Common mistakes in public speaking The speaker is a master of public speaking, fluent in the language

Introduction

Public speaking is a process of conveying information, the main purpose of which is to convince listeners of the correctness of certain provisions.

The word speaker (from the Latin orare - "to speak") is used in two meanings:

1. a person making a speech, speaking in public;

2. a person who knows how to speak well in public, who has the gift of eloquence, who owns the skill of the word.

The speaker is a master of public speaking, fluent in the language. The speaker influences listeners, first of all, with his eloquence, high speech culture, verbal skill.

Such a speaker knows how to propagate convincingly, intelligibly and vividly. He can not only strictly and accurately, but also emotionally present any complex theoretical issue. But there are very few such people.

In this regard, we can recall the article "Good News" written by A.P. Chekhov in 1893 “Recitation is taught to students at Moscow University, that is, the art of speaking beautifully and expressively. It is impossible not to rejoice at this wonderful innovation. We, Russian people, love to talk and listen, but our oratory is in a perfect paddock. In zemstvo and noble assemblies, academic meetings, at ceremonial lunches and dinners, we are shyly silent, or we speak languidly, soundlessly, dully, “putting our brady on”, not knowing where to put our hands; we are told a word, and we answer ten, because we do not know how to speak briefly and are not familiar with that grace of speech, when a certain effect is achieved with the least expenditure of effort ... In a society where true eloquence is despised, rhetoric, hypocrisy of the word or vulgar rhetoric. Both in antiquity and in modern times, oratory was one of the strongest levers of culture. It is inconceivable that the preacher of a new religion should not at the same time be a fascinating orator. All the best statesmen in the era of prosperity of states, the best philosophers, poets, reformers were at the same time the best orators. The "flowers" of eloquence were strewn with the path to any career, the art of speaking was considered mandatory. Perhaps someday we will wait until our lawyers, professors, and officials in general, who are obliged by their service to speak, not only learnedly, but also intelligibly and beautifully, will not justify themselves by saying that they “can’t” speak. In essence, for an intelligent person to speak badly should be considered as indecent as not being able to read and write, and in the matter of education and upbringing, learning to speak eloquently should be considered inevitable.

public speaking mistakes

Before you begin to comprehend the secrets of public speaking, you must learn to avoid common mistakes. Experts in the field of communication technologies analyzed and compared the behavior of amateurs and professional speakers. Put their advice into practice and you will see your confidence and self-control grow during public speaking.

Mistake 1: Mismatch

When your content is at odds with your tone of voice, posture, and body language, the audience will instantly notice. The audience has an unmistakable sense of the speaker's mood and well-being. If you start saying “Hello, how glad I am to see you all ....” in a trembling, uncertain voice, nervously fingering the buttons on your suit, be sure that the audience will instantly distrust both what you said and the speaker himself. Therefore, instead of "I'm glad ..." - really rejoice! Do whatever it takes to really experience the joy of performing in front of an audience. Consciously convey your positive mood to your listeners. This is important - people in a good mood perceive information more easily, they want to continue contact. If you don't feel joy, don't lie. It's better to be honest: "Today is a great day, so I'm worried..." Then you will at least come across as an honest person saying the truth.

Mistake 2: Excuses

For the most part, the public doesn't care if you care or not, how long it took you to prepare your report, and how much public speaking experience you have. Therefore, you don’t need to justify yourself to her in the style of “I’m a bad speaker, I rarely speak in front of the public, so I’m very worried and I can speak unsuccessfully ...” This is how many amateurs begin their speech, trying to arouse sympathy and get indulgence in advance for a bad performance. The message seems to be honest, but it leads to the opposite result. Listeners are perplexed: “Why did we come here, even if the speaker himself admits that the performance will be bad?”.

The public is selfish. Her focus is primarily on herself. Therefore, from the very beginning of the speech, put her, your beloved, in the first place: the thoughts, desires and feelings of your audience. Your goal is to inform, motivate or entertain the public. Therefore, it is not important how you speak, and what you feel at the same time. What matters is what kind of information the audience receives. You need to speak in such a way that most of the listeners feel: you understand their aspirations and desires, speak for them and address each of them personally. If you do it this way, then:

a) many more listeners than you think will simply not pay attention to your excitement or will treat it condescendingly, because they are interested, first of all, in themselves and their affairs.

b) your excitement disappears the sooner the more attention you pay to other people, and not to your own feelings.

