Public Speaking is an art and a difficult one indeed! Only those who are blessed with the confidence of speaking in front of a large audience can speak flawlessly and unhesitatingly in public. If you are amongst the great orators who love to address people, Asia Pacific Institute of Management congratulates you on your skill and hopes that you achieve great heights using this skill. But for those of you who get the jitters when they face an audience and start to stammer on facing an audience, then this article is for you to help you improve your public speaking skills. Asia Pacific believes that to become an effective manager, you must hone your communication and public speaking skills. Here are some great tips –

1. Be yourself be unique– It is imperative to know yourself first. Only then can you put up your best show. Analyse your strengths and demonstrate them well. Study your weaknesses and work on them. Only when you know yourself you can be yourself- and that is the first step in becoming a good public speaker.
2. Clear communication– Communicate clearly. When you speak, your content must be clear and your presentation even clearer. For you to achieve this, a great deal of preparation is required. Nothing can substitute preparation. The greatest of orators have their facts and figures ready and for perfect execution of these facts, even the best of orators at one point of time practised in front of the mirror or family or friends.
3. Know your Audience– Unless you know the people whom you are addressing it is difficult to know how to reach out to them. Know the age group, tastes and mindset of your audience to anticipate how your speech goes out to them and to anticipate their queries and concerns.
4. Time your speech– Know how to attract your audience with the right length of your speech. An extremely long speech often disconnects your audience and makes you lose their attention. Ideally a speech should not be longer than 15-20 minutes long. Short speeches too can give the impression of not knowing much about your topic and inability to put thoughts across.
5. Make a great beginning with a good title– A good title makes an audience look forward to your speech. It also sets the mood for the speech. In fact the audience makes up their mind with the title how much eagerly they would like to hear you. For instance amongst a group of youngsters/ teenagers as the target audience, the lyrics of a popular song should hook them on immediately, or something of their fancy.
6. Open up their minds– Just as a great title is important, the body of your speech must have something worthwhile. Try to make your audience think, analyse and participate in your speech. Establish a good rapport with your audience. Spark their interest in your subject.
7. Maintain an information flow– Make sure your audience does not go astray. Keep them updated with the right information low and statistics.
8. Make 3 drafts to a perfect speech– It is a proven fact that making three drafts to a final copy creates the best speech. Write, rewrite and rewrite to get your final speech complete in all respects.

Once you follow these golden rules, you are set to capture the hearts and minds of your audience with your public speaking skills. Try them.