35 Simple Tools to Help You Become a Better Speaker pot

35 Public Speaking Tips to Make You a Better Speaker
by AKASH KARIA,
Bestselling Author of “How to Deliver a Great TED Talk”

© 2013 by Akash Karia
All rights reserved.
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35 Simple Tools to Help You Become a Better Speaker
This book is not supposed to be a comprehensive public speaking resource. It is simply a short guide
that outlines some of the most fundamental concepts of public speaking. Do not expect any “new” or
“breakthrough” techniques. Let me be clear - there is nothing new in this book.
While some people may consider this to be a flaw, I think that it is this book’s greatest strength. After
conducting hundreds of seminars and workshops and spending several thousand hours coaching CEOs,
students and even yoga teachers, I have found that most people don’t need any new techniques.
Most of the mistakes that most public speakers make are not because they lack “advanced speaking
tools”, but because they have not fully mastered the fundamentals. From my work as a public speaking
coach, I have discovered thirty-five things basic techniques that most speakers can benefit from.
I am confident that if you master the thirty-five techniques contained within this book, you will be
better than 80% of most speakers.
If you’re ready to learn how to become a powerfully persuasive speaker, then let’s get
started
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What is Public Speaking?
I use the term “public speaking” broadly to refer to any situation where you have to speak to a group
of 2 or more people.
Many of the techniques you will pick up in this public speaking guide can be used in meetings,
interviews and even social situations.

WARNING: This is not a “magical guide” which will transform you into a better speaker overnight.

However, the application of these techniques will make you two times the speaker that you are today.

Tip 1: Pause - Don’t Start Until You’re Ready
Don’t be afraid to pause. Pausing allows you to calm down your nerves.
Before you start your presentation or speech, take in a couple of deep belly-breaths to calm yourself
down.
Pausing allows everyone to get on the same vibration/ energy-level. If you’re facing a noisy audience,
wait until the room is silent and focusing on you. Don’t start speaking until you’re ready and everyone’s
focused on you.

Tip 2: Get into the Right Mindset
When you get nervous, shift your mindset.
The speech is not about you. It’s about your audience. Don’t focus on yourself, focus on your
audience. Realize that you have the opportunity to change someone’s life every time you speak. You have
a message that someone in your audience needs to hear!
Once you tap into that positive, value-giving mindset, you’ll find it easier to speak without being self-
conscious.
Tip 3: Change the Story You’re Telling Yourself
It’s okay to be nervous. Everyone experiences butterflies before an important event.

However, scientifically, there is no difference between nervousness and excitement. It’s what you
choose to label it.
Are you telling yourself, “I’m excited” or are you telling yourself, “I’m nervous”?
Either way, you’re right…because it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Tip 4: Use the Confidence Posture
If you’re nervous, stand in the confidence posture.
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What’s the confidence posture?
Simply, stand with your back straight, your shoulders held back, your chest out and your head up.

Your physiology (how you stand and sit) affects how you feel, so if you want to feel confident make
sure you stand in a posture that conveys confidence.
Tip 5: Start Your Presentation with a Bang!
Don’t start your presentation with a boring and predictable “Thank you”. Instead, start your
presentation with one of these proven techniques:
Start with a Personal Story. Begin your presentation with a story. Stories are captivating and
interesting.

Start with Question to create a Knowledge Gap. Ask your audience a question. For example, if
you were giving a presentation of goal setting, you might start off by asking, “What is the number one
reason that most people never achieve their dreams?” The rest of your presentation would then focus on
answering this question.

Start with a Quote. Begin with a quotation that proves the main point of your speech. Using a
quotation not only grabs audience attention, it also adds third-party credibility to your speech.

Start with a Shocking Statistic. Use a shocking statistic to immediately hook your audience into
your speech. For example, in his TED talk, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver used the following shocking
statistic to grab his audience’s attention:

“Sadly, in the next eighteen minutes when I do our chat, four Americans that are alive will be
dead from the food that they eat” - Jamie Oliver
Tip 6: Don’t Ever Admit You’re Nervous
Don’t apologize or admit you’re nervous at the start of a session.
Don’t say, “I’m sorry, I haven’t prepared…”
Don’t say, “I’m sorry, I’m so nervous…I’ve had a terrible day”
Once you admit you’re nervous, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy…your mind and your body will act in
congruence with what you say. Moreover, if you admit you’re nervous, your audience will start looking
for signs of your nervousness - not what you want!
Tip 7: Soften Your Commands with “Let’s”