Mistake 3. Apologies

This error is similar to the previous one. Novice speakers love to apologize, offering to absolve them of the blame for the poor quality of the report. "Please forgive me for... (my cold voice, my appearance, poor slide quality, too short speech, too long speech, etc., etc.)." The public is not a priest and will not forgive your sins. Apologize for only one thing - for your constant apologies. And it is better to avoid from the very beginning that for which you will need to ask for forgiveness. If there is indeed something you regret, just say "I'm sorry!". But best of all is the ability to turn a disadvantage into a virtue: “Today I have a cold voice, so I ask you to move and sit closer to me. In this way, by uniting even more, we will demonstrate that we are all one team working in close cooperation.”

Mistake 4: Eyes and eyebrows

Are you really sure that you control your facial expressions well? Most beginners only think that this is so. In fact, it is not easy for an unprepared person to control facial expressions. Facial muscles are difficult to control without training, and a mysteriously seductive look and eyes wide open with fear are separated by only a couple of millimeters, which radically change perception.

Psychological studies have shown that the audience pays 10-15 times more attention to the eye area of the speaker than to any other part of the face. Eyebrows are the main element of your facial expressions, they not only indicate emotions, but also control them. Raised eyebrows are a sign of insecurity and incompetence. Pay attention to your eyes and eyebrows. If they say what you say, the public will love you. Laughing eyes and straight eyebrows are just what you need. It's nice to listen to you, the audience is confident in your competence. Practice in front of a mirror, record your own performance on video and analyze it.

Mistake 5: Choice of words

We hear and understand individual words before we understand the entire sentence. Therefore, we react faster and less consciously to the meaning of individual words than to the meaning of sentences. In addition, negative particles are perceived later than other words, and often not perceived at all. Therefore, the constant use of such constructions as “... will not bring losses”, “... not bad”, “... we are not afraid to make an effort”, “... I don’t want to bore you with long statistical calculations” cause the listener effect opposite to the speaker's expectations.

Remember: words are pictures in your head! Not without reason, in ancient times, rhetoric teachers told their students: “Tell me so that I can see it!”. Words should create the picture you want in the minds of your listeners. Therefore, use only those words that reinforce the desired goal. Let only that which should reach the ears of the listeners reach. If you want to create a positive attitude, then instead of "it's not bad", say "it's good". Create a positive mood with positive words - after all, a lot depends on the mood of the public!

Mistake 6: Lack of humor

All students know boring lecturers. “The impact of an external object is connected, firstly, with the progressive emancipation of cognitive functions from primitive affective structures, and secondly, with the differentiation of the affective structures themselves, their autonomy from basal drives ...”, such a teacher mumbles for an hour, not noticing that the listeners' brains have already boiled for a long time and they have completely lost the thread of the story.

Better than an informative speech - only an interesting speech! Add a smile to your serious speech, dilute it with jokes, tell a funny story. People need to take breaks from time to time. A grateful audience will respond to you with favor and attention. You can also laugh at yourself if you made some kind of mistake - the audience will take this as a sign of your self-confidence and self-esteem.

Of course, no one requires you to tell jokes at a funeral rally. But many topics are too important to be taken seriously. Laughter is a refreshing environment for the brain to work. High-class educators know that humor and a good mood only add to the desire to learn and make the process more efficient. Laughter helps to relax and leads to the formation of a chemical environment in the brain in which the perception of new information is better - this has been proven by neuropsychologists.

Mistake 7: Omniscience

Even worse than uncertain and unprepared speakers are pompous and inflated speakers, bursting with self-importance. They always consider themselves smarter than the audience they are addressing. Get out of your head the delusion that you know more than everyone else put together. Even if you are well-informed about the topic of the speech, in some areas, listeners may know much more than you. Do not consider the audience dumber than you, otherwise you will be repaid in the same coin. Pomp and omniscience can play a very cruel joke with you. So, one day, a student-psychologist publicly asked a tricky question to an unloved lecturer in the history of philosophy: how should one treat the philosopher Wallace? The teacher, afraid that he would be caught on a lack of erudition, long and convincingly explained to the breathless audience the mistakes of this philosopher, invented by students on the eve of the lecture.

