What Is Public Speaking?

Public speaking is the process or act of performing a presentation (a speech) focused around an individual directly speaking to a live audience in a structured, deliberate manner in order to inform, influence, or entertain them.

10 public speaking traps and how to avoid the________________________________________

Any time you speak in public, risks and problems confront you. The better prepared you are for them, the better your chances of resolving them and thus having a better presentation. Here are 10 common issues you may encounter.

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1: Nervousness

Whoever says he or she lacks nervousness before a presentation is apathetic or untruthful. The best way to handle nervousness is simply to tell yourself that you have valuable material to share with your audience and that you have the energy needed to deliver it effectively. In other words, channel your nervousness to a good purpose.

2: Unfamiliarity with the setup

In the movie Hoosiers, Coach Dale takes his high school basketball team to the fieldhouse a few hours before the Indiana state championship game. He has the members measure various parts of the court, and they discover these measurements exactly equal their own court, back in Hickory.

If you have time, think about doing the same thing. Visit beforehand the place where you'll be speaking. You'll be more comfortable once the actual time comes. In addition, you might spot issues with the equipment or setup in time for them to be corrected.

3: Failure or malfunction of audiovisual equipment

You KNOW Murphy's Law will one day show itself, if it hasn't already. Your computer dies. The projector dies. The speakers fall silent. Whatever happens, make sure you have a plan B in place. For example, can you deliver your talk without the PowerPoint slides? Maybe it won't be as interesting or effective, but it's better than just standing there awkwardly. Have backup notes for your slides and be prepared to...