Style without Substance is Relationship without Love

Public Speaking Secrets - Speak and Grow Rich! (series)

#11 Content is King

A casual relationship has nothing to do with love, and it does not last long. Love is what makes the relationship strong and lasts long, in many cases a lifetime. When you go for a date what do you look for in the other person? Do you look for only style and suave or do you look for substance and character?

Humans understand pretty fast if they are getting something worthwhile from another person. We do not want to waste our time by attending a presentation which is not useful for us. If you focus only on your body language, your voice and your movement on stage, you will not succeed. Like the foundation of a building, content is the base on which you build everything else. A weak building with a beautiful exterior and design will not stand for long. A presentation or speech without useful content but garbed well with external show will not be remembered or appreciated by the audience.

The preparation stage is extremely important because this is when you structure and build your content. Analyse your audience, research on what would be a useful takeaway for them, and then build your speech or presentation based on this evaluation and understanding. Always give the audience something that they can use after the presentation.

Are you building great content first?

Click here if you want to know about Public Speaking Workshops

Previous Articles:

#1 Smile when you say something important

#2 Standing Tall

#3 The Magic of Voice

#4 The Lighthouse Technique

#5 The Face Speaks
#6 Breathe slowly. Stay calm.
#7 Where do the hands go?
#8 Gestures Communicate

#9 Posture and Presentation

#10 Walk. Stop. Talk.

Zubin Rashid is an International Consultant in Public Speaking, Intercultural Consulting, and Team Building. He is an Author of 4 books, including his latest on personal growth and development called Dream Learn Act Achieve. He is a Newspaper Columnist, and frequently contributes to different media. He has been featured in various newspapers and magazines as an author, and as a soft skills and public speaking expert.

Public Speaking Secrets - Speak & Grow Rich! #10

#10 Walk. Stop. Talk.

The small plant sways graciously as the breeze passes over it. The dancer on stage uses planned movements synchronized with the music and we love to watch her perform. The speaker walks to another part of the stage confidently and briskly and the audience is watching him and focusing on his speech.

There is something about movement. Anything that moves attracts us. But the kind of movement defines whether the attraction creates a positive or a negative image in our mind. Since I am writing about public speaking and presenting, let me tell you about a simple rule that you can follow on movement. Remember these three words: Walk, Stop, Talk.

Walk when you are introducing a sub topic or point.

Stop after you have introduced the sub topic or point.

Talk about the sub topic or point in detail after that.

Repeat the process for every sub topic or point.

The fine tuning on movement can only be done with practice. You will have to build within your own mind the frequency of movements based on the presentation time and the points that you want to cover. For a longer duration speech you use less frequent movements.

Are you following the rule of Walk, Stop, Talk?

Previous Articles:

#1 Smile when you say something important

#2 Standing Tall

#3 The Magic of Voice

#4 The Lighthouse Technique

#5 The Face Speaks
#6 Breathe slowly. Stay calm.
#7 Where do the hands go?
#8 Gestures Communicate

#9 Posture and Presentation

Public Speaking Secrets - Speak & Grow Rich! #9

#9 Posture and Presentation

The man who stoops is the man with no energy. The woman who puts her hands on her hips is too aggressive for the audience. The person who stands straight and walks with the head held high is the one who is seen as confident.

What you just read are examples of postures in presentations. If you are speaking in front of an audience, your posture speaks louder than your words. A posture that communicates confidence, enthusiasm and energy, will keep the audience focused on you. No one likes to watch a tired and low energy person giving a presentation or talk.

Observe yourself in the mirror and try different postures. You will understand to a large extent which postures communicate what meaning. Take this seriously as this would create an important part of your image as a speaker.

Are you displaying the right postures during your presentations?

Previous Articles:

#1 Smile when you say something important

#2 Standing Tall

#3 The Magic of Voice

#4 The Lighthouse Technique

#5 The Face Speaks
#6 Breathe slowly. Stay calm.
#7 Where do the hands go?
#8 Gestures Communicate

Public Speaking Secrets - Speak & Grow Rich! #8

#8 Gestures Communicate

Close your eyes and imagine someone speaking without any movement of the hand or the body and with an expressionless face. Do you think such a person can hold the audience’s attention for long? I am a strong believer in gestures. This is something that helps a person to communicate with more conviction and helps the audience to understand the meaning of the words better.