In order not to get into a ridiculous position, it was enough to simply answer: “No, this author is not familiar to me. If you think that his teaching is relevant to our topic, please tell me about it in a few words. By openly confessing your knowledge or ignorance, you win even more sympathy from the audience. Connect listeners with new information to the report, be able to evaluate their knowledge. By doing this, you will kill several birds with one stone: you will show respect for the participants and bring animation to your own performance, supplement and enrich it. You should be grateful to the audience for active participation, because this is at least a sign of interest in your performance.

Mistake 8: Fussiness

Distracted from the fear of the public, a novice speaker can hurriedly walk from wall to wall back and forth, like a pendulum, do fussy manipulations with objects (open and close the lid of the pulpit, constantly turn the pencil in his hands, etc.) and make other unnecessary movements . As a result, the audience begins to follow his movements and ceases to follow the topic of the speech. By the way the speaker moves, it is easy to understand how confident he is. Constant "walking" during public speaking is not accidental. It betrays the desire of an insecure speaker to escape. That is how it is perceived by the audience. These would-be orators just want to give advice strictly according to Archimedes: “Find, finally, a foothold!”

Find a suitable place and take a position, "take root". You can sit or stand - it depends on the duration of the public speech, the characteristics of the room, and so on. factors. The main thing is that from your seat you can make eye contact with the entire audience. Do not "dig in" in one place. A speaker who constantly hides behind the pulpit and comes out only at the end of a public speech is also not the best option. Move, but move consciously, in control of space. Mark different parts of the report with a change of position. This will improve the perception of information and facilitate its memorization. For example, you change position when moving from the introduction to the main part of the speech, when highlighting its key parts, and then when moving to the conclusion. When you finish your report and start answering questions from the audience, you again calmly and slowly move in space to the next point, and so on. In this way, you orient the listeners in the structure of your public speaking and instill confidence in them.

Mistake 9: Monotony

Nothing is more tiring than a report on an interesting topic, read in a boring monotone voice. Such public performances are akin to Chinese dripping water torture: water drips monotonously on the crown of the tortured and gradually drives him to madness. All words merge into a monotonous stream and it is impossible to understand by the tone of speech where one sentence ends and another begins. Monotonously mumbling bores quickly cause irritation and fatigue of the audience, the listeners can hardly restrain themselves so as not to start yawning. On the contrary, a skilled orator masterfully owns his speech. To keep the audience "in good shape" he constantly varies the volume and strength of his voice, giving it liveliness. When he wants to arouse tension and interest, he calms down conspiratorially and pronounces the words a little more slowly. Speaking louder, he emphasizes the main thing in his public speech. When necessary, he adds to the voice of significance and drama.

Pay attention to the sound of your speech. Do you use your voice to highlight the key points of a public speech, quote, statement? Do you raise the pitch at the end of a question? Does the rate of speech change depending on its content? Express your feelings with your voice, and you will conquer the audience! You will appear confident, energetic and passionate about the topic.

Mistake 10: No pauses

It is useful to remember the advice of the brilliant Julia Lambert from Maugham's "Theater": "The main thing is the ability to keep a pause, it is better not to do it, but if it happens, keep it as long as you can." When there is nothing to say, it is better to be silent until the right words come. Sometimes the speaker needs time to think, check his notes, or just drink water. And the audience needs pauses to comprehend what you said. Public speaking aces use pauses purposefully to get feedback from the audience. They actively use interpauses, during which the audience can think about what has been said, and escalating intrapauses, when listeners must anticipate the further development of the story. The pause can be used to establish eye contact to check if you have been understood correctly; to enhance tension and drama; to arouse curiosity (“... what will he say next?”) and for many other things. So don't be afraid to take breaks. Usually the public perceives their duration to be much shorter than it seems to the speaker himself.

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Introduction

1. Mistakes in public speaking

2. Rules for successful public speaking

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

Public speaking is a process of conveying information, the main purpose of which is to convince listeners of the correctness of certain provisions.

The speaker is a master of public speaking, fluent in the language. The speaker influences listeners, first of all, with his eloquence, high speech culture, verbal skill.

