Stand up! Speak up! Shut up!

In this spot I will try to help with the problems of speaking in public. The words at the head of this blog are words of wisdom given to me by my aunt May, who was a JP county councillor and holder of a much treasured MBE.

To deal with them in turn:

Stand up: Yes stand up so people can see you. You may be wishing that the ground would open and swallow you but an audience deserves to know who is addressing them.

So first of all the dos:

Do stand up straight. Slouching will not hide you and will stop you breathing properly.

Look at the audience: Look them in the eye, they are more likely to pay attention if you do and those contemplating heckling will usually think again if they know you can see them. Take your time looking round the audience and cover the whole room. If you move your eyes and head rapidly you will appear shifty or panicky and searching for an escape route.

Smile: It may be the last thing you feel like doing but if you smile at them they will relax and be on your side. Remember that in many situations the majority of the audience are glad you are there, if for no other reason because it means they don't have to stand up and speak.

Before a few more dos a couple of don'ts:

Don’t read your speech: Nobody has turned up to look at the top of your head while you stare at your notes. You may have beautiful hair, but I am bald and in danger of blinding an audience with the reflected glare from my shiny pate if I look down at my notes for too long. If you pick up your notes two more problems arise. Waving sheets of paper around is distracting so leave them on the table or lectern. Secondly, if you are nervous and your hands shake pieces of paper will emphasise this also it is very difficult to read a moving sheet of paper.

Don’t fiddle: Before standing to speak empty your pockets of loose change, keys or anything else liable to jingle. You are making a speech not giving a demonstration of hand percussion. If you have a pointer or a pen to hand loose it. If you need to point to something you have two useful gadgets on the ends of your arms, they ar called hands. Twirling a pen, pencil or pointer is a distraction you need the audience to concentrate on what you are saying.

Speak up: Well its obvious isn't it? Speak up so they can hear. If you can go to the venue with a friend before hand and get them to stand at the back of the room then try a level of volume to establish what is comfortably audible. Remember you will need to increase the volume when the room is full, people absorb sound even if the message doesn't always get through. Never shout. You will frighten the people at the front and have a sore throat at the end.

Shut up: You may love the sound of your own voice, others won't. Make your point, end with a sentence that drives it home and sit down to receive the applause.

So here endeth the first lesson. If you want more let me know. If you would like me to cover specific points, drop me an email. Its common sense, anyone can do it, just Stand up, Speak up, and Shut up!