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Public Speaking
TV Interviews
Have
your sound bites ready. As much as we may dislike them for their
superficiality, if you want your message to be understood, you will
need to have these prepared and ready to go. Have 1–3 of these
ready. Then, when a reporter asks you a question, regardless of what
question is asked, respond with one of your sound bites. This will
prevent you from being quoted out of context, and will ensure that
your message is received by the public since that is all you will
have given the media to work with.
Dress
professionally. If you know you are going to be interviewed, dress
professionally. As much as we don’t like it, people do make
assumptions about who you are based on what you are dressed like.
Professional conservative attire makes the best impression and will
help you appear credible, which is important. DO NOT wear the color
RED as your dominant color because it bleeds on television.
Don’t stand
too still. You need to move a little bit (not too much) in order to
appear natural. But, at the same time, do not gesticulate wildly, as
that is distracting. Rather, feel free to move your head and hands
as you would normally.
Practice. It
is critical to practice your sound bites until you have them down
cold. You may want to practice with another person to get their
feedback, or videotape yourself, or practice in the mirror to see
how you come off.
Smile! It is
critical that you SMILE while you speak during the interview.
Radio Interviews
It is
just as important to SMILE in radio interviews when you speak. This
will make you sound happier and easier to listen to.
Also,
because of the medium, you may bring notes to help you answer
questions requiring detailed answers, facts and figures, etc.
General Information
Always thank
the interviewer for their time.
If you don’t
know an answer to a question, say so. It is much better to admit to
not knowing something, then to guess wrong and appear stupid, or
worse yet, not credible.
Be prepared
in advance. Interviews will always be edited, and you will have no
control over what they use out of what you said. If you have
prepared in advance, and all they have is your sound bites, that is
what they will use, and your message will get across. Try not to
give interviews unless you are prepared to do so, or have a lot of
experience doing them.
Do not worry
about being repetitive. Obviously, if all you have is a couple of
sound bites, you will be repeating yourself. Don’t worry about this.
People learn more when things are repeated. The more it is repeated,
the more they will actually get your message. Saying something once
is not enough to get your message through. Do not worry about being
repetitive. Do not worry about being repetitive.
Guidelines for Informative Speaking
Informative speaking can pose a challenge as audiences may have
difficulty assimilating complex information, which can, in turn lead
to boredom or apathy. To make your speaking more effective, consider
the following guidelines:
Relate your
material to your audience:
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Link your
topic to their lives in as many ways as you can
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Choose your
vocabulary carefully:
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Avoid jargon
and technical language that might be confusing.
Strive to be
interesting:
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Provide
vivid details and descriptions.
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Compare the
known to the unknown:
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Relate what
is already familiar to your audience to the aspects of your
topic that are unfamiliar to them.
Relaxation Exercises
Public
speaking and/or speaking to the media can cause stress in some
people. Here are some simple relaxation exercises that can help you
relax:
Five Minutes to
Go and in Private
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1. Be a rag
doll. Allow your body to flop down from the waist and swing your
arms like a rag doll. If no one can hear you, say, "I don't
care—I don't care—I don't care" as you hang loosely. This will
get rid of the tension in your upper body.
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2. Shoulders
on parade. Pull your shoulders right up to your ears and let go;
repeat this exercise five times to release the tension in your
neck and shoulders. Roll your shoulders backward four times and
roll them forward four times. Roll your head over your right
shoulder, let it hand backward and then bring it round over your
left shoulder and finally rest your chin on your chest. Reverse
the direction and repeat four times. This exercise helps to
relax throat and neck muscles.
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3. Wibbly
wobbly. Shake your hand from your wrist and then your arm from
your shoulder and finally let all your upper body shake,
including your head and lips.
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4. Horse
laugh. Loosen your lips and blow through them like a horse.
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5. Facial
exercises. Stretch your lips into a silent E and purse them into
a silent O and now rapidly say a silent E, O, E, O. Repeat ten
times. This is an excellent exercise to release the muscles
around the mouth which can make you look severe when you are
feeling nervous.
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6. Yawn.
Open your mouth wide and drop your jaw. Take a deep breath and
hold it and slowly exhale. This will relax your neck, throat,
and mouth areas.
One Minute
to Go and in Public
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1. Tense all your
muscles (not your face this time) and release. Repeat twice.
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2. Breathe deeply
and exhale fully. Concentrate on your rhythmic slow, deep
breathing.
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3. Be curious about
your surroundings and your audience. See how many red shirts or
ball caps you can count. If you are in a small group, note the
different patterns in students' clothes.
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4. Think of a
peaceful scene. You are walking through a pine forest---or lying
on a warm beach --or viewing the hill across several green
fields on an autumn afternoon--or feeling a deep inner stillness
and quiet confidence.
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5. Visualize
success. Think positive thoughts about your presentation, and
you will be a success.
From How to Be an
Effective Speaker, by Cristina Stuart (1989) Lincolnwood (Chicago),
IL: NTC Publishing Group. |