Both in antiquity and in modern times, oratory was one of the strongest levers of culture. It is inconceivable that the preacher of a new religion should not at the same time be a fascinating orator. All the best people in the era of prosperity of states, the best philosophers, poets, reformers were at the same time the best orators. The "flowers" of eloquence were strewn with the path to any career, the art of speaking was considered mandatory. Looking at the successful results of the eloquence of that time, we set ourselves the goal of this essay - to study all the possible mistakes of speakers, which will lead to mastering the skill of public speaking. After all, they learn from mistakes.

1. public speaking mistakes

Before we begin to comprehend the secrets of public speaking, we must learn to avoid common mistakes.

Mistake 1: Mismatch

When your content is at odds with your tone of voice, posture, and body language, the audience will instantly notice. If you start saying “Hello, how glad I am to see you all ....” in a trembling, uncertain voice, nervously fingering the buttons on your suit, be sure that the audience will instantly distrust both what you said and the speaker himself. Therefore, instead of "I'm glad ..." - really rejoice! Do whatever it takes to really experience the joy of performing in front of an audience. Consciously convey your positive mood to your listeners. People in a good mood perceive information more easily, they want to continue contact

Mistake 2: Excuses

For the most part, the public doesn't care if you care or not, how long it took you to prepare your report, and how much public speaking experience you have. Therefore, you don’t need to justify yourself to her in the style of “I’m a bad speaker, I rarely speak in front of the public, so I’m very worried and I can speak unsuccessfully ...” This is how many begin their speech, trying to arouse sympathy and get indulgence in advance for a bad performance. The message seems to be honest, but it leads to the opposite result. Listeners are perplexed: “Why did we come here, even if the speaker himself admits that the performance will be bad?”.

Mistake 3. Apologies

Novice speakers love to apologize, offering to absolve them of the blame for the poor quality of the report. "Please forgive me for... (my cold voice, my appearance, poor quality slides, too (short) long speech, etc. etc.)." If there is indeed something you regret, just say "I'm sorry!". But best of all is the ability to turn a disadvantage into a virtue: “Today I have a cold voice, so I ask you to move and sit closer to me. In this way, by uniting even more, we will demonstrate that we are all one team working in close cooperation.”

Mistake 4: Eyes and eyebrows

Most beginners only think that they have good control over their facial expressions. In fact, it is not easy for an unprepared person to control facial expressions. Facial muscles are difficult to control without training.

The audience pays 10-15 times more attention to the eye area of the speaker than to any other part of the face. Laughing eyes and straight eyebrows are just what you need.

Mistake 5: Choice of words

We hear and understand individual words before we understand the entire sentence. In this regard, negative particles are perceived later than other words, and often not perceived at all. Therefore, the constant use of such constructions as “... will not bring losses”, “... not bad”, “... we are not afraid to make an effort”, “... I don’t want to bore you with long statistical calculations” cause the listener effect opposite to the speaker's expectations.

Mistake 6: Lack of humor

Better than an informative speech - only an interesting speech! Add a smile to your serious speech, dilute it with jokes, tell a funny story. People need to take breaks from time to time. You can also laugh at yourself if you made some kind of mistake - the listeners will take this as a sign of your self-confidence and self-esteem.

High-class educators know that humor and a good mood only add to the desire to learn and make the process more efficient.

Mistake 7: Omniscience

Even worse than insecure and unprepared speakers are speakers with an inflated self-esteem of their own importance. They always consider themselves smarter than the audience they are addressing. Even if you are well-informed about the topic of the speech, in some areas, listeners may know much more than you. Do not consider the audience stupider than you, you can be repaid in the same coin. oratory public speaking story

By openly confessing your knowledge or ignorance, you win even more sympathy from the audience.

Mistake 8: Fussiness

Distracted from the fear of the public, a novice speaker can hurriedly walk from wall to wall back and forth, like a pendulum, doing fussy manipulations with objects. As a result, the audience begins to follow his movements and ceases to follow the topic of the speech. By the way the speaker moves, it is easy to understand how confident he is. Find a suitable place and take a position. You can sit or stand - it depends on the duration of the public speech, the characteristics of the room, and so on. factors. The main thing is that from your seat you can make eye contact with the entire audience. Or consciously move, controlling the space.

Mistake 9: Monotony

Nothing is more tiring than a report on an interesting topic, read in a boring monotone voice. Monotonously mumbling, quickly causing irritation and fatigue of the audience, the listeners can hardly restrain themselves so as not to start yawning. To keep the audience "in good shape" you must constantly vary the volume and strength of your voice, giving it liveliness.

