SIX TIPS FOR PUBLIC SPEAKING
The 6 C’s of Public Speaking
Confidence: Confidence is portrayed by being as knowledgeable as possible on your subject and conveying this knowledge through the power of your voice and eyes. As an aging advocate, you are the authority and representative for your cause, community and/or organization. Research well and speak as if you know you are undoubtably right. As the speaker, you must have confidence in yourself; otherwise the audience will have a little confidence in you or your speaking content.
Clear: A speaker can do many things beforehand to assist themselves in speaking clearly. Write an outline of the topics that are going to be said, and follow it when speaking. Always speak slowly. This will allow the audience to hear everything that is said. Know your terminology well beforehand to avoid fumbling with words. Try to enunciate words properly.
Concise: A good public speaker presents his/her points in a clean and clear-cut fashion. Unnecessary words and information should not be used to fill in the speech. The speech should be brief and to the point -– say what you have to say. Do not ramble on about the topic in order to appear knowledgeable.
Constructive: An effective public speech needs to be constructed properly. Start with a solid foundation that brings together all of your ideas, present your points, and then connect them by reviewing what was said. There should be an introduction, a body, and conclusion. It is a known fact that three is a magic number. Say it once, say it and review it, then say it again. This method will help the audience to remember what was said.
“Con Passion”: It is important to speak from the heart –– with passion –– hence the Spanish term “con passion”. Always maintain eye contact with the audience. In doing so the audience will feel connected to you and your speech. This is what you want. You want to grab and hold onto the audience’s attention.
Critique: It is better to critique then to criticize. Critiquing is constructive and allows for people to grow and improve. Criticizing brings peoples’ motivation and confidence down. A critique should be accepted positively, since it is a tool that is used to strengthen one’s public speaking.
Source: Adapted from the United Nations International
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