Nikunj Agarwal from RMLNLU writes about how to improve your public speaking skills. This would be really helpful unless you are already a very good speaker. Over to Nikunj.

Oratorical skill, public speaking, and the like. Perhaps a perfect match to give a few, horror of their lives. Let’s accept this straight. Many amongst us suffer from, what is technically called, Glossophobia i.e. Fear or Anxiety of Public Speaking. The magnitude of this ‘social<!–more–> phenomenon’ can be outrageous. According to some sources, fear of Public speaking outranks the fear of Death in North America. It only evidences the fact and scale of ubiquity of this phenomenon.</p>
<p>So, if you are one amongst those experiencing this ‘social phenomenon’, you absolutely need to do two things. First, sit in your chair calmly and breathe! Second, read through this article.

Before I begin writing any suggestions on ‘How to improve your Oratorical skills or Public Speaking drastically’ I need you to ask yourself one question – Are you willing to give yourself to a cause? Are you committed to one of the most demanding responsibilities: the responsibility of transforming and excelling your own self?

Before attempting anything new, one should always keep in mind that every big goal has a small step towards its realization; as they say in China ‘ a journey of thousand mile begins with a single step’.

As the title suggests, I am going to focus on how we can use the time while we are in college for the purpose of improving our Oratorical skills. The reasons are many. College time is one of the most productive and reformative periods of our life where we are consciously and unconsciously involved in developing our own selves. The learning curve remains on a gradual rise. Thus, the college period is probably the period when time is most ripe for challenging yourself and pushing yourself to the limits. This period is also unique in two different perspectives: opportunity and convenience.

College time is probably the only time wherein the forum on which you can challenge yourself would be available in plentitude. No month in the calendar would go with a scant of competitions or other forum where you can participate and develop your oratorical skills. Ranging from the traditional and general platforms like debating competitions, literary events to more specific and subject oriented platforms like Seminars, presentations and additionally ,in case of law students, Moots. All these opportunities are platforms where you can test yourself and develop yourself.

The other reason, which I called the reason of ‘convenience’, is the fact that college time is in some way an ‘entrepreneurial time’ of your life. This is the time period where success and new initiatives, if successful, are rewarded in various ways. The best part is that even failures leave you with an experiment, an experience which can again be a guiding light, a lesson for you to improve yourself in very many ways. Remember, third time is a charm!

All these reasons give a golden opportunity that might be available again only when pigs fly. Thus, buckle up to push the limits right now.

Ask any personality developer and he will suggest that ‘Smart work trumps hard Work’. And certainly, you would not want to push the wall tirelessly without moving it an inch!

Logic would tell us that before attempting an answer it is prudent to ascertain the question. Sounds axiomatic? Indeed it is. But what many fail to analyze is the cause of their misery, the reason which gives them sleepless nights and uneasy stomachs and keeps them on pins and needles.

Every person hesitant with public speaking has either of the two issues: first, a lack of understanding of the subject on which speech is to be delivered or second, a psychological barrier such as fear, anxiety, social embarrassment or the like. But, the good news is that whatever it might be of the two, the solution is available and it is absolutely not a rocket science!

Consider a situation, If Mr. Melodious, a prodigious singer, was told to deliver a speech on ‘analytical evaluation of problems in cryogenic engines for space flights’ to an audience comprising of friends, relatives, musicians, scientists what do you think the situation would be ? Mr. Melodious has done many many stage performances and stage fright or Glossophobia would be the last thing perhaps you would expect him to be afraid of. Still, why would Mr. melodious, a man of average intelligence in this information age, will hesitate to face the audience? Is it because of the audience? Probably not, there are acquaintances there. Is it stage fright? No. What would put Mr. Melodious out on a limb is not the fact that he is glossophobic but the more generic cause: ‘Lack of familiarity with the subject’. At this moment Mr. Melodious, howsoever confident he might be in terms of psychology and personal motivation, would face difficulty in delivering this speech either to the public or to a friend at an informal conversation because of his lack of knowledge on the issue at hand. The problem here thus, is not about public speaking but about the subject. Change the topic and Mr. Melodious may astound you with his brilliant oratory.

We need to realize that ‘human computers’ and’ ‘walking internets’ exist only in utopia and even the most brilliant among us can come to face with situations where the lack of familiarity with the topic can be an impediment in a speech irrespective of the platform or forum.

The main focus thus, should be on that situation in which the impediment is not any external factor but is something more personal, specific and psychological. It is something which arrests our ability or propensity to face the audience and muster the courage to deliver the speech.

A simple Google search would reveal the galaxy of resources which would reiterate the same proposition: Fear is the cause of your problem (e.g. http://zenhabits.net/fear-not/). I would prevent this article from becoming a repetition of the same high and loud words suggesting the need for having an ability of public speaking; it’s relevance in the contemporary age and time. I would also not reiterate just how willpower can be a driving force to a annihilate your problems (you may like to check the book THE WILL POWER INSTINCT by Kelly McGonigal on this point) or how you can learn almost anything in just 20 Hours (See : http://first20hours.com/)

I would come to the core straight. But before that, from personal experience, I would suggest a few things, when you go to the stage or the podium etc. from where you have to deliver the speech just take a deep breath and be relaxed. Do NOT take your audience to be your enemies or cause of your sorrow. Be relaxed and engage the audience to what you are speaking. You can be as interactive as possible or can keep your speech as monologue as you want it to be (remember how the speakers at TED keep the whole affair). The point in both these situations is to engage your targeted audience.