Mistake 10: No pauses

When there is nothing to say, it is better to be silent until the right words come. Typically, the audience perceives the duration of pauses to be much shorter than it seems to the speaker himself.

2. Rules for successful public speaking

1. Preparing a speech

As you know, all good improvisations are carefully prepared in advance. A speech without prior preparation, especially for a novice speaker, will almost certainly be a failure.

First, make the basis of the future public speaking:

Determine the motivation for people to listen to your speech. What do they need it for? What useful or interesting things will they learn for themselves?

· Highlight the main idea of your speech.

· Highlight subheadings by dividing your idea into several component parts.

· Carefully consider the plan and structure of the future speech. It should include an introduction, body and conclusions (end)

Having prepared the base, start building up “muscles” on it.

Find vivid examples "from life", from history, literature that you use in the process of speaking.

Determine the moment during the speech when you turn to the audience with a question, asking them to name something, recount - this will help those present to concentrate on the discussion of the topic and significantly increase the efficiency of the perception of your material.

· Write the full text. Pay special attention to its beginning and end.

The peculiarity of the introduction is that the audience will very quickly make an impression of you, and this impression will dominate throughout the speech.

The final part of the public speech provides for summing up. At the end, you need to recall the key issues raised in the speech, be sure to repeat all the main ideas.

The main thing is time. The audience can listen carefully and perceive your ideas only for a limited period due to psycho-physiological reasons (usually no more than 15-20 minutes, then the audience's attention begins to weaken). Short, clear, understandable, persuasive and accessible phrases are expected from you. You need to be on the same cultural level with the audience, communicate in its language, only in this case you can count on establishing psychological contact between the speaker and the audience. You should not touch on topics that are beyond the understanding of the audience.

2. Place of performance.

Before speaking, it is very important to study the room in order to establish from which side the audience will look at you. When choosing a place, consider your height. You need to make sure everyone can see you. You need to make sure that the speaker is visible to the chest.

3. Clothing

Wear things that you feel comfortable in and that don't distract you with their inconvenience. You should never have the thought: “How does it sit on me?”. It is better not to use completely new things that you wear for the first time. Clothes and shoes should not give you internal discomfort and distract your attention.

4. Successful public speaking - a few secrets.

When you enter the classroom, move confidently, do not scurry or make fussy movements. Walk with your usual gait, this will convince those present that you are not worried and are not in a hurry. When you are introduced, stand up, be sure to give the audience a slight smile and make direct eye contact with the audience.

Be sure to take a seat in the center, straighten your shoulders, raise your head and lean forward a little, demonstrating something like a bow to the audience and start talking.

Your facial expressions and gestures give a person much more impressions than anything you say. With gestures, you will focus on the importance of information. Do not put your hands in your pockets, do not hide them behind your back, do not occupy them with foreign objects. You can not cross your arms on your chest, laying them behind your back. Constantly control your posture, keep your back straight, head up, move naturally. When you want to emphasize something, move your body towards the audience or use the gesture of bringing your body closer to those present.

If you use sticky notes, then do it very carefully: look down quickly and briefly at the text and look up again, turning all your attention back to the audience.

If the speech is interrupted by applause, you must wait until they end and only then continue - so that the beginning of your next phrase is heard by everyone. Concluding the speech, you need to look into the eyes of the audience and say something pleasant, demonstrating your satisfaction from communicating with the audience. Such a positive information impulse in the final will remain in the memory of people, in their perception of your public speech.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to note that the skill of public speaking consists in the ability to use both forms of human thinking: logical and figurative. Having mastered the skill of public speaking, people will understand all the charm and beauty of our language.

Becoming a master of public speaking is a great achievement for someone who wants it and will not stand before anything, since what he has achieved will open the door to all areas of our life. And perhaps it will help to change some of the negative aspects of this most complex endless process, which we have now successfully studied. Our goal has come true and we have learned from our mistakes. After all, they learn from mistakes!

And as A.P. Chekhov: - “Learn to speak the language, present and future speakers! Language is your base and your professional weapon.”

