Vetere 1

Aedin Vetere
Mrs. Cramer
College Comp I 6A
1 November 2017
public speaking and you
Though public speaking has been done for centuries, many people are afraid and

therefore, are clueless on how to address a crowd. Public speaking has been a great fear for a

large amount of people. In fact, a study done by Gary Cosnett, he says that public speaking is the

number one fear among Americans. Death is only number six. Whether it be a small group of

friends and peers, or if the speaker giving a lecture to hundreds of people, the methods are still

the same. To properly give a public speech, someone who is giving the speech needs to have an

attainable goal, make the audience want to hear what the speaker has to say, and visualize what

they want their presentation to be.

The first strategy of how to become a better public speaker is to have an attainable goal.

Now at first this can sound strange; how does one make an attainable goal in terms of public

speaking? Sure, the answer is obvious, give a good presentation and speak what people want to

hear. But break it down even more. For example, the Writer Gary Cosnett says " Have

reasonable expectations; for example, "I can engage half of this audience" or "I can engage 65

percent of this group."" It is saying that the person who is presenting shouldn’t always aim to get

everyone on board with what they are speaking about, but try for a reasonable amount. As human

beings, everyone has different needs and wants and not everything is going to satisfy them.

Having different views define what it means to be human. Another way to make an attainable

goal is to make mental notes. For example, this article said " When I'm being introduced, I

looked out into the audience and such for such people and "greet" them individually. I say to
 Vetere 2

myself " OK, there's a sleeper." And so on." (Cosnett). These kinds of people can have a great

impact in distracting the person presenting and or cause them to stress out during the whole

presentation. Picking them out and knowing about them not only makes it easier to speak, but

also lets the speaker know that they do not have to satisfy that person's views.

The second strategy to help someone become a better public speaker is to make their

audience want hear what they have to say. Cosnett says "Have a conversation with your

audience. That way you're going to be comfortable and effective, whether the speaker in question

stand up or sit down, and whether you put your hands in your pockets or not." This shows that

the speaker is someone that the audience can be comfortable with. They will be more willing to

hear their ideas and accept them as well. If the person presenting are a brick wall, that can

remove the intimacy with their audience and the entire speech can be jeopardized. Being open

with the audience makes a speaker appear to be more engadged. Another way to make an

audience want to hear the speaker is by using visuals. James B. Anderson says " Different people

perceive things in different ways." What this is saying is that Humans have different ways of

understanding ideas, when someone has the ability to take something away from what the

presenter is trying to say with their visual, it makes the presentation and or speech more

powerful. The only thing about a visual is that the one using the visual has to make sure that it is

"simplistic" (Anderson). If they try to complicate a visual, it can make the presentation crash and

burn.

The last strategy to make someone become a much better public speaker is to visualize

what the presenter wants their presentation to look like. For example, in this article the writer

says " What do I have to prove? How do I have to prove it? This can include factual and

nonfactual information" (Connet). What this piece of information is saying is that when someone
 Vetere 3

answers all of these fundamental questions and comments in their head, it allows them to have a

more thorough understanding of what and how they are going to talk about what their speech or

presentation is about. Another thing the presenter can do is figure out how they want to structure

their lecture or speech. For example, in the words of Cosnett, he says that "If you expect that you

will do poorly, you may tend to rehearse vividly that poor performance over and over in your

mind. " This will lead to them having an unconfident sounding speech and the presenter will not

be able to have their idea stick in the head of the audience. Instead what he says to do is "

visualize yourself walking up to the lectern, getting comfortable. And looking out and seeing an

audience that is welcoming you, interested in what you have to say. Visualize as vividly as

possible a positive experience." The more that they visualize a positive experience with your

audience, the more thorough their speech will sound and their speech will be more comfortable

for not only them, but your audience as well, giving them the result, they want.

So, in conclusion, there are few ways to improving someone's public speaking. Even

though not everyone is a good as a speaker as Martin Luther King Jr., John Kennedy, or Winston

Churchill (Anderson). A good visualization of how someone's presentation can go is a good first

step in the process of having a good presentation. Sometimes the best way to get their audience's

attention is by making them hear what they want to hear. Show them they can relax and in turn,

the speaker can as well. Even though they cannot please everyone with what they have to say, do

not let that drag the presenter down in terms of your speech. Instead make a goal that will allow a

speaker to make a speech less stressful for them, allowing them to have some breathing room.

With all of these elements in mind, being a public speaker should become a great deal easier.