Public Speaking Skills Training

The Art of Public Speaking
Our Public Speaking training seminars are designed for both the inexperienced presenter or as a refresher for more experienced members of your company or organization. Our training workshops are offered in most major cities across the United States and Canada. All public speaking skills training classes are small which will give you all the face to face time you need with our training team.

Our public speaking training courses (presentation training) will eliminate your fear or inexperience in public speaking and dramatically improve your speaking skills whether you are persuading, educating, or informing. Our highly interactive courses focus on professional business communication including preparation, structure, delivery, and strategy, use of visual aids, and handling questions & answers. Contact us today by phone at 713-627-7700 or via email: service@publicspeakingtraining.net

Public Speaking Skills Training: 5 Steps to Running a Successful Public Speaking Workshop

Henry Brooks Adams said, "A teacher affects eternity - he can never tell where his influence stops."

A public speaking workshop is a life-changing opportunity for everyone. Some attendees may learn nothing but may meet someone important to their future. Some attendees may feel they've learned nothing but, years later, that workshop information aids them. No matter what we do to help the learning, it is up to attendees whether they take up the opportunity or not.

So, let's make it as amazing as possible but not get too upset if some attendees don't see the value that everyone else did - be a little gentle with yourself. Let's see what we can do to make it an amazing public speaking training event, anyway!

1. Preparation

Be there early, set up, make sure you have more than you need for attendees (paper, pens, crayons, seats, desks, food and drink) and make sure all the equipment you need works - overhead projector, data-show, whiteboard pens and duster (eraser), microphone, music, wall posters, your advertising material for your next workshops, your business cards, assessment forms.

2. Welcome

Introduce yourself to every attendee as they come in (or have someone in your team do this) as they're coming into your space, your "home". As guests, they're unsure, fearful even. Start relaxing them before the public speaking workshop starts and they'll participate earlier on. This makes it easier for you... and them!

Start with an ice-breaker (see my article called Running Workshops - Great Ice-Breakers) so they can feel more comfortable with you, the other attendees and the venue.

3. Learning styles

They say that we all learn via one of seven ways. You will have a learning style and if it's, say, talking, you'll prefer standing and talking. Those who do not learn best that way (six sevenths of your group) will find it difficult to keep focused if that's all you do. Try to have as many different styles catered for by having:

  1. Auditory - facilitator talks.
  2. Visual - whiteboard, powerpoint or some visual presentation.
  3. Music - soft, background music playing at the start and during breaks.
  4. Kinesthetic - action activities.
  5. Group - small-group discussions.
  6. Meditative - time for quiet, solo consideration.
  7. Verbal - opportunity for them to address the group.

It may be hard to incorporate all these learning styles in your public speaking workshop but the more you have interspersed throughout, the more they will get from your presentation.

4. Ending

Have a way for people to acknowledge each other - maybe they each write their name on a piece of paper and it gets passed around for everyone else to write a positive comment (anonymous or otherwise) on.

5. Assessments

Don't forget to have assessments forms completed - how else will you know how to improve next time?

Philip Bradbury: link

Subject: Public Speaking Skills Training