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Confident Public Speaking

It is important to appear confident and enthusiastic during oral presentations and public
speaking events. This can help you and your audience to have a more enjoyable time.
What/How does a confident and enthusiastic speaker …
Do:
• Gives the audience 10 feet or more when giving a speech
• Builds credibility by:
o Demonstrating expertise
o Showing how trustworthy they are
o Showing goodwill towards the audience
• Monitors the audience’s nonverbal gestures and adjusts accordingly
o Nonverbal channels of the audience:
 Body angles leaning forward is positive, leaning back is negative
 Face maintain sufficient eye contact to show honesty and interest;
always smile
 Arm gives support to hand movements
 Hands open hands gives the impression of open and honest; selftouching
(i.e. hand on the face) shows a cautious warning; closed hands
portray a message of negative feedback
Remember each gesture is like a single word and a word has several meanings.
Say:
 When speaking to persuade remember:
o Logos logic and reasoning
o Pathos emotional ideas, appeals to human being
o Ethos the speaker’s reputation and personality
 Establish a rapport with the audience in the beginning of the presentation
o Be interested in them as people
o Be good-natured
o Use humor and common experiences to establish common ground
o Be straightforward and direct
o Fill yourself with admiration and respect for you audience
o Have fun
Remember audiences prefer that you send pictures into their minds
UNCG Speaking Center, 256-1346, speakingcenter.uncg.edu
Confident Public Speaking
It is important to appear confident and enthusiastic during oral presentations and public
speaking events. This can help you and your audience to have a more enjoyable time.
Why:
Increases/maintains audience attention
Enhances speaker’s appearance as knowledgeable
Decreases speaker’s anxiety/tension
How:
Before the speech, stretch and move (warm up activities)
Wait until you feel ready before starting to speak
Scan crowd and look for smiling faces
Smile
Breathe deeply
Add movement or gestures (make sure they are deliberate)
Remember:
The best way to find a smile in a crowd is to smile yourself
If the speech isn’t too formal, try adding a joke or a story
If holding absolutely still is too hard, add some movement
If you are not (or don’t seem) excited about your speech, you can’t expect anyone else to be
If you get stuck or too nervous, just pause, take some breaths, and keep going
YOU ARE NEVER AS BAD AS YOU THINK YOU ARE
OR
IT WILL ALL BE OVER SOON

UNCG Speaking Center, 256-1346, speakingcenter.uncg.edu