{"id":563,"date":"2014-08-24T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-08-24T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hub.findingsimple.com\/au\/four-key-steps-improve-public-speaking\/"},"modified":"2022-08-03T16:04:44","modified_gmt":"2022-08-03T05:04:44","slug":"four-key-steps-improve-public-speaking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insight.thomsonreuters.com.au\/legal\/posts\/four-key-steps-improve-public-speaking","title":{"rendered":"4 Key Steps You Can Take to Improve Your Public Speaking"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p class=\"intro-paragraph\">Lawyers are known for their ability to stand in front of a packed courtroom and deliver a powerful closing address. Once outside the familiar courtroom,&nbsp;however, many break into a sweat at the mere thought of presenting in front of colleagues or a boardroom of clients. Here are some simple strategies to help you tackle your fears, improve public speaking and present with poise&nbsp;and confidence to any audience.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking confidently before a group is one of the most important skills that any lawyer can develop. But what if your knees turn to jelly&nbsp;at the sight of a lectern?<\/p>\n<p>There are several ways you can improve public speaking by preparing in the weeks, hours and moments leading up to your speech. These four key steps will&nbsp;train your body&nbsp;and your mind,&nbsp;and&nbsp;ensure your delivery is engaging and memorable&nbsp;\u2013 for the right reasons.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff9900\"><strong>1. Optimise your&nbsp;voice<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Poor air supply and voice control can result in a weak, high-pitched or strained vocal tone. Like an athlete,&nbsp;however, you can train your body to properly manage your air reserves, even when nerves take hold.<\/p>\n<p>Practice standing with good posture and breathing into the lower part of the lungs, then expelling the air gradually using your abdominal muscles,&nbsp;without tightening the throat. <strong>Tip:&nbsp;<\/strong>this will require you to push your stomach out, so avoid clothing that will constrict your waist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff9900\"><strong>2. Control your&nbsp;movements<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Any outward manifestations of nervousness need to be controlled for us to feel and appear poised. Be conscious of any tendencies to touch your face, shuffle your feet or clasp&nbsp;your hands,&nbsp;and consider how to avoid them.<\/p>\n<p>Feeling well prepared is vital&nbsp;to avoiding these nervous tics, so get comfortable with your material. Concentrate on why you are passionate about the subject matter and consider how the information will be of great value to your audience.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff9900\"><strong>3. Use&nbsp;visual&nbsp;contact to&nbsp;relax<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Give yourself a few seconds to relax and compose before you begin speaking by engaging with your audience through visual contact. Throughout your speech, address individuals in the audience directly by saying a few words to each of them.<\/p>\n<p>Effective eye contact is best maintained if notes are kept within glancing distance. However,&nbsp;be prepared to make climactic or key statements with full visual contact&nbsp;for maximum impact.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff9900\"><strong>4.&nbsp;Harness your conversational quality<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Attempting to \u2018parrot\u2019&nbsp;a precisely-worded script often results in a stiff, formal and disjointed delivery,&nbsp;which will quickly lose your audience\u2019s interest and attention. Focusing on understanding and getting comfortable&nbsp;with&nbsp;the&nbsp;ideas&nbsp;you are going to convey,&nbsp;as opposed to the sentences,&nbsp;will enable you to speak more naturally and extemporaneously.<\/p>\n<p>Applying these simple strategies will improve public speaking as well as improving your poise and delivery as perceived by an audience, plus bolster&nbsp;your internal confidence too.&nbsp;While&nbsp;you may never eliminate the butterflies completely,&nbsp;with practice&nbsp;you can bridle them to become&nbsp;an engaging and dynamic speaker.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Speaking confidently before a group is one of the most important skills that any lawyer can develop. But what if your knees turn to jelly at the sight of a lectern? Here are four simple strategies to help you tackle your fears, improve public speaking and present with poise and confidence to any audience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":564,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[577,580],"tags":[449],"insight_job_role":[1315,598,614,628],"insight_practice_area":[],"class_list":["entry","author-stacey","has-excerpt","post-563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-career-development","category-communication-skills","tag-public-speaking","insight_job_role-barrister","insight_job_role-in-house-lawyer","insight_job_role-partner","insight_job_role-solicitor","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>4 Key Steps to Improve Public Speaking For Lawyers | Legal Insight<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Speaking confidently before a group is one of the most important skills that any lawyer can develop. Here&#039;s 4 key steps you can take to train your body\u00a0and mind,\u00a0and\u00a0ensure your delivery is engaging and memorable.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/insight.thomsonreuters.com.au\/legal\/posts\/four-key-steps-improve-public-speaking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"4 Key Steps to Improve Public Speaking For Lawyers | Legal Insight\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Speaking confidently before a group is one of the most important skills that any lawyer can develop. 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