Why is the #1 Fear in America Public Speaking?

1. Plan and Prepare

Break the Ice—Plan to begin your presentation by warming up the audience with a relevant story or joke to break the ice.

Preparations—Consider the following questions to help yourself prepare:

• Purpose: What is the main point you are trying to get across to your audience? Are you giving an informative presentation to change an opinion and/or are you calling them to take action?
• Target: How informed is your audience already? Are they professionals on the subject, or is it entirely new to them?
• Environment: Where will you be giving your presentation and are there any constraints you need to consider? Is the venue indoors or outside? Will your audience be sitting or standing? Will the atmosphere be formal or relaxed?

Structure—Choose how to best structure your presentation:

• Timeline: Presenting in sequential order.
• Climax: Building up the presentation to revel the main point with a bang.
• Problem/Solution: Presenting the problem and then your solution.
• Classification: Main points are presented as the important ideas.
• Simple to Complex: Points are presented from simple to complex. May also be done in reverse order.

2. Use Visual Aids

The use of visual aids is almost always a good idea. Using visual stimuli gives your audience more than one way to absorb the information. This allows those who learn better with their eyes, than with their ears, a chance to further understand your point. The following are visual aids you may consider incorporating into your presentation:

• Power Point Presentations
• Short Video Clips
• Graphs/Charts
• Slides
• Handouts
• White Board Writing

3. Gauge Your Audience

Is your audience alert, engaged, and hanging on your every word? Or are they practically falling asleep, bored, and waiting for the end? Reading your audience and gauging their interest is a very important skill of a good presenter.

If they are into your speech, this can be a signal to keep going and close the deal (whatever that may be). If they are painfully staying in their seats, mix it up by calling for a five minute break. Restart the presentation when they return with excitement and energy! Hopefully your audience will follow suite.

4. Encourage Questions

Engage your audience and get them involved by encouraging them to ask questions. Depending on the structure of your presentation, you can let them ask questions throughout your presentation or save Q & A time for the end.

5. Kick Bad Habits

Since you are reading this, you probably haven’t perfected the art of presenting and need to do some major work on your public speaking skills. Most of us have one, or more, bad habits to kick before we get up in front of an audience to present. The following are the most common three and how you can get rid of them and move forward:

• Using Verbal Fillers: “Umm”, “Ahh”, and “Like” are all verbal fillers that many use in their speech, often without even knowing, especially when presenting in front of others. To identify if you struggle with this bad habit, start recording your phone conversations and go back later to listen for verbal filler violations. To kick this bad habit, practice your presentation in front of a friend or family member and have them ring a bell, blow a whistle, or in another way signal you to your misstep. Once you recognize the problem, you will start to automatically censor these fillers from your speech.
• Improper Use of Voice: Talking too fast, mumbling and stumbling over your words, and talking too quietly are common ways to kill an otherwise fantastic presentation. You don’t want to lose your audience just because they don’t understand what you are saying. Practice talking slow, enunciating your words, and speaking with gusto if you suspect that you struggle with improper use of voice.
• Annoying Body Language: Some people pace, others fidget, and there are those that go overboard with the hand gestures. Whatever your annoying body language habit is, you need to kick it now! When you practice, film your presentation and later review to see if this is an area in which you struggle. Once you are aware of the problem, it should begin to happen less.

6. Join a Public Speaking Club

Before you even have to think about your next opportunity to stand on the podium and present, join a public speaking club. The most renown and widespread club of this type is Toastmasters. If you are a student, you may also consider joining the debate team at your school for experience not only speaking in front of others, but also perfecting the art of persuasion.

7. Practice, Practice, Practice!

Practice is the key to success, especially when it comes to presenting in front of an audience. With practice, you will gain confidence, become more natural, and ultimately be able to persuade any audience. With enough practice you will be able to sell ice to an Eskimo (not that you should)!

How should you practice, you ask? Practice in front of the mirror, practice for the camera, practice for friends, family, your spouse, your kids, in your car… the point is to practice as much as you can, wherever you can, and for whoever you can!

Related posts:

1. 99 Ways to Become a Better Negotiator
2. 25 Ways to Become a Networking Superstar
3. 5 Ways to Teach Kids Negotiation Skills

Negotiation Strategy

A pre-determined plan of action to reach a specific objective or goal to in order to come to an agreement in negotiation. Negotiation Strategies:

Distributive Negotiation—Working for only your best interests while disregarding the interests of anyone else involved.

