Public Speaking

8 GREATEST SPEECH BLUNDERS:
1. Dullness itself: Relying on only one or two illustrations to make your points. (Use salient statistics … timely quotes … appropriate examples … personal stories to help visualize and remember)
2. NOT repeating your message enough. (Repetition is crucial to retention. Half an hour after a presentation, the average listener has already forgotten 40 percent of what was said. By the end of the week, 90 percent is usually forgotten. The more you repeat and illustration your message, the more retention you’ll get.)
3. NOT answering the audience’s most major question, “What’s in it for me?”
4. Burying your point. (Use signal phrases such as “What’s important here,” or “This can’t be overemphasized” to focus people’s attention on the most important parts of your speech.)
5. Forgetting to practice (and time) your speech out loud.
6. Forgetting to check visual aids for readability.
7. Answering hypothetical questions after the speech. (Turn the question back to reality by saying “Based on these facts and the existing situation, this is how I would handle the situation” or ask others in the audience for how they would handle.)
8. Getting distracted before you speak. (Always take 5 minutes or more to collect your thoughts, focus on your message and breathe before stepping up to the lectern.)