How to be a public speaker
Tracy Peters
Public speaking did not come naturally to me; I had to learn how to do it. I practised by talking about things I really enjoyed. I'm uncomfortable in crowds, so I had to find a way and place to speak.
I can now speak to an audience, and I prepare myself; what am I talking about? What do I want to say? Will there be questions? Do I want questions? Will there be other interviewees? How will I handle interruptions? When someone interrupts me, if I'm speaking, I go quiet; if they want to be rude, it's on them;
I won't argue with or contradict them by saying they are wrong. I stick to my story politely, but it can be challenging. Coming across as respectful, intelligent, thoughtful, and with a sense of humor will do so much more for my case than being snarky.
Mike Peters
At 40, I embarked on a journey to conquer my fear of public speaking, despite my dyslexia making it challenging to read out a talk. I discovered that having a physical object, like a map, book, picture, or prop, to discuss made it much easier for me.
Sometimes, I have a list of four or five bullet points to remind me to cover everything. My longest talk was 2 1/2 hours, but most have been about 10-20 minutes. When I talk, I like to look into the audience's eyes and faces and draw answers to questions on a whiteboard. So far, I have given about 200 public talks around NZ, and I'm still learning how to do it.
RESOURCES