‘When in Rome do what Romans do’, keep your speech as comprehensive as possible. Set the standard in reference to your audience. When a technical or an audience aware with the idiosyncrasies and nuances of the subject comes across the jargon, it may be a daily affair. But, to a more generic audience it would always be suggested to put across your point in such a manner that your audience can interpret, comprehend and appreciate the point. Someone indeed said ‘write not to be understood, but in such a way so that you cannot be misunderstood’ but, at the end of the day, a successful conversation is one which is engaging and effectively communicates the point across the audience. Remember it is your ATTITUDE which will keep you off the hook.

Now, coming to the issue at hand, what all can be done to ‘drastically’ improve your ability of public speaking. Well as the maxim goes, variety is the spice of life, the best possible way to improve on your public speaking skills is to diversify and try your hand at different types of activities.

It would be improper in facts to propose that there are different types of speech. It all essentially boils down to one thing- Speaking your mind out. Your dedication and effort is your seed capital.Yet, depending upon the stylistics, occasion, and method, there may be different activities or different platforms which would embellish one particular sphere of the ability of public speaking (this is not to suggest that any event would improve you in singular way. The remedying effects of even one particular type of activity can be multifarious!). Following is an enumeration of those opportunities which are generally available to every student at college and which can be grabbed to work upon your ability to public speaking.

College literary or Debating Committees

Every institution actively involved in debating or literary competitions would have one such committee. Such committees can be very helpful to a person who wants to improve upon their public speaking skills. If you join one such committee it has added advantage. You not only come across people who are actively engaged in public speaking but you might also be able to make friends with a few people and in the process get a mentor to encourage and guide you in improving public speaking skills. Membership of such a committee will give you an omnipresent ambience of speaking and related activities. It would also go a long way in learning and mustering confidence towards oratorical skills. I remember a senior who taught me the nuances of parliamentary debating and introduced me to logical fallacies etc. which could be used to improve the quality of my argumentation.

Membership of NGOs or Volunteering for a Social Cause

Public speaking is not just about academic orientation. It is much more than that. It is a practical skill which enables you to face the counter opinion and logically put forth your arguments. Volunteering for a social cause can provide you with opportunities wherein you have to interact with the general lot of masses and, may be, also to interact with people familiar to or working in the field. This exercise will have a considerable impact upon your ability to communicate effectively with a diverse lot of audience.
Remember, public speaking is not just about speaking your mind out in a controlled environment but also in situations where even expressing yourself would require patience and mental acumen.

Debating Competitions

Ask anyone that what is the first thing you can do to improve your oratorical skills and ‘Debating competitions’ may come forth as a tacit reply. Debating not only puts you in a situation where you have to speak your mind out, rather it puts you in a situation where you have to logically evaluate the arguments and have both argue and counter argue. For the moment I assume that the reader is aware of debating and its nuances so I would not elaborate upon the topic.

One thing I would suggest that by participating in debating competitions both as a participant speaker and as an adjudicator, there is a lot one can learn. Every debating competition is a great platform to interact with debaters, adjudicators. It can be a great learning experience both in terms of debating and also speaking skills. The manner and method of putting forward your arguments, how to make a serious proposition look humorous etc. As they say, ‘experience is the best teacher’, you will learn a great deal by actively participating in such events.

Literary competitions such as ‘just a minute!’; ‘Turncoat’

For a brief introduction, turncoat competitions are the ones wherein you propose an argument in favor of a particular proposition and then subsequently you contradict or demolish your own argument. Such competitions are great in terms of allowing you to think on foot and also embellish your cognitive abilities and your ability to think on foot.

Seminars, Paper PresentationsPublic speaking is not just about an informal conversation to a cheery audience. It is also about your ability to put across your argument to an audience of every description. Seminars and paper presentations are the platforms where you can learn how to improve your oratorical skills with respect to the technical formalism of your subject. So, if you are giving a presentation on a technical issue to an audience comprising of academicians, students etc. your speech and stylistics would be much different from what they would be when you are participating

Public speaking is not just about an informal conversation to a cheery audience. It is also about your ability to put across your argument to an audience of every description. Seminars and paper presentations are the platforms where you can learn how to improve your oratorical skills with respect to the technical formalism of your subject. So, if you are giving a presentation on a technical issue to an audience comprising of academicians, students etc. your speech and stylistics would be much different from what they would be when you are participating at a debating competition or a literary fest.Abovementioned activities are just a drop in the bucket, if we count the multifarious ways in which you can develop your speaking skills. Every change comes gradually and it is for the best. You only need to be focused and persistent with your efforts. Improvement in you public speaking skills can even be done in more subtle ways than you may think of. Even asking an effective and intelligent question to a teacher in a class can be, in some proportions, an act of improving public speaking skills. As the adage goes, ‘where there is a will there is a way’, probably, for the issue at hand, there are very many ways to count. It all starts at one

Abovementioned activities are just a drop in the bucket, if we count the multifarious ways in which you can develop your speaking skills. Every change comes gradually and it is for the best. You only need to be focused and persistent with your efforts. Improvement in you public speaking skills can even be done in more subtle ways than you may think of. Even asking an effective and intelligent question to a teacher in a class can be, in some proportions, an act of improving public speaking skills. As the adage goes, ‘where there is a will there is a way’, probably, for the issue at hand, there are very many ways to count. It all starts at one thing-your determination and unfailing efforts. All the best. Happy Speaking! Also, remember this one thing: speak your mind, not to impress.