Use the word “Let’s” to soften your commands.
For example, instead of saying “Keep quiet”, say “Let’s keep quiet” or “Let’s focus on this please.”
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Tip 8: Don’t Dilute the Power of Your Words with
“Try to ”
Don’t say: “Try to imagine yourself…” Instead say “Imagine yourself…”
Don’t say: “Try to feel…” Instead say, “Feel…
Tip 9: “The Sweetest Sound in Any Language”
The sweetest sound in any language is the person’s name.
Try and meet some of your audience members before your speech or presentation.
Use the audience’s names during the presentation. For example, you can say, “I was talking to John
before the presentation, and he told me that…” Incorporate what John (or another audience member)
told you into your presentation. This will make your audience feel that you’ve customized this speech
specifically for them.
Tip 10: Use Imagery and Visual Language
Use visual words to paint pictures in your audience’s mind.
For example, don’t say: “You will learn three strategies”.
Instead, say “You will pick up three tools” or “You will pick up three keys”
Visual words and imagery make your message memorable because your audience doesn’t just hear
your message, they also see it in their mind’s eye.
Tip 11: Laughter is the Best Medicine
Incorporate humor into your sessions
When presenting to a group which comprises of people who know me and some who don’t, I use the
following humorous statement to get my audience laughing:
“For those of you who do know me, my name is Akash. And for those of you who do not
know me, my name is still Akash” (laughter)
Use self-deprecating humor to make your audiences laugh. During one of my workshops, the person
introducing me said “Not only is Akash a very successful public speaking coach, he is also a very
handsome young man.” Using this set-up, I used the following piece of self-deprecating humor to get my
audience laughing;

“I know you were expecting a handsome man…I’m so sorry to disappoint you!” (laughter)
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Exaggerated facial expressions also make people laugh, so make sure that your facial expressions
match your humor.
Tip 12: Stand with Your Feet Shoulder-Width Apart
When you’re standing, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart because it conveys confidence
Don’t stand with your feet too close together because it conveys lack of security
Having your feet too far apart conveys aggressiveness.
Tip 13: Don’t Walk Back and Forth Without a
Purpose
Also, don’t sway back and forth gives your audience the impression that you’re unsure of yourself
and as a result they won’t buy into your message.
When you take a step forward towards your audience, it creates intimacy so step forward when you
have an important point to make.
Taking a step backwards creates a negative feeling in your audience members…almost like you’re
lying or trying to hide something.
Avoid rocking back and forth on your feet…it’s distracting.
Check out this video for more information on walking backwards and forwards and the psychological
impact it has on your audience.
Tip 14: Don’t Pace Back and Forth Like a Caged
Tiger
Don’t pace back and forth like a caged tiger.
It’s distracting because it’s movement without a purpose.
Feel free to move on stage, but only as long as your movement serves a purpose.
For example, you can use the stage as a timeline so that the left side of the stage indicates the past,
the center = the present, the right side = the future
Tip 15: Use the Scan and Stop Technique for Making
Eye Contact
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Make eye contact with all sides of the room
Be sure not to isolate any side of the room by not making eye contact with that section.
Use the “Scan and Stop” technique for eye contact. Scan the room when you speak, making eye
contact with students for about a second or so.
When you come to a very important or poignant point, stop and make eye contact with one person
and deliver your line to that person.
Tip 16: If You Forget What You Were Saying
If you forget what you were saying, simply ask your students: “Where was I?” or “What was I
saying?”
Your students (audience members) do NOT want to see you fail…
If you forget where you were, don’t worry…it’s no big deal…
You can recover simply by asking your students where you were.
Tip 17: Keep it Conversational
“Public speaking” is simply having a conversation with one person…with 99 other people listening in.
Focus on having a conversation with the audience…one person at a time…
Once you realize that public speaking is simply an enlarged conversation with many people, you’ll
become much more relaxed during your next “public speaking” event.
Tip 18: Shorter Sentences = Greater Clarity
Keep your sentences short, simple and conversational
Avoid using multiple conjunctions in one sentence (i.e. “and….and…and”)
Shorter sentences aid comprehension
Also, remember to pause between your sentences – this sounds like such an obvious thing to say, but
as speakers we sometimes forget this simple rule and speak too quickly because we’re nervous. Pause
and allow your audience members to digest the information you’ve just given them.
Tip 19: Pause After You Ask a Question
During my workshops, I find that too many speakers forget to pause after they ask a question.
After you ask a question, pause to give audience members time to respond…or, if you’re not
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expecting a response, pause and give them time to think!
“What do you think is the number one mistake most speakers make when giving

