Imagine Lego, there are a lot of different parts of it, that we use to build something that we want, it might be a robot, a car or a house, who knows? So now imagine, that one skill is one Lego part and with all these parts we are building a house – a person. Skills makes us who we are and who we want to become. Different skills build different characters.

And one of the most important skills is….Public Speaking

I know I know it’s very hard to speak up, especially when there are 300 heads looking at you in Ed Burke and you just forgot your question. But don’t worry there are some tips that will help you:

Key Points
Chances are that you’ll sometimes have to speak in public as part of your work or internship. While this can seem intimidating, the benefits of being able to speak well outweigh any perceived fears. So use the following strategies:
 Plan appropriately.
 Practice.
 Engage with your audience.
 Pay attention to body language.
 Think positively.
 Cope with your nerves.
 Watch recordings of your speeches.

Memorize concepts, not content
Learning the content world-for-world can create a lot of problems for speakers. Memorizing everything, not only makes YOU sound not natural, but also if your mind goes blank during the presentation, you will probably lose your place and create an awkward silence. We don’t want that! So instead of memorizing the content, focus on the concepts.
Start by writing down the bullet points of all the data and key takeaways.
Speak naturally about them!
If you forget some of this information, don’t worry, just move on to another point!

Chat with the audience before the presentation 
Meeting with people before your speech will:
Makes you feel more comfortable
Warms them up to you
It lets you to note what kind of humour they have, so later during your presentation you know what jokes to use.
Allows you to use the audience as an example, it creates the intimacy with the audience and makes them more engaged.

Flip your mindset to ease your nerves
Sadly, but even the most experienced speakers get nervous prior to presenting. But don’t worry it gets easier over time, just keep practising!
The most effective way to take the pressure off yourself is to change the mindset and say: ‘I can do it!’ Think about your audience, remember that you are there to provide them with interesting and useful information in the best and quickest way.

Get interactive
This makes you feel less isolated as a speaker and keeps everyone involved with your message.
If appropriate, ask leading questions targeted to individuals or groups, and encourage people to participate and ask questions.

One of the best speakers was Jim Rod. He was a very successful entrepreneur, at one time being a Vice President of a sales company, Nutri-Bio. During his presentations, he has the audience repeat key messages back to him or make gestures back of the takeaway points of his speech. This keeps the audience involved. Rod was a wise businessman and managed to impart much of this wisdom into others.
“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” – Jim Rohn

NOTE: Stop in the middle of the speech to ask the audience members to throw out examples of ideas that you are presenting.

Pay attention to how you’re speaking
If you’re nervous, you might talk quickly. This increases the chances that you’ll trip over your words or say something you don’t mean.
Force yourself to slow down by breathing deeply.
Don’t be afraid to gather your thoughts; pauses are an important part of conversation, and they make you sound confident, natural, and authentic.

Don’t defer answering questions
If a question pops up in the middle of your presentation, that’s amazing: Someone is listening!
So, take the opportunity. If you would have addressed the answer in a later slide, skip ahead.  The best presentations feels like a conversations, even if one-sided, so never ignore the opportunity to foster that sense of interaction.

If you are still feeling that you are not fully confident
Just go to the Phil debate room or The Hist and listen to some intense, boiling debates… or… you can always join the debate trainings. (recommend!)
If you are not in the mood for debates and want some classes where you will learn how to get better at public speaking – book a public speaking course in Dublin!

The link: https://www.publicspeaking.ie/
So here it is, the skill that will help you to become a millionaire -Thank me later.