Answer:
Perfection: When you make a mistake, no one cares but you.
Even the most accomplished public speaker will make a mistake at some point. Just keep in mind that you’ll notice more than anyone in your audience. The most important thing you can do after making a mistake during a presentation is to keep going. Don’t stop and—unless the mistake was truly earth shattering—never apologize to the audience for a minor slip. Unless they are reading the speech during your delivery, the audience won’t know if you left out a word, said the wrong name, or skipped a page. Because “to err is human,” a mistake can work for you, because it allows you to connect with your audience. People don’t want to hear from someone who is “perfect;” they will relate much more easily to someone who is real.
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Visualization: If you can see it, you can speak it.
Winners in all aspects of life have this in common: they practice visualization to achieve their goals. Sales people envision themselves closing the deal; executives picture themselves developing new ventures; athletes close their eyes and imagine themselves making that basket, hitting that home run, or breaking that record.
The same is true in public speaking. If you’ve read “10 Powerful Body Language Tips” then you know how anxiety can impact presentation skills. The best way to fight anxiety and to become a more comfortable speaker is to practice in the one place where no one else can see you—your mind. If you visualize on a consistent basis, you’ll prepare your mind for the prospect of speaking in public, and pretty soon you’ll conquer any feelings of anxiety.
Discipline: Practice makes perfectly good.
Your goal is not to be a perfect public speaker. There is no such thing. Your goal is to be an effective public speaker. Like anything else in life, it takes practice to improve those public speaking skills. We too often take communication for granted because we speak to people everyday. But when your prosperity is directly linked to how well you perform in front a group, you need to give the task the same attention as if you were a professional athlete. Remember, even world champion athletes practice every day. Try taking a class where you practice giving speeches.