presentations?” (Pause, make eye contact and wait for a response)
“What questions do you have?” (Pause and wait for your audience think about what
questions they have)
Tip 20: Use Your Hands to Show What You’re
Saying
Don’t keep your hands glued to your sides or behind your back.
Use your hands naturally to show what you’re saying. You can start off speaking with your hands
mid-way up (not down by your sides) and your hands will automatically move naturally once as gain
confidence during your presentation.
Tip 21: Avoid the “Err” Error
Work on decreasing your um’s and errs…
Slow down your speaking rate and don’t be afraid to pause
Instead of erring, PAUSE!
This technique will take a lot of practice because you’ll have to overcome the power of habit… but if
you keep reminding yourself to pause, you will eventually be “um”-free!
Tip 22: Share Your Personal Story
Stories are POWERFUL!
The essence of public speaking is to “tell a story and make a point”.
“People can resist a sales message…but no one can resist a well told story”
– Patricia Fripp
Back up your main points with your personal stories.
Tip 23: Use the Five C’s of Storytelling to Create an
Irresistible Story
Your Story Must Have Characters
Who are the main characters in your story? Give a hint about what your main characters look like so
audience members can visualize the characters.
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Your Story Must Have a Conflict
Throw your main characters into a conflict. The conflict is the hook of the story. Without the conflict, you
don’t have a story!

Your Story Must Have a Cure
The conflict needs to be solved in some way. What’s the cure that solves the conflict?
The cure should help audience members overcome the conflicts they may be facing in their own lives.
Characters Must Change as a Result of the Conflict
What personality/ attitude shifts do your characters undergo as a result of having overcome the
conflict? How do they see the world differently as a result of having been through the conflict?
Your Story Must Have a Carry Out Message
The essence of public speaking is to “tell a story and make a point?” What’s the point of your story?
What’s the one thing you want your audience members to remember from your
story/speech/presentation? This is your Carry-out message that audience members will go home with.
So, here’s the storytelling model. If you want to tell stories in your presentations and speeches, make
sure your stories include the following five elements:
· Characters
· Conflict
· Cure
· Change
· Carry-out Message
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Part 2: How to Handle Difficult Situations and
Audience Members:
Tools to Help You Take Control of Your Audience when Your Audience is Getting Out
of Control
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Tip 24: Be Prepared for These Difficult Situations
Audience members leaving during your speech/presentation/workshop
Audience members chatting while you’re speaking
Mobile phones ringing during your speech
Tip 25: Set Guidelines at the Beginning
At the beginning of presentation/speech/workshop, set the expectations (if appropriate).

For example, you could say:
“If you need to leave presentation, please do so quietly…To avoid any disturbance during workshop,
please let’s turn of our mobile phones”
Tip 26: “If Looks Could Kill ”
If an audience member is laughing/talking during your speech or presentation (when they’re not
supposed to), make eye contact with him or her. This will indirectly send the message that you want them
to keep quiet. Most likely, that person will stop talking.
Tip 27: The Power of Proximity
If an audience member is talking during your presentation, subtly move closer to him/her
The proximity will alert the “offender” that you want them to stop talking.
Tip 28: Talk to the Disruptive Audience Member
Privately
If a particular audience member keeps chatting during the presentation, talk the person privately
during the break.
Don’t humiliate the person publicly because it’s likely that he/she will feel very insulted.
Tip 29: Address the Behavior Early Before it Gets out
of Control
Don’t wait until a behavior gets out of control
Address it early on and it’ll be much easier to change it
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Tip 30: Why before What
When asking people to change their behavior, always give the why before the what
Give a reason as to why you want the student to change their behavior
Tip 31: Don’t Get into a Heated Debate During Your
Presentation
If an audience member challenges during your during presentation, don’t go into a heated discussion.
Simply tell the audience member why you believe what you believe…
Tell them that they are welcome to continue this discussion after class
Finish off with, “From my experience, I’ve found it to be true that…”
Handle the discussion calmly and the rest of your audience members will respect you. Most likely,

they will accept your point of view as being the correct one because they see you as the “expert” because
you’re the one who’s speaking.
Tip 32: Speak Softer
If your presentation is getting out of hand (e.g. the audience is beginning to chat) then…
Speak softer to grab your audience’s attention
Lowering your volume causes your listeners to lean in to hear what you’re saying – they have to work
harder to listen to what you have to say. If this doesn’t work
Tip 33: Speak Louder
If your audience members are getting chatty and the presentation is getting out of hand then…speak
louder to grab your audience’s attention.
Tip 34: Silence is Powerful
One of the mistakes I’ve seen speakers make is that they continue talking even when the audience is
chatting and not listening to them.
If your audience members begin chatting, be silent and make eye contact with a couple of the people
who are paying attention to you.
Wait until everyone is listening to you before you go on speaking.
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Tip 35: Stage Time
The best way to master the art of public speaking is to get as much experience - stage time - as you.
Sign up to give speeches at your local Toastmasters club. Volunteer to be a speaker at Rotary clubs.
Contact high schools and offer to give short keynote speeches to their students on a subject that you are
an expert on. The more stage time you accumulate, the better you will become. So go out there, apply
these tools and get as much stage time as you can!
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Wrap Up
This short guide is supposed to be just that - a guide. It’s not supposed to a comprehensive book on
public speaking, but rather a reminder of the most basic (and important) concepts to keep in mind when
speaking to an audience.
Let’s recap some of these very important concepts:

