Give a speech: These tips will help you deliver the perfect speech.

You have to present important results at work soon? Or give a casual speech at your sister's wedding? There are many occasions when it is important to convey a certain message in front of an audience. As authentically, casually and confidently as possible. And preferably with just the right touch of humor. After all, that's how you get your audience right on your side ... Right?

Unfortunately, the bitter truth is that a speech can turn into an embarrassing disaster faster than you'd like. Just a few little things not considered and the spontaneous speech interlude becomes a disaster. Of course, nobody wants that! Neither the speaker nor his audience.

How to give a good speech

There is a lot of work behind a perfect speech. It is an extremely complex craft. First of all, clear communication is important. But what else is important for a good speech? We have summarized the five most important tips for you.

1. Simplicity. You get to the heart of the matter and use simple sentences. Nothing about your language is unnecessarily complicated.
2. Outline/Order. You know which aspect comes when, and how to build your argument. You know when to set pauses.
3. Brevity/Preciseness. You formulate to the point and do not digress. You don't bring up side issues, but follow your plan. When you have said what needs to be said, you remain silent or move on to the next point.
4. Stimulus. You work with tools that make your words vivid - like graphics, images, and metaphors. You engage your audience and speak to people personally.
5. Body language. An upright posture is a prerequisite for you to be able to present freely and with a firm voice. Wear something you feel comfortable in. Take enough time beforehand to choose the right wardrobe. You can also think about how you can use your body language during your presentation to emphasize certain statements.

6 rhetoric tips for preparing a speech

René Borbonus is also considered a master of rhetoric. You can see in detail in the video how important the power of rhetoric is. Here are his six tips for preparing a speech. Learn how to improve the language and content of your speech and what simple stylistic devices you can use to enhance your speech. Engage and sustainably convince the audience you can.

1. Create a good first impression: It's best to start with a personal connection to your audience.
2. Provide clear value to your viewers: Try to identify your audience's needs as specifically as possible and address them at the beginning of your presentation.
3. Pursue a specific goal: Build your presentation with a clear thread that works only toward that goal.
4. Involve your audience: In the end, your presentation must be one thing above all: round! And there's a simple rule of thumb for this: it's best to end your presentation with a short story that emotions of your audience.
5. The voice: To find the right volume at the beginning, orient yourself to the listener in the last row. Speak loud enough so that he can understand you well. Try to vary the pitch of your voice as you speak. This way you can emphasize certain aspects and build up tension.
6. Speech and relaxation exercises against stage fright: Clear, concise speech is the key to being understood. Train your speech muscles with these short exercises:
   • Exercise 1 - duration: 2 minutes: Stand in front of a mirror and speak aloud: i / e / a / o / u.
   • Exercise 2 - duration: 2 minutes: Then you say "m" out loud. Then quietly "m".
   • Exercise 3 - duration: 2 minutes: Now follows the "r".
   • Exercise 4 - duration: 2 minutes: For various words, you say the "r" exaggeratedly loud, e.g. arms, chest, brakes, etc.

Even the most experienced speaker has a bit of stage fright - and that's a good thing! Because of the inner tension - and the resulting adrenaline release - you are more concentrated on the matter and significantly more efficient.

Breathe deeply in and out repeatedly. Press your outstretched arms against the wall with all your might. This helps enormously to release the increased pressure shortly before the speech. For particularly important speeches, a dress rehearsal in a small circle in front of family members or friends can be helpful.

Giving a speech: If you avoid these 7 mistakes, you'll wow your audience!

1. start boring

If you don't surprise your audience in the first ten seconds of your speech, you've lost them. They won't listen to you for the rest of your speech and they'll wander off.

2. provide too much information

Don't bombard your audience with too much input. So leave out anything that doesn't support your core message or can lead to confusion. And don't forget to summarize the essence of your talk at the end.

3. do not include entertaining elements

If your presentation lacks exciting details, interesting quotes, funny pictures, whimsical facts, or the like, your audience's interest will immediately evaporate. If you only tell dry facts without incorporating them into stories, you will quickly lose your attention.

Fourth speech: Do not make eye contact

You want Trust and create credibility? Then don't underestimate the importance of eye contact! If you don't consciously look your audience in the eye, they won't feel addressed.

5. too few pauses in speech

If you don't give your speech space by pausing after important information or changes of thought, your audience will have a hard time remembering anything. By the way, the same applies to speaking too fast.

6. no bad body language when giving a speech

We could write an entire "No Go" book on this point. Let's limit ourselves to the most important ones:

• below-the-belt manoeuvres create a negative effect on the audience. So please avoid at all costs!
• Crossed legs lead to an unstable, crooked stance. This makes you look awkward and unsafe.
• Wandering around without a destination: Unless you're heading for a concrete destination like a flip chart, your wandering around seems like an awkward evasive maneuver.
• Gesticulating too much is just as bad as the typical "shock rigidity". Moving is good and loosens up, but please not too extreme.
• Hide and seek: Please do not use the lectern, your notes or your folded arms to hide from your audience. Even if this behavior gives you a sense of security, it comes across as insecurity to your audience.

7. do not overcrowd slides when giving a speech

For example, if you work with PowerPoint, please don't pack your slides too full! If your audience has to concentrate on your speech and reading a desert of text at the same time, you've already lost them.

Free workbook for your perfect keynote

In this article, we've given you tips on how to develop a speech - and what mistakes you should avoid. Finally, let us tell you: No master has fallen from the sky yet. But you will notice how you become more confident every time. We would like to accompany you on your way Speaker. Because actually you can't get around this knowledge - the right development of a keynote. Would you like to know how top speakers work? Then download our free Workbook "Keynote Development down.