April 2010. A workshop with Francesca Gordon-Smith. An opportunity for a group of women to overcome their fear of public speaking whilst boosting their confidence.

It's often hard to strike a balance in public speaking. We often want to create suspense, but we don't want it to be too melodramatic. By slowly building up a story piece by piece and creating a vocal climax with effective use of pause this can be achieved to great affect. But, please remember to feel the words rather than exaggerating them too much.

The following story provides a simple example of this:

'I just gazed at my feet as he shouted, and prayed silently that he wouldn’t single me out… (pause) When he called my name, I cringed… (pause) As I followed him down the corridor, I could hear that his breathing was laboured and I felt pity for him. I know now that he was insecure and weak… but I was still scared… I can still visualise him wringing his hands as we walked in silence and my heart was pounding… He was clearly unwell and distraught with anger… anger at his lost power…. Anger at his inability to control a small child.Then he turned and looked at me. (pause) It was a look devoid of emotion… and he said in a very hushed voice (pause) "try not to talk so much next time"… then he smiled.'

With effective use of detail and pause and by connecting with our emotions, we can keep our audience engaged throughout. It is important to have good vocal variety in a speech like this in order to maintain an audience's attention.

We use Neuro Linguistic Programming or NLP to assist people to overcome phobias of public speaking and to help them to boost their confidence is social situations in general.

People often ask us what NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) is all about... The definitions are as diverse and numerous as the purposes for which it is used, but simply put, it can be explained as the interaction between language and the brain and the resulting changes that this brings about... Still a little confused? Well, here's a story you might be able to relate to:

A friend of mine had been having a bit of a hard time, so we decided to take her out for a coffee and a chat with the girls. We laughed, we cried and we shared our stories and by the end of the afternoon my friend felt significantly better. We had changed her state (or her mood) through our communication.

This is great, but unfortunately, the affects aren't always long lasting. NLP works in a similar way, but because the communication that takes place is between the therapist and the sub-conscious mind, we have the ability to change someone's state almost indefinitely. That's not to say that they won't ever experience fear or lack of confidence again, but the sensations experienced will be significantly less debilitating and much more controllable.

For further information about our Confidence Coach, please visit:
http://www.smithsenglish.com/phobia-and-confidence-coaching

The Following tips will help you to engage your audience throughout. I reccomend referring to this when preparing a speech.

I give this checklist to my clients towards the end of their public speaking training, by which point they will have tried and tested all of these strategies.

• Eye contact - to create rapport and engage your audience
• A strong, concise opening: getting straight to the point- avoid excuses, waffle or bad jokes. Your voice should be strong and attention grabbing
• A clear, thought evoking message
• Quotes
• Rhetorical Questions
• Incite interaction with the audience: 'raise your hand if...'
• Pick on/ mention facts in relation to members of the audience: this makes people feel important and is similar to those inside jokes that we all love
• Plenty of image evoking words
• Engage as many of the senses as is appropriate: what did you feel, see, hear, taste and smell
• A clear theme running through from beginning to conclusion
• Plenty of pauses to create suspense: The story could unravel slowly and end with a twist
• Movement and gestures to strengthen the message: Movement can facilitate pauses- take a moment to move a few steps and pause in between points- this also gives your audience time to digest what you’re saying
• A strong conclusion- both vocally and in terms of language: the conclusion should leave a lasting impression- this is the message that will stay with your audience
• Start with the end in mind: don't forget your purpose. A good speech should incite change in some way- it could be inspirational, motivational or persuasive

I will discuss each of these points in further detail in later blogs on public speaking.

Francesca Gordon-Smith is a public speaking trainer and confidence coach. She use NLP and hypnotherapy alongside traditional coaching and practical training in public speaking. She is also a professional speaker.