1. Pause - don’t start until you’re ready
2. Get into the right Mindset
3. Change the story you’re telling yourself
4. Use the confidence posture
5. Start your presentation with a bang!
6. Don’t ever admit you’re nervous
7. Soften your commands with “let’s”
8. Don’t dilute the power of your words with “try to ”
9. Use your audience’s names in your presentation
10. Use imagery and visual language
11. Incorporate humor into your presentations and speeches
12. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
13. Don’t walk back and forth without a purpose
14. Don’t pace back and forth like a caged tiger
15. Use the scan and stop technique to make eye contact
16. If you forget what you were saying, simply ask your audience to remind you
17. Keep your language conversational
18. Shorter sentences equal greater clarity
19. Pause after you ask a question
20. Use your hands to show what you were saying
21. Avoid the “err” error by pausing when you don’t know what to say next
22. Tell a story, make a point
23. Use the five C’s of storytelling to create an irresistible story
24. Be prepared for difficult situations
25. Set guidelines at the beginning
26. Use the power of proximity
27. Make eye contact with the disruptive individual
28. Talk to the disruptive individual privately
29. Address the behavior early before it gets out of control
30. Use the “why before what” principle when asking people to change their behavior

31. Don’t get into a heated debate during your speech/presentation
32. Speak softer. And if that doesn’t work
33. Speak louder. And if that doesn’t work
34. Be silent until your audience is paying attention to you again
35. Get as much stage time as you can
Whew! That’s a lot of public speaking tools in a very short book. While these tools are useful, they’re
useless unless you apply them. I know that nothing in this book is “breakthrough” or “brand new”. The
problem is, most people look for “new techniques” and ignore the basic, fundamental techniques that
really matter.
I have written several books which cover, in detail, advanced public speaking tools and strategies.
However, what I find when I conduct workshops and one-on-one coaching sessions is that most people
suck at public speaking not because they lack advanced speaking techniques, but because they haven’t
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mastered the basics of public speaking (such as pausing, speaking conversationally, making eye contact
etc.)
I am confident that if you master the thirty-five tools covered in this short eBook, you’ll be better than
80% of speakers out there.
Thank you for reading.
Let’s rid the world of boring speakers,
Akash Karia
www.CommunicationSkillsTips.com
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If you would like more advanced tools and techniques, check out my other books:
How to Deliver a Great TED Talk: Presentation Secrets of the World’s Best Speakers:
/>
“Akash has captured the best ideas, tools, and processes used by some of the best
speakers and presenters in the world. He has distilled them in to a step-by-step, easy-to-read guide
that will help you discover, develop, and deliver presentations which help you stand out from the crowd.”
- Michael Davis, Speaking CPR, Certified World Class Speaking Coach

If you enjoyed this short eBook, you will love the book. In this book, I’ve covered only the basics.
If you would like more advanced tools and techniques on how to develop, design and deliver a
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Craft a repeatable power phrase
Utlize the ABC-C speech structure for powerful presentations
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Create an attention-grabbing opening
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Build the body of your presentation/speech
Craft a compelling closing
Use statistics to grab attention
Create a wow-moment

Bring your characters to life
Use analogies, metaphors and similes
Turn your stories into mental movies
Build your credibility with the speech introduction
Add internal credibility to your presentation
Build an emotional connection with your audience
Use compelling visuals
Use the body language secrets of confident speakers
Use PowerPoint the right way
Arouse your audience's curiosity
Use Sir Ken Robinson and Dan Pink's techniques for adding humor
Use rhetorical questions to hook your audience into your presentation
Use the five C's of storytelling to create spell-binding stories
Deliver a dynamic TED talk (or any other presentation or speech)
Whether you are scheduled to deliver a TED talk, a business presentation or a motivational or
inspiring speech, this book will teach you the techniques used by some of the world's most powerful
public speakers.
Buy the Kindle/paperback version of the book here: />Here’s what people are saying about the book:
“Maybe one of the clearest books on presentations I've ever read. Incredibly simple and easy
to read but covering up a broad range of subjects. Full of practical tips, actual examples as well as
personal experiences.”
- Javier, Verified Amazon Reviewer
“Hands on book to craft a mind-blowing memorable speech”
- Tania de Winnie
Yes, there is also one two star review (and twenty-one four and five star reviews at the time of this
writing). Check the book out here and decide for yourself if it’s the something you will get value from:
/>Thanks for reading.
Akash Karia
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Other Books by the Author
How to Deliver a Great TED Talk: Presentation Secrets of the World’s Best Speakers
Click here: />Storytelling Techniques for Electrifying Presentations
Click here: />ebook/dp/B00C9FLD28
Speak Like a Winner: Be Twice the Speaker in Half the Time
Click here: />Thanks!
Akash

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