TED talks are a great resource to watch best-in-class public speakers do their best work. If you want to get better at a skill, watching masters perform that skill is a great thing to add to your studies. TED has grown in popularity in recent years, and many cities now have local TED events. If you can find one near your home it would be worth attending in person so you can see how the audience reacts to a skilled public speaker. Public speaking is usually one person standing in front of a group, which has the effect of making you feel outnumbered. Yet most of the time, you will be presenting to people you know, or with whom you share a common goal. They may be your business colleagues, and some may even be your friends.

Bahdwar, Neera (November 2017). "Sarah Grimké and Angelina Grimké Weld: Abolitionists and Feminists". The Future of Freedom Foundation. FFF . Retrieved 28 September 2020. Persuasion is a term derived from the Latin word "persuadere." [8] Persuasive speaking aims to change the audience's beliefs and is commonly used in political debates. Leaders use such public forums in an attempt to persuade their audience, whether they be the general public or government officials. [8] In the planning stage, you should ask yourself, why are you giving this presentation? What is the true purpose or message? Your idea should take centre stage, and you are merely the platform presenting that idea to an audience. No matter how dry your material is, you can always find a way to humanise it with stories. This is particularly true if you use personal experiences that bring the content to life. The first part, self-efficacy, is about the belief you have in your ability to succeed in different situations. Three factors affect your self-efficacy, and these are direct experience, observed experience and social persuasion.However, if fear of failure can impede your ability to speak well, then anticipating success can have an equally positive impact. It’s all about changing your mindset, which we’ll discuss more later. 6. You don’t have the skills to pull it off Fetterman, David M. (February 1997). "Videoconferencing over the Internet". Qualitative Health Research. 7 (1): 154–163. doi: 10.1177/104973239700700110. ISSN 1049-7323. Presenting to a gathering of even a few people is enough to trigger every fear you have ever had about public speaking. Will you make a fool of yourself? Will the audience judge you poorly? Will they understand your message? Will they stop liking you because of something you say?

This is also why becoming overly focused on the dos and don’ts of public speaking can be counterproductive. There are no fixed rules, and knowledge and passion are often all you need to convey a subject well. Your objective is to use public speaking best practice to improve your own natural style.Public speaking should emulate natural conversation. Speak as if you're having a one-on-one discussion with a friend. This approach creates a relatable, engaging atmosphere that draws your audience in. Gestures can emphasize key points and add dynamism to your speech. Use purposeful, controlled gestures that align with your words. Connect through shared experiences and emotions. When your audience feels understood, they become more invested in your message. Public speaking has played an important cultural role in human history. Confucius, an ancient Chinese philosopher and a prominent public-speaking scholar, believed that a good speech should impact individual lives, regardless of whether they were in the audience. He believed that someone in power could influence the world through words and actions. [2] Public speaking was also studied in Ancient Greece and Rome, where it was analyzed by prominent thinkers as a central part of rhetoric. The Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle indicated three speech purposes: deliberative (political speech), forensic (courtroom speech), and epideictic (speech of praise or blame). [3] Similarly, the Roman statesman and philosopher Cicero defined three purposes for public speaking: judicial (courtroom speech), deliberative (political speech), and demonstrative (a ceremonial form of speech, close to Aristotle's epideictic). [4] Visuals are important—but they are not the primary focus of a presentation. The Suasive methodology puts the presenter and their story first, and slides second to support the message and never overshadow it.