{"id":871,"date":"2019-02-06T11:08:39","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T11:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.twentytwo.digital\/ukbodytalk\/9-easy-steps-to-take-your-public-speaking-from-good-to-great\/"},"modified":"2025-07-14T16:45:47","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T15:45:47","slug":"9-easy-steps-to-take-your-public-speaking-from-good-to-great","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.twentytwo.digital\/ukbodytalk\/resources\/blogs\/9-easy-steps-to-take-your-public-speaking-from-good-to-great\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Easy Steps To Take Your Public Speaking From Good To Great"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>9 Easy Steps To Take Your Public Speaking From Good To Great<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-873\" src=\"https:\/\/dev.twentytwo.digital\/ukbodytalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Lecture_hall-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" \/><br \/>\nIf you care about becoming a better speaker there are many ways to achieve this. You can\u2019t rely just on doing a one-off course, or asking a colleague for help. It\u2019s best to apply a range of methods to give you greatest chance of success.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a few examples to get you started:<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"bo\">1. GET BETTER FEEDBACK<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>First and foremost, ask for specific feedback from people who see you speak.<\/p>\n<p>After every presentation, grab a co-worker and ask for feedback. But be careful about what you\u2019re asking for. If you just say, \u201ccan you give me some feedback?\u201d they will likely focus on what they think went wrong, without touching on anything that went right.<\/p>\n<p>Some better questions you can ask include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What did I do well?<\/li>\n<li>Why did that work?<\/li>\n<li>What parts of my delivery style, content and visual aids worked best?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Then you can ask, \u201cIf I gave that presentation again, what should I do differently?\u201d Instead of them telling you about what went wrong, this encourages them to think of solutions to improve your performance.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"bo\">2. FILM YOURSELF<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019re going to practice at home alone, use a video camera not a mirror.<\/p>\n<p>Some people talk about rehearsing in front of a mirror, but this can make you self conscious. Additionally, it can make you focus too much on yourself and not your audience when the big day arrives. Great public speaking is all about getting out of your head and into the minds of the audience.<\/p>\n<p>Do keep in mind though that gestures and vocals that look right on camera are going to be too small for a live audience. Always keep in mind the size or room you\u2019ll speak in.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"bo\">3. SEIZE NEW OPPORTUNITIES<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Be brave and put your hand up for every single opportunity you can to stand up and speak in front of a group of people.<\/p>\n<p>For myself, I was terrified of standing and speaking at school. I couldn\u2019t bear the idea of it. When I made the decision that I had to improve in this area, I decided to completely throw myself in the deep end and find every possible opportunity to stand and speak. This led to six months teaching English overseas and then to a job where I gave 200 presentations a year.<\/p>\n<p>You never know where a little bravery can take you!<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"bo\">4. REFLECT<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Of all the books I\u2019ve read, one huge connecting idea is self-reflection.<\/p>\n<p>Early in my career, I read books on speaking and presenting everyday. I would then apply what I learned in a client presentation. Afterwards I would look back at what moments worked, which ones didn\u2019t, and why.<\/p>\n<p>It was good for me to understand that the power of improvement was in myself \u2014 not technology, not the audience, me.<\/p>\n<p>Reflection also helped me to see what areas needed work, so I could continue improving and learning over the years.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"bo\">5. WATCH THE PROS<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>You can discover a lot about what you want to implement in your own presentations by seeing what professionals are doing. An easy way to do this is watching TED talks.<\/p>\n<p>Take notes. Which talks are the most popular? Which do you like the most? What patterns do you see from one to the next?<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t copy what others are doing in these talks, but notice what a successful presentation looks and feels like. The more you see that, the more you\u2019ll have an idea of what to aim for in your own work. TED Talks also specifically help because they\u2019re something that people are internationally engaging with, not just in your business or corporate culture.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"bo\">6. FREE YOUR MIND<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A focused and relaxed mind is key for successful public speaking.<\/p>\n<p>Getting into this mindset alone can take some practice. I recommend getting an app for your phone like Headspace or Insight Timer. They\u2019re free, they\u2019ll help calm your mind, and you can use them daily for practice. By doing this you will be in a great position when an important speech comes up, having already created a peak mindset.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"bo\">7. GET PROFESSIONAL COACHING<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>One of the best things you can do for your public speaking improvement is to track it.<\/p>\n<p>And one of the most effective forms of doing so is to work with a coach. You\u2019ll have a qualified, experienced person who\u2019s going to genuinely give you feedback. They won\u2019t just say things to make you feel good or bad \u2014 they\u2019ll give you actionable steps for improving.<\/p>\n<p>You can use coaching sessions as a way to objectively measure how you\u2019re coming along on your public speaking journey. The coach will always have the same barometer for where you are now versus where you were when you started.<\/p>\n<p>When choosing a coach I recommend you think about the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find someone who also struggled with their speaking skills, so that they will relate to your journey and understand how to overcome challenges. If you choose someone who has always been a confident speaker they will not have personal experience of building their skills<\/li>\n<li>Watch them in action \u2014 do you like their general approach to public speaking? If so then they will take you in the right direction. You don\u2019t need to copy them, but having the same perspective on the end goal is a great starting point.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"bo\">8. READ<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There\u2019s a few books I\u2019ve enjoyed over the years that have helped boost my skills and background knowledge. These include Storynomics by Robert McKee, which addresses taking information in a business setting and turning it into an engaging story that people will remember. You may also like The Chimp Paradox by Dr Steve Peters which features an in-depth look at mindset.<\/p>\n<p>Books like these and many years of teaching these skills inspired me to pull together my own 19 years experience into a book, which is out now (and you can\u00a0<span style=\"color: #800080\"><a class=\"bi ct lq lr ls lt\" style=\"color: #800080\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Were-Born-Speak-Richard-Newman\/dp\/191645920X\/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&amp;keywords=richard+newman&amp;qid=1542964563&amp;s=specialty-aps&amp;sr=1-11\">order<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>it here!).<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"bo\">9. GO TO A WORKSHOP<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Finally, one of the best ways for improving your public speaking is workshops.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s nothing like it. You\u2019ll gain new techniques plus the opportunity to try them out with a real audience to practice in front of.<\/p>\n<p>The best part is that you\u2019re all in it together, making feedback and critique honest and actionable.<\/p>\n<p>To learn more about how we can help you please\u00a0<span style=\"color: #800080\"><a style=\"color: #800080\" href=\"https:\/\/dev.twentytwo.digital\/ukbodytalk\/contact-us\/\"><b>contact our team<\/b><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you care about becoming a better speaker there are many ways to achieve this. You can\u2019t rely just on doing a one-off course, or asking a colleague for help. It\u2019s best to apply a range of methods to give you greatest chance of success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":872,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>9 Easy Steps To Take Your Public Speaking From Good To Great - Body Talk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There are many ways in which you can improve your public speaking. 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