Bibliography

1. Aleksandrov D.N. Rhetoric. - M.: 1999.

2. Vvedenskaya L.A., Pavlova L.G. Culture and art of speech. - Rostov - n / a, 1996.

3. Deletsky Ch. Workshop on rhetoric. - M.: 1996.

4. Ivanova S.F. The specifics of public speech. - M.: 1978.

5. Lvov M.R. Rhetoric. Culture of speech: Proc. manual for students of humanitarian faculties of universities. - M.: Publishing Center "Academy", 2003

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In modern literature, a fairly large number of mistakes in public speaking, a novice speaker, etc. are described. If all these errors are lined up in a row, then a whole chapter can be devoted to them. And you can really learn a lot from these mistakes. However, consider only some of the most typical mistakes in public speaking.

Demonstration of omniscience. Worse than insecure and unprepared speakers, only speakers are pompous and show their own importance. If the speaker demonstrates in every possible way that he is smarter and more important than the audience, then the audience will definitely punish him for such posturing. At best, she will simply “turn away from him”, stop perceiving everything that he says. If the speaker does not know something and openly admits it, then he is much more respected than someone who tries to get out of such a situation, refers to lack of time, time limit, etc.

Insincerity. The audience instantly notices the discrepancy between the meanings that the speaker seeks to convey to the audience, and the characteristics of the speech itself, as well as its non-verbal accompaniment. The audience unmistakably feels the mood of the speaker and his condition. And if a person pronounces the words: “Hello, how glad I am to meet you...”, but at the same time demonstrates with all his appearance that this meeting is not very pleasant for him, then the listeners will instantly recognize this discrepancy and perceive it as deceit and disrespect. Therefore, saying "I'm glad ...", it is necessary, at least with a smile, but to show your joy. And if this joy is not there, then such words should not be uttered. Suspicion of insincerity and deception of the speaker instantly destroys his rapport with the audience and causes a steady distrust of what he says. Therefore, if there is excitement, then it is better not to hide it, but to admit it, to make it open. Confess from strength, not from weakness. Confess without apologizing or making excuses, but showing your sincerity, for example: “Speech in front of you is an important event for me, so I’m even a little worried ...”

Excuses and apologies. When it comes to excuses and apologies, the public doesn't really care if you're worried or not, how long it took you to prepare your report, or how much experience you have in public speaking. Therefore, there is no need to make excuses to her in the style: “I am a bad speaker, I rarely speak in front of the public, so I am very worried and I can speak unsuccessfully ...” ?

Apologies are worse than excuses. If the speaker apologizes (for a cold voice, appearance, poor quality slides, etc.), he is asking for forgiveness. But the public is not a priest and does not give forgiveness, just as it does not forgive sins. If there really is something you regret, it's best to just say, "I'm sorry!" By this you only acknowledge the fact, but do not ask for anything. The petitioner is always weak. And no one will follow a weak person.

Lack of eye contact. Lack of eye contact with the audience is unequivocally interpreted by it as a lack of interest in it. If you look at only one person during a speech, even the most grateful listener, you will lose everyone else. Therefore, even if the speech is largely built on text, numbers and quotes, you must remember that others are looking at you at this moment (of course, if they are still listening). Therefore, it is periodically necessary to meet their eyes, demonstrating in such a way that you communicate with them and they are not indifferent to you.

Monotony of speech. Nothing is more tiring than a report on an interesting topic, read in a boring monotone voice. Monotone booming speakers quickly cause annoyance and fatigue in the audience. On the contrary, a skilled orator masterfully owns his speech.

Inappropriate use of "negative" terms. There is a significant difference in the phrases "It's not bad" and "It's good." The mistake of many speakers is the inept construction of speech through denial. It should be understood that our perception of speech works consistently. At first, we unconsciously react to the meaning of individual words and only then perceive the meaning of the sentence as a whole. Accordingly, before understanding negation, a person first needs to realize what exactly is being denied. Therefore, the use of such constructions as “... will not bring losses”, “I am not afraid ...”, “I don’t want to bore you by talking about ...”, the subconscious mind of many people is perceived quite specifically - the person spoke about losses, about his fear, and in general his speech caused boredom. Is that what the speaker meant to say? If not this, then it is better to construct phrases in positive terms (without the “not” particle), namely, to talk about profit, fearlessness, interest, etc.

