Have you ever been excited about going to a forum just to be surprised by the quality of the professional public speakers? There are several highly qualified professional public speakers in the world, however a good number of them still have not mastered the basic principles of public presentation. Please, do not allow yourself to fall into these traps! However don’t feel ashamed if you have done some of these crazy things because even the experts slip sometimes.
1. You think yelling is a great motivation
Surely, it just harms our ears. If you want to yell to drive you point home, please move your microphone away from your mouth before you blow out the audience.
2. Pacing the stage
It gets very disturbing watching a professional speaker walking endlessly back and forth across a stage. It gives an impression that you are anxious. Professional public speakers need to stand tall and proud when delivering a powerful message. Only use movement when shifting topics to signal a new train of thought.
3. Standing behind the lectern and reading speech word by word
It simply could not be believed when professional public speakers simply stand behind the lectern and read speeches word by word. This is a waste of time. Perhaps one could find those speeches somewhere online and read through very quickly skipping the parts that seem boring and get done within fifteen minutes instead of wasting time watching them reading those scripts.
4. Looking awful
The first lessons taught about public speaking when is that your appearance matters as much as what you say. You can use all the presentation skills you have, however if you don’t groom well people won’t care much about what you say.
5. You forget you are wearing a clip microphone
It is more annoying when you are wearing a microphone and end up shouting or breathing heavily into it. Also do not hit the microphone when you are gesturing.
6. Inappropriate jokes
It just amazes that nowadays professional public speakers can still stand up in front of their audience and make inappropriate jokes.
7. Examples does meet culture of the audience
If you have been invited to speak in a foreign country, use good examples that make sense to your audience. For example in Kenya you would get a lot of attention when you joke about football and politics
8. Speaking while your mouth is closed
When addressing a large audience, it is so significant to pronounce your words well. You need to open the mouth and project your voice.
9. Illegible power slides
Professional public speakers need to be carefully with their presentation slides. They need to take time when preparing them. They should not be littered and the speaker can pass out copies to friends beforehand to ensure that they are error-free.
