What Are the Public Speaking Skills You Want to Improve?

Last month, I asked readers of my newsletter one simple question about their public speaking skills:

And the Envelope, Please…

The top 3 needs that people who answered this survey identified most often were:

1. Refine My Delivery (to be listened to and heard more clearly) — chosen in 53.4% of answers
2. Speak Effectively in Meetings — chosen in 53.4% of answers
3. Deliver a Stand-Up Presentation — chosen in 44.6% of answers

Great choices!

These communications skills are essential for anyone who wants to advance their career, and can help you in every area of life.

And like all public speaking skills, they’re easy to improve in just a few minutes a day, when you know where to focus and how to practice.

How do you learn that?

With 100 Top Public Speaking Tips!

If you don’t yet own 100 Top Public Speaking Tips: The Book, I’m offering it for 20% off, with my appreciation. To get your copy, just:

1. Go to this page
2. Click on the button that says “I Want This” and
3. Enter the offer code levelup2018 to get 20% off the full price

Want a Head Start on the 3 Most Common Areas for Improvement?

Here are some tips that will get you started:

4 Tips to Help Your Public Speaking In General

• Public Speaking Tip 3: Make Public Speaking Practice a Game
• Public Speaking Tip 37: At Every Stage of Public Speaking, Put Your Focus On The Right Thing
• Public Speaking Tip 52: Be an Entitled Public Speaker, No Matter What Social Class You Come From
• Public Speaking Tip 64: Don’t Listen to the Self-Critical Voice in Your Head

6 Tips to Refine Your Delivery (so you’re listened to and heard more clearly)

53.4% of you — more than half of survey respondents — said that being listened to and heard was a top public speaking priority for this year. These tips will help you hold the floor and communicate clearly, no matter the setting you’re speaking in:

• Public Speaking Tip 19: Master the Instant Speech (It’s Easy!) (learn more about this invaluable format for organizing your thoughts here, or in the “Skills” Appendix of 100 Top Public Speaking Tips: The Book)
• Public Speaking Tip 26: Uhm, Lose Those, Like, Filler Words, Y’Know?
• Public Speaking Tip 41: Repeat, Repeat, Repeat Yourself
• Public Speaking Tip 45: Why You Should Answer the Question First (and Then Decide How Much More to Say)
• Public Speaking Tip 68: To Make Your Words More Memorable, Put Pauses In Your Public Speaking
• Public Speaking Tip 73: Build Your Confidence and Public Speaking Success in 15 Seconds, Twice a Day

4 Tips to Help You Speak Effectively In Meetings

Wouldn’t it be fun if most meetings just went away? Until that happy day, though, 53.4% want to speak more effectively in meetings, and these tips will help.

NOTE: If, like many people, you’re not speaking up because you don’t think you have important things to say, read Tip 61 first! And even if you’re not running the meeting, Tip 75 will help you understand what makes good meetings work (and how you can contribute).

• Public Speaking Tip 23: For Public Speaking Success, Be Audible
• Public Speaking Tip 25: Use a Simple Key Message to Make Your Most Important Point
• Public Speaking Tip 61: How to Speak Up More in Meetings, Even If You Say Inconsequential Things
• Public Speaking Tip 75: Learn How to Run Effective Business Meetings

7 Tips for Delivering a Stand-Up Presentation

I was surprised by how many survey respondents (44.6%) need to make stand-up presentations.

If you intend to give more than the occasional talk, I recommend my comprehensive public speaking workbook, Speak Up for Success…No, Really! The book takes you step-by-step through the entire process of planning writing, and delivering a business presentation, and is filled with the advice and insights I share with private public speaking clients.

I also recommend checking out these tips:

• Public Speaking Tip 2: To Be a Better Public Speaker, Give a Small “Speech” Every Day
• Public Speaking Tip 6: Don’t Worry, You WILL Make Mistakes
• Public Speaking Tip 11: Ask for Information Before You Agree to Speak
• Public Speaking Tip 13: Listen to Your Audience (Part 2)
• Public Speaking Tip 34: Lead Your Audience Through Your Speech
• Public Speaking Tip 42: When People Say Your Speech Was Great, Believe Them!
• Public Speaking Tip 51: If You’re Reading a Speech, Read with Pride; Don’t Hide!

Make This the Year You Achieve Public Speaking Success, with 100 Top Public Speaking Tips!

When I set out to write 100 Top Public Speaking Tips, the task felt incredibly daunting. Where was I going to find 100 good ideas, let alone the time and energy to write about them?

But step by step, the job got done — and that’s just what happens when you set out to improve your public speaking skills.

Pick a skill, pick a tip to advise you, and pick a moment each day to practice. And here are 20 public speaking goals you can tackle in just an hour with me.

This can be the year you reach your public speaking goals, and enjoy doing it!