Integrative Negotiation—Exploring the interests of all parties involved so that together you can discover solutions that create value and strengthen relationships.

Mixed-Motive Negotiation—Expanding the pie and attempting to meet as many needs as possible while at the same time claiming a piece for yourself.

Negotiation Style

The attributes of a negotiator’s personality that affect the tactics and strategies used to negotiate. Negotiation Styles:

Competitive Style—Attempting to gain the most at any cost.

Accommodative Style—Yielding to the other side no matter how it hurts your cause.

Avoiding Style—Trying to evade all negotiation situations.

Compromising Style—Making concessions to come to an agreement by meeting in the middle.

Collaborative Style—Exploring the interests of both sides and inventing new ways to expand the pie in order to reap maximum gain for both parties.

Related posts:

1. Negotiation Basics—Positions vs. Interests
2. Negotiation Basics—Key Terms
3. Consulting with Others: Negotiation Preparation Part III

Practice, Practice, Practice!

2. Work Body Language to Your Advantage

3. Just Ask for What You Want

4. Don’t be Afraid to Take Risks

5. Thoroughly Prepare

6. Sharpen Your Conflict Management Skills

7. Leave Your Ego at the Door

8. Network with Powerful People

9. Listen Intently

10. Always Uphold a High Standard of Ethics

11. Close with Confirmation

12. Don’t Stereotype the Competition

13. Be Prepared for Surprises

14. Leverage Your BATNA (Best Alternative to No Agreement)

15. Avoid Argument

16. Show them You are Professional

17. Be Empathetic

18. Set Goals Before the Negotiation Begins

19. Don’t be afraid to Walk Away

20. Create a Win-Win Atmosphere

21. Know Negotiation Strategies

22. Research Your Competition

23. Take the Future Relationship Value into Consideration

24. Dress to Impress

25. Clarify Expectations

26. Separate People from the Issues

27. Discover Your Opponent’s Motivation

28. Define Your Interests

29. Use Visual Aids

30. Be Direct

31. Analyze the Other Side

32. Take a Negotiation Class

33. Speak Clearly

34. Never Make a Concessions without a Trade-Off

35. Always be Respectful

36. Look for Alternatives to Benefit Everyone

37. Know Negotiation Tactics

38. Negotiate with a Letter

39. Act Confidently

40. Match Their Personality Type

41. If you are a Student, Join the Debate Team

42. Be Bold

43. Role Play Negotiation Situations with Others

44. Aim High

45. Have Patience

46. Take Responsibility for Your Mistakes

47. Be Organized

48. Follow-Through

49. Always be Honest

50. Know Your Motivation

51. Teach Others How to Negotiate

52. Use Guerrilla Negotiation Tactics

53. Ask an Expert Negotiator to be Your Mentor

54. Don’t be a Push-Over

55. Never Accept the First Offer

56. Be Persistent

57. Support Your Argument with Facts

58. Understand Cultural Differences

59. Think Positively

60. Identify Throwaway’s

61. Articulate Your Ideas

62. Be Perceptive

63. Know Your Opportunity Costs

64. Set Ground Rules

65. Control the Environment

66. Use Expert Testimony to Support Your Argument

67. Always Flinch at Their Offer

68. Practice Principled Negotiation

69. Know Your Opponent’s BATNA

70. Look at the Big Picture

71. Identify Anomalies

72. Find Allies

73. Break Down Barriers

74. Build Up a Good Reputation

75. Don’t Offer to Split the Difference

76. Be Thick Skinned

77. Speak with Authority

78. Think Strategically

79. Don’t Grandstand

80. Improve Your Problem Solving Skills

81. Be Open-Minded

82. Practice Tact

83. Develop Friendly Rapport

84. Think Clearly Under Stress

85. Be Decisive

86. Don’t Mistake Wants for Needs

87. Re-Frame an Issue to Meet Needs

88. Respect Time-Constraints

89. Realize it is Not a Zero-Sum Game

90. Don’t Fall in Love with the Deal

91. Learn from Your Mistakes

92. Have Self Control

93. Don’t Leave the Table on a Sour Note

94. Engage the Opponent

95. Know when to Bluff

96. Document the Agreement

97. Overcome Your Fear of Negotiation

98. Read Our Negotiation Blog

99. Learn from Others on our Negotiation Forum

What am I missing? Do you have the 100th way to become a better negotiator?

Related posts:

1. 7 Ways to Power-Up Your Presentations and Persuade
2. 25 Ways to Become a Networking Superstar
3. 5 Ways to Teach Kids Negotiation Skills