice
the timing, pausing, energy and storytelling they use to hook the audience in. See
how they stand and notice the range in their voices. All of these simple elements will
feed your mind with inspiration for your next presentation or pitch.

 3. Ask your boss.

 In your day-to-day role, you may lack the opportunity to speak to an audience. The
good news is that many people shy away from this at work and so they will be
grateful if you put yourself forward.

 Try asking your manager about events and meetings where you could give a brief talk
- perhaps you have some thoughts to share in the next team meeting? Or you may
like to run an energizer to get people warmed up and laughing at the company
conference. If you volunteer to do this many people will be thrilled. They may even
offer to give you coaching before you do it.

 4. Give your community a voice.

 There are many local groups that need willing volunteers to lead meetings and
promote worthy causes. You’ll find these at the local school, church, in your
community. Your local running club may need a leader to speak at club events.
 If you can find a local cause that you care deeply about then you will feel propelled to
stand up and speak with passion, among a receptive group of friends, who will likely
cheer you on and give you tips to keep improving.

 5. Books, books, and more books!

 When I first started working on my communication skills I read as many books as I

could find. I made countless notes and cross-referenced the ideas to see where they
agreed or disagreed on key points. In the end, I filled my shelves with over 200 books
on communication, which I still refer to today. This may sound like a lot, but even if
you aim for one book per month they will soon add up.

 If you are worried about reading so much you can get a more concise resource here at
‘getAbstract’ where you can read a condensed version of my book ‘You were Born To
Speak’ for free.

 Regardless of the resources, you decide to employ, taking advantage of the chance to
improve your communication skills is going to have benefits in the key moments of
your life. You’ll be helping to further your professional career, and who knows,
maybe you’ll become the go-to toast-giver this wedding season!

 If you would like to learn more about improving your communication at work you
can listen to my new podcast ‘Born To Speak’ on iTunes.

 You can also contact us to run a workshop for your team. And you can connect with
me on Linkedin to read the latest articles!
 Develop a new theorem in math, discover something new about physics, invent and
patent something of use to everybody, paint something magnificent, have a nice
family, write an epic novel, start a business and implement some innovative
production technique and make your mark on an industry, become a champion in
your field, make your community better.

 You have very little time in this life to achieve something of significance that is more
important than just your life.

 Sadly most of us will never achieve anything of significance because we will stay in
the herd and measure success based on the sort of car we drive or how many people
we can “game” into having sex with us.

 Everyone should have a higher spiritual calling and try to find their place in this
world.

 Build a life worth living and a life worth remembering.