How to Increase Public Speaking Ability?

enderkin
Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:22:57 +0000

just remember that time slows down when you get up there.
if your opponent fires something at you that you haven’t expected, take a moment to think about it. thinking about the question for a second is better than hemming and hawing in the middle of a response. put a thoughtful look on your face, then respond calmly. makes you seem in control.
don’t get upset or belligerent–be passionate if you really want to drive a point home, but don’t go further than that.
remember, the key is to always seem like you know what you’re doing; that you already know what your opponent will say and are prepared with a rebuttal.

don’t stutter or say ‘uh’ or ‘ah’ or ‘um’. use words and phrases if you really get stumped. use, for instance, these to buy time: “Well…from what I understand” or “See, the way I view this is…” or “I…believe that the problem with (opponent’s statement) is that…”

Tone: if you have a microphone, set your default tone to conversational. it’s better to be calm and collected than outraged and angry. you don’t want to be too loud until you hit a point where it is necessary.
never fear your enemy. look your opponent straight in the eye and sock him in the gut with your words. remember, this is a fight. a civil fight, but you are gunning to win. don’t pull low blows. audiences don’t like that. maintain good posture, and use your damn hands. vary your hand movements as well (obviously don’t be waving them around all the time); remember that TIME IS SLOW TIME IS SLOW TIME IS SLOW on stage. take your time and articulate your responses. Screw your opponent if he can’t wait.