Did you know that the ancient Greeks believed public speaking was one of a few skills that every person should acquire if they were to become a useful citizen? The rather rare talent of being able to speak publicly and with skill - Will no furnish you with an essential PT skill that will have a direct impact on your success in the fitness industry.
1. SET SMALL GOALS
Studies show that smaller goals that lead to the same outcome as opposed to one big goal have a much higher chance of success, so break your goal down into smaller goals that can be easily achieved by doing just a few minutes a day. Buy some pre-paid vouchers and assign each to one of your goals. When you achieve each small goal, you could allow yourself to spend one of the vouchers, in this way you have double the incentive and reward! Make sure to give yourself good time, it’s best to start now, even if you have no plans to ever speak publicly – you never know what the future holds.
2. PRACTICE SPEAKING
Train your lips, voice and elocution, from having to think consciously on pronunciation, projection and presence until it they all become second nature. An ancient technique by one of mankind’s best orators was to have a small pebble in your mouth as you speak to train your lips, tongue and pallet until you are clearly understood. This really will train your speaking apparatus and soon you will be delivering worthy performances! Another technique based on ancient wisdom is speaking aloud while music is playing until your friends and family can clearly hear you over the music. Amiel’s Journal is a fantastic book for this! Lastly you may try speaking while you exercise, as loudly as you can. Do this until you can complete your speech and not be out of breath. This is going to really develop your apparatus and the power of your lungs! Take a look at are great fitness products here.
3. PREPARE WELL
Write what you are going to say down several times, eliminating anything that is not essential to your core message – always think of the end first, or the ‘effect first’ – what you want them to understand and do. Now practice delivering it, a thousand times will not be enough unless you have completely memorised it, until you no longer need your script (although do take it with you). In fact did you know that if you delivered a speech from paper in ancient Athens, nobody would have respected you? You would have been expected to be capable enough to say what you needed without notes! We do not have such a high standard, so you can relax. Arrive early and have a look at where you will be delivering your speech. How we dress affects our mood and confidence. So make sure you not only dress appropriately for your audience, but you also dress for confidence – we have prepared a collection of clothing for this purpose here.
4. BE HUMBLE
Speaking about yourself and how you know your field or the wedding couple will mean you are taken more seriously, it will also humanise you. Though you should probably not give too much away, less is more as they say. Respect your audience and try to eliminate any accent - they are endearing to some, but are either offensive to the ears of others or at the very least very difficult to understand – you want to be understood don’t you? Why bother otherwise! Also, DON'T IMAGINE ANYONE NAKED! Imagining them naked shows a lack of humility and respect. Concentrate on your message, your voice and style. Correct preparation for delivering your speech will be rather more rewarding and beneficial than imagining anyone naked.
5. HAVE FAITH
No one gets it right all the time. Give yourself a break, just doing this is a fantastic achievement. No matter how it goes, learn and improve all the time. So relax and enjoy the moment. People will want you to be good and will remember the good parts better than the worst bits. If you make a mistake don't hide it, use it, it will even help you by making you more relatable.
To be a great Public Speaker, is something that everyone should know how to be. And its a crime that this is neglected at many if not most schools. If you are looking to influence, if you are interested in changing minds to your cause, learning public speaking is of upmost importance. Below are a few extra suggestions
Bind yourself to a self contract
Whether it a reward for completing your goal, or you hide money away with someone you trust, or you bind it to your future success. Find some way to commit to learning the art of public speaking. It is a skill that has built the Roman Empire, persuaded nations to go to war and placed people in our senate or parliament. Realise its importance and bind yourself to learning how to master public speaking.
Prepare
Practice, practice practice. Watch videos on YouTube of great speeches, Practice in front of a mirror, in front of people, anywhere & everywhere. Have an engagement to speak at an event? Write your speech or whatever it is you want to say, down on paper or 'Tablet'. Practice delivering it, memorise it. Did you know that if you delivered a speech from paper in ancient Athens, no body would have respected you? Arrive an hour early, or at least get to know your 'stage' somehow. See yourself there. Visualise.
Speak about yourself
Why are you the expert on this? Speaking about yourself and how you know your field will mean you are taken more seriously. It will bring people onside and they will be more eager to learn from you and take on your opinions.
Don't expect to win
No one gets it right all the time. No on is funny all the time - even comedians. Give yourself a break, just doing it is a fantastic achievement. No matter how it goes, learn and improve all the time. So relax and enjoy the moment. People will want you to be good and will remember the good parts better than the worst bits. It takes experience to become a true great at public speaking.
Put a pebble in your mouth
To train your lips, tongue and pallet until you are clearly understood even with a small stone in your mouth. This really will train your speaking apparatus and soon you will be delivering great public speeches worthy of any great public speaker.
Go for a Run
Not just any run. You are going to sing while you run. As loudly as you can. Do this until you can complete your song and not be out of breath. This is going to develop your apparatus and the power of your lungs.
You vs. Anything loud
Put music on loud, or the TV or if there happens to be a tornado near you go out and deliver your speech until you can be clearly heard above all other noise. This is another effective way to train your voice and make yourself heard - the keystone to success for any great public speaker.
Improving the power of your lungs is essential to a strong convincing voice. If you want to win the argument, a soft, stuttering voice won't convince many people. That doesn't mean shouting, but it does mean speaking with clarity, firmness and authority. How powerful your lungs are make all the difference, no matter what side of the argument you are on.
Aim to build a powerful voice
First Exercise
Second Exercise
Keep your hands by your side, take in a deep breath, all the air that you can. Then, force the air out, pushing until your lungs are empty. You should feel the system of core muscles tighten with this exercise, if not, try harder. Do ten of these to begin with, or if your lungs are week, just as many as you can. Then start adding ten more to your exercise.
Third Exercise
Go for a run with a difference. If you struggle to run at this stage, walk. Then jog. Build your fitness up until you can run for a sustained period of time. During each stage, instead of listening to your iPod, you are going to sing or deliver a speech, at the top of your voice. By doing exercise and physical activity you are improving the strength of your lungs by a huge margin. You should see massive gains in the power of your voice and breath. If you are worried about singing aloud in the open, start by going up and down the stairs at home, or jogging on the spot in-front of the TV on loud. Or take your iPod and sing along to the music. Whatever you have to do to get there, it doesn't matter. Victory buys glory, not the method.
By doing the above exercises regularly you should start to see improvements in your internal fitness, and your ability to keep from becoming breathless after exercise. The most important aspects of this are keeping alive longer than you would have done, plus, if you are ever trapped in a burning building, your strong lungs could be the difference to survival and death. But, more important than that, you will win more arguments and be able to beat Beyonce on karaoke.