Gestures compliment the words that are spoken. Be it with the hands or any gesture from any part of the body. We use all kinds of gestures to make the words more visual for the audience. A lively presenter with these gestures is loved by people who listen to them.

Stand in front of the mirror and speak a couple of sentences. Speak without gestures first and then with them. You will notice the difference. Remember to use the correct gestures. You cannot point upwards and say “down”!

Are you using gestures while speaking in front of an audience?

Previous Articles:

#1 Smile when you say something important

#2 Standing Tall

#3 The Magic of Voice

#4 The Lighthouse Technique

#5 The Face Speaks
#6 Breathe slowly. Stay calm.
#7 Where do the hands go?

Public Speaking Secrets – Speak & Grow Rich! #7

#7 Where do the hands go?

I remember when I first got up on stage to speak when I was in school, I was not trained and did not know what to do with my hands. So, I stood like a statue with my hands at my sides and spoke without much expression. That was how I started.

So, where do the hands go? One important thing to remember is to use the hands for gestures. You can communicate through your hands. In fact, hand gestures that compliment the words spoken makes a powerful communication. Whatever you say is made easier for the audience to understand with the help of gestures.

The second point to remember is what you would do with your hands when you pause or when you are listening to someone in the audience ask you a question. The palms come together, and you keep one palm on another and the palms are kept close to the tummy area but not touching it, and at a height near the navel region.

Practising the use of gestures and keeping the hands at the right position would help you become a much better presenter and speaker. Body language constitutes 55% of communication according to research.

Are you using your hands for gestures?

Click here if you want to know about Public Speaking Workshops

Previous Articles:

#1 Smile when you say something important

#2 Standing Tall

#3 The Magic of Voice

#4 The Lighthouse Technique

#5 The Face Speaks
#6 Breathe slowly. Stay calm.

Public Speaking Secrets – Speak & Grow Rich! #6

#6 Breathe slowly. Stay calm.

Controlling nervousness has a physical aspect. When you get nervous you start breathing faster and chances are you will have a dry throat and mouth. Many people ask me what can be done in such a situation. While there are points about the mind that need to be considered, however, let us focus on the body and understand what can be done.

I found that learning to breathe very slowly is an instant solution. When you take long and deep breaths, you slow down your heart beat and feel relaxed. The nervousness reduces and allows you to speak calmly. This needs to be learnt and practiced to improve its effects.

I also advise speakers to drink a moderate amount of water to prevent the mouth to become dry very fast and to keep hydrated and fit. When you speak, you need to be on top form!

Do you take three deep breaths and drink some water before every speech or presentation?

Click here if you want to know about Public Speaking Workshops

Previous Articles:

#1 Smile when you say something important

#2 Standing Tall

#3 The Magic of Voice

#4 The Lighthouse Technique

#5 The Face Speaks

Public Speaking Secrets – Speak & Grow Rich! #5

#5 The Face Speaks

Expressions are the windows to the meaning of your communication. Your face is of utmost importance in public speaking. Words are of not much use here if not accompanied with facial expressions.

Imagine someone speaking to you with a blank face. This person has no expressions. How would you feel? Will you understand everything this person says? Wouldn’t it be better if you see happiness on the face when you hear something happy, or see an expression of sorrow when something sad is being spoken about?

Your facial expressions help the audience as most people are visual in nature. We pick up meanings easily through the facial expressions. In fact, if you face speaks a different language than your words, people would be confused, and in fact, would be more likely to believe your face than your words. For example, you show a sad face and say you are happy. What would the audience believe?

Are you expressing through your face while presenting in front of an audience?

Click here if you want to know about Public Speaking Workshops

Previous Articles:

#1 Smile when you say something important

#2 Standing Tall

#3 The Magic of Voice
#4 The Lighthouse Technique