Do you get stage-fright when you speak publicly or tongue-tied at the big moments of your life? If the answer is yes, don’t fret: you’re in a big club.
Excellent communication skills are among the most important for achieving success in life. We need to communicate well to be successful in our personal relationships as well as our academic and professional lives.
People are more likely to listen to others that have articulate intentions. When you present your ideas in an engaging, direct, and understandable way, others will respect you and want to hear more from you. You’ll be more likely to get the job, get the boyfriend/girlfriend, make friends, and persuade others. Great communication is essential in life! This being said, how can you become a transformational speaker?
Check out these 5 tips to improve your public speaking skills and become more articulate! Strive towards becoming a transformational speaker today!
1. Listen to/Watch articulate people
One of the greatest ways to become a better speaker is to attend speeches, watch great public speakers on TV, and to listen to great speeches on CD or even YouTube! If you regularly listen to or watch people with good communication skills, their talents will eventually rub off on you. So, call up any friends or distant connections who have been featured on a TED talk ASAP!
2. Read and write more
Resolve to learn at least one new word a day, always have a good book to read (make sure you actually read it!) and consciously practice your writing skills frequently. When this becomes a habit, you will be able to reference great thinkers and have new material for cocktail parties and, just maybe, your own public speaking. Score! Not only will this form of practice make you smarter, but you will become a better communicator. And, guess what?! People who read and write more than average are also funnier than average. Why?! More words in your vocabulary arsenal means wittier jokes and more interesting conversations. Well-read people can crack you up! (That was an idiom- see what I did there?)
3. Bring out your theatrical side
If you want to become a transformational speaker, it’s a great idea to evoke your inner flair by learning the “tricks” of the stage. Whether it’s taking an acting class, going to a play, or getting involved in the production, you can learn ways to present yourself in a winning way. (No, stalking actors and models on Instagram doesn’t count!) Great communication is not just words. It’s also about posture, facial expressions, timing, and phrasing. Learning more about the “tricks” of the stage is actually an easy way to extend your comfort zone just enough to grow and, if you are brave enough to get on that stage, you will learn a thing or 2 (or 3, 4, or 5) about becoming a transformational speaker.
4. Think about it; Work on It
Few transformational speakers are born. They are made. Focus precedes success. Put another way, great transformational speakers started with an idea to become a great transformational speaker. They act on that idea. Those actions become a habit. Those habits shape their character, and it is our characters that takes us to our destiny. The Bible says, “As you think, so shall you be.” So, start with the thought of becoming a transformational speaker! This thought does not necessarily mean that you have to become a public speaker who gives speeches. Great communication skills are a benefit every day/all day.
5. Be Yourself/Be Authentic
Great communication is an expression of one’s inner self. All of us have to find a style of communication and speaking that fits with who we truly are deep-down. So, if you want to become a transformational speaker, “know thyself”, as Socrates said. If you have a funny-bone, run with comedy in your communication and speaking. If you love the theater, run with your inner flair and be expressive. If you love history, run with references to historical events that have application and meaning to today’s world. There is nothing more moving, inspiring, or effective than speaking from your heart. So, as Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, “To thine own self, be true.”