Questions for self-control

1. What information do you need to get before you start preparing for a speech?
2. Describe your version of the algorithm for preparing for a speech.
3. List techniques for keeping the attention of the audience.
4. Describe audience engagement techniques.
5. List the mistakes of public speaking.

When describing the errors of public speaking, materials from the site http://psyfactor.org/

Public speaking requires a certain amount of skill. Only in this case, you can win the audience and interest it with your thoughts, views and judgments. But it will happen that speakers make mistakes when communicating with listeners. As a result, the invisible connection with those present is broken, which leads to alienation and misunderstanding. Below are the most common public speaking mistakes that prevent speakers from achieving professionalism in such a difficult matter as public speaking.

First mistake- lack of correspondence between the content of speech and the manner of its presentation. It's all about sincerity. When you talk about something, you need to believe in it yourself. If you talk about some things in an uncertain tone, stammering, constantly looking at the summary, then the audience will instantly feel false. Accordingly, the performance will fail at the very beginning. Therefore, confidence and conviction are necessary even if you yourself doubt the reliability and veracity of the material presented.

Second mistake- monotonous speech, devoid of an emotional component. The speaker gives out some information in a dull, faceless voice. Listeners begin to fidget in their chairs, yawn, covering their mouths out of decency with their palms, and some are drawn to sleep. Such a performance at the end of the working day is especially dangerous. The audience may simply fall asleep, which will be a complete disaster for the speaker.

The public needs to be kept in tune. Therefore, during the performance, it is necessary to change the tone and volume of the voice. It must be alive and play with all possible voice shades. This is significance, and tension, and drama, and joy. Only in this case it is possible to interest people even after a hard day's work.

Third mistake- ignoring humor during the performance. It should be said that humor brings an element of animation to any conversation. It is of particular importance during public speech. The point here is that people cannot stay in a concentrated state for a long time. They are able to listen attentively for no more than 20 minutes, after which there is a sharp decrease in concentration. This is how the human brain works, which needs some kind of variety. Just such a variety is a small humorous digression. This is a kind of relaxation, after which the listeners can again focus on the main thing.

Fourth mistake- state of restlessness. There is a common phrase: "Do not fuss under the client." It must be remembered by those speakers who, during their speech, hurriedly walk from side to side, twirl a pen in their fingers, and carry out some other nervous manipulations. With this demeanor, listeners very quickly begin to understand that the speaker is insecure. Of course, it is necessary to move, but only in a calm and unhurried manner. Movements and gestures should exude confidence. This will give additional weight and persuasiveness to the words.

Fifth mistake- self-confidence and omniscience. It is at least ridiculous to consider yourself the most intelligent and omniscient. Among the listeners there can be a much more erudite person. Therefore, be modest, but in no case underestimate your knowledge. Tricky questions should be answered sincerely and openly. If you don't know something, be honest about it. And in order not to lose credibility in the eyes of those present, you need to clearly and interestingly present the information that you are fluent in.

Seventh mistake- Wrong expression. It is useful to know that the audience pays considerable attention to the speaker's facial expression and focuses mainly on the eyebrows and eyes. If the eyes are wide open, then this indicates fear and insecurity. And raised eyebrows are associated with incompetence. During the speech, the look should be calm and slightly ironic. As for the eyebrows, they should be kept in a normal state. Such a face looks quite adequate and causes not only trust, but also sympathy.

Work on the above public speaking mistakes, try to avoid them, and then your oratory skills will noticeably improve. As a result, your authority will become indisputable, and the number of grateful listeners will increase..

What do you need for an effective and bright performance? Carefully think over the speech and rehearse it? Yes, but that's just not enough. People want bread and circuses, so public speaking is, first of all, a show in which it is important to take care not only WHAT to say, but also HOW. A true orator has extraordinary magnetism, he ignites listeners and skillfully leads them along. Your speech will certainly be remembered if you carefully consider your image and demeanor, avoiding mistakes that can ruin the best speech.

Mistake 1. Untidy appearance

Namely: greasy hair, chewed jacket, twisted tights, tasteless color combination, uncleaned shoes, etc.

When do you think your performance starts? - Immediately, as soon as you got into the field of view of the audience. Listeners literally scan you, and 7 seconds are enough for them to make a first impression of you.

You will never get a second opportunity to make a first impression.

