There’s something enthralling about watching a fantastic speaker onstage: their poise, grace, command of the stage, and the way they seem completely at ease. While some might have a natural proclivity for being in the spotlight, the best speakers have trained extensively. Whether through coaching, workshops, public speaking groups, or workplace mentorship, every great speaker…
You’ve Got to Start Somewhere
When I used to teach junior salespeople and customer service reps how to have stronger conversational skills, I would tell each one of them the same thing at the beginning of their training: “When you begin, you’re bad. As you practice, you get better. Eventually, you become good, and maybe even great.” I didn’t say this to be discouraging, but rather to set reasonable expectations for the process. Getting better at things – sports, music, cooking, speaking, basket weaving, you name it – is a process. If you accept the process and commit to it, amazing things happen, but it does require effort, determination, and resilience in the face of criticism (especially your own).
Training to be a public speaker often evokes images of rehearsing in front of a mirror or cringing at the sound of one’s voice in recordings. While learn-by-doing is valuable, sometimes a more structured regimen is needed. This structure can be likened to the rigorous training of a professional athlete.
Tricks of the Trade
Athletes use specific methods and practices to hone their skills. Similarly, speakers must focus on various aspects of their voice and delivery. Speaking is a complex interaction involving the brain, lungs, vocal cords, muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, and glands. Just as athletes target different muscle groups, speakers must address the various systems that create their voice. It’s the speaker’s equivalent to doing drills, and anyone who commits to the process is bound to see results.
Here are a few basics to get started on the journey to becoming a competent and confident speaker:
- Vocal Warm-Ups: These are not just for singers. They help strengthen and increase the flexibility of the muscles in your mouth and throat. Practice daily and do them before any planned presentation. Consider tongue twisters or physical exercises; here’s a great example of some physical warm-ups for speakers, and here’s another video that incorporated some breathing into the exercise. Disclaimer: if you’ve never done these kinds of exercises before, you’re likely to feel like a raging lunatic while you’re doing them. Don’t worry, it’s normal. Just do them somewhere no one can see or hear you.
- Diction Exercises: In casual conversation, we often blend words, drop endings, and relax our enunciation. Public speaking requires more precise diction. Diction exercises can retrain your mouth muscles to produce clear, strong sounds, making you easier to understand. Here’s a really simple version of one that will help your consonants sound more refined.
- Train Your Brain – Read and Write: Regular reading and writing improve your command of language. Reading expands your vocabulary and helps you understand rhythm while writing sharpens your improvisation skills.
- Learn to Memorize: Memorizing a speech, whether long or short, offers numerous benefits. Powerful speakers can ad-lib more easily because they have memorized a repertoire of phrases. Memorization also helps develop muscle memory in your mouth, reducing the likelihood of stumbling over words.
Find Your Groove
Starting is the hardest part of any endeavor. The second hardest part, though, is continuing. I’ve seen lots of people show promise early only to let their routine fizzle out and end up right back at the beginning. Athletes have coaches to act as taskmasters and keep them on their regimen, and if you can invest in a speaking coach you’ll surely reap the rewards. Most of us, though, are going to start this process alone, and so we have to find ways to incorporate practice into our daily routine.
For most people, it’s unrealistic to devote an hour or more a day to practicing, so I recommend inserting one tiny addition at a time into your day. Perhaps you could start by doing your vocal warm-ups every day in the shower. Maybe you’d rather read for 10 minutes before you go to sleep and choose one paragraph to read aloud. Small investments compound and even a month of consistency is bound to yield some results.
Don’t Give Up!
The road to mastery is long and never travels in a straight line. My best advice (after everything else I wrote, that is), is to trust the process of practice and stay patient with yourself. Even if you’re starting with no confidence whatsoever in your public speaking ability, I promise there’s hope! Speaking well is a learnable skill. With commitment and consistency, improvement is inevitable. Good luck!