It is unacceptable to put yourself in order, going on stage. Imagine that you turned on the news channel, and there the TV presenter paints her lips, preparing for the broadcast. It looks at least strange.

Before public speaking, choose your costume carefully, take care of your hair, work out a confident walk without swaying and bouncing.

Remember: there is no less eloquence in your appearance than in your words.

Mistake 2. Flirting with the audience

Perhaps you have seen such a picture: the presenter introduces the author of the performance, he gets up from the hall, and, going to the stage, begins to nod in all directions, smile, wave his hands in a friendly way, greet his acquaintances present in the hall?

If your performance is not the Oscars, then this behavior will not suit you. Such frivolous coquetry immediately reduces your authority, it demonstrates your dependence on the audience.

Do not look for public recognition, you are not an actor of a visiting circus, gain the trust and respect of the audience with your image, gait, demeanor. Remain composed and calm until you start talking.

Mistake 3. Playing hide and seek

Public speaking is not the case when modesty decorates. Always take the center stage on the stage, do not devalue yourself by speaking from the sidelines. You should be in the center of attention and in the visibility zone of the listeners, they want not only to hear you, but also to see you.

The 90 degree rule states that the audience should be at a right angle of 90 degrees if you stand in the center of the stage with your arms outstretched on the flanks of the audience.

Try not to sit facing your future listeners before the performance. It is better to appear before the public as a new "exhibit". If you need to sit on a chair during a performance, then take care of the chair and how to sit on it in advance.

Dale Carnegie describes what happens to someone who does not think about it in advance:

“You've seen people looking around for a chair with movements that look like an English hound going to bed. They spin around, and when they finally find a chair, they curl up and fall into it like a sandbag. A person who knows how to sit down turns his back to the chair, gropes for it with his feet and, naturally, straightening his body from head to hips, smoothly lowers himself into the chair, carefully controlling the movement of his body.

Not for self-respecting speaker be the "English hound" looking for a chair or the "sandbag" sitting on it.

Mistake 4. Extra movements

Namely: convulsive sorting out of jewelry, folds in clothes, fastening and unbuttoning buttons on a jacket, wringing hands, etc.

Nervous hand movements can completely deprive the speaker of confidence, creating the impression of a lack of self-control. If you can't stop fidgeting, put your hands behind your back and move your fingers so no one else can see, or wiggle your toes.

There are no neutral movements. Movement that adds nothing to your appearance only worsens the impression of you.

Mistake 5. A well-fed speaker

A heavy meal dulls emotions, reduces vitality and can deprive you of the energy that charismatic speakers radiate. In order to stay full of energy during the entire performance, limit yourself to light snacks.

Eat a few slices of lemon before the performance, the lemon perfectly stimulates salivation, and you do not have to be distracted by drinking water.

Mistake 6. I'm not a magician, I'm just learning

Surely, you have heard such a beginning of a speech: “Actually speaking is not my calling” or “I am not a speaker”. I immediately want to ask: “Why are you here then?” This mistake is often made by beginners.

Never start your speech with an apology. Even if this is your first performance, only you should know about it. Remember that all good speakers have grown out of bad speakers. Why, then, cut the branch on which you are sitting?

Mistake 7. I went into myself, I won’t be soon

A monologue with yourself is not the best option for public speaking. For speaker the feeling of contact with the audience is very important. Listeners should feel that you are sending a message to their minds and hearts.

Talk as if you are waiting for them to start a dialogue with you. For example, imagine that someone in the audience asks you a question and you answer it.

Say it out loud: “You ask how I know this. And here is what I will answer you…”.

Mistake 8. Well, that's all

Worse than a bad start to a performance can only be a bad ending. Listeners remember exactly what was said at the end of the speech longer. Remember, as in a joke: "Stirlitz knew that the last phrase is remembered."

Have you noticed with what inspired faces people leave the cinema hall after watching a heartfelt film? What prevents you from achieving the same effect with your speech?

At the end of a speech, never say that you have finished. Never conclude your speech with the words: “That's about all I wanted to say on this issue. So I guess I'll end here."

It is said that there are three categories of speakers: some can be listened to, others cannot be listened to, and still others cannot be ignored. It is in your power to become the one whom it is impossible not to listen to.

Oksana Gafaiti,
author site and Trades.site
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