5 UNIQUE Ways to Practice for Public Speaking
It’s not easy to develop a routine practice for public speaking.
Mainly due to a common misconception.
The misconception is thinking that you need an audience to practice public speaking.
That’s not always the case.
An audience helps, don’t get me wrong.
But the type of audience that we use can be something that we get creative with.
Other times, an audience is not needed at all.
That’s what this blog post is for.
You are going to learn how to develop a practice for public speaking.
I’m going to give you some suggestions to spark creative insights within you.
From there, it’s a matter of being bold, disciplined and consistent in executing the practices.
Conquer your speech anxiety.
That’s how you show that you mean business.
Tools Needed
Before I give you my suggestions, I have a few tools I would recommend.
That’s the camera and your wardrobe.
You may be tempted to practice your speech in front of a mirror…
However, I don’t recommend that.
The mirror can cause you to be more excessive in your thinking.
It gets you in your head more.
Sure, a mirror is better than nothing.
However, a camera skyrockets your growth because you can always watch it back from the perspective of the audience.
Plus, you don’t overthink as much.
Next, for the wardrobe, I recommend doing your best to wear the same clothes that you plan to wear on speech day.
Sometimes, a shirt you were going to choose may be a bit tight around the collar. The practice session will help you spot that.
The main reason you’re wearing similar clothes for your practice session as you plan to wear on speech day is because we want to create a real life simulation.
PS: your scent is a part of your wardrobe. So spray the same exact scent you plan to wear on your speech!!!
The closer we get, the better.
For each of the following 5 strategies, use the camera and have the correct wardrobe.
Strategy 1: Hell Method
In one of my Toastmasters competition’s, I learned the hard way that I hated speaking in cold weather.
This competition was in a library and it was freezing.
There were 4 speakers who were set to do the planned speeches.
As I sat next to them, I noticed my fingers shivering due to the cold.
This shivering made it harder to speak.
Although I was capable of speaking, I learned that day it is best to prepare for the worst.
Likewise, with the Hell Method, we are creating our personal hell factory.
- If you hate the cold weather, practice in the cold.
- If you are feeling too calm, then do 50 pushups and begin your speech.
- Drink tons of coffee and force yourself to think straight.
- Invite friends to intentionally distract you.
In this Hell’s dungeon, you are conditioning your mind to prepare for the worst, so you are pleasantly surprised on speech day.
A baby is crying on your live talk?
Who cares! You prepped in hell beforehand.
Strategy 2: Social Interactions
Rather than going out to clubs and spending all your money on alcohol, host an event.
Invite 3-5 friends over, buy them pizza and have them serve as your audience.
If you want to be extra slick, combine this method with the Hell Method.
Have your friends heckle you.
Surprisingly, allowing them to heckle you will bond you guys closer, and you’ll exercise your concentration more.
This is a beautiful practice for public speaking.
More importantly, have them give an honest evaluation of your talk afterwards.
- What they liked and what they didn’t like.
These friends may not be formally trained on how to give an evaluation, so avoid being too sensitive.
Just take what works and avoid what doesn’t.
Strategy 3: Projector Method
Learning about the subconscious mind is fascinating.
If you cannot remotely articulate the difference between the conscious and subconscious mind, then what’s wrong with you??
Just kidding.
A little psychology knowledge creates a deadly speaker.
- Conscious mind handles intellectual processing, imagination, language formation etc.
- Subconscious mind absorbs and serves as the database.
If you can get the subconscious mind on your side, your speech anxiety will plummet.
It’s easy to fool the subconscious mind.
- Get a projector.
- Pull up an image of a crowd.
- Then give your talk.
This will feel like a real-life audience.
Practice locking eye contact with someone and delivering a point.
Then transition smoothly to another audience member.
Even though the intellectual conscious mind is like, ‘this isn’t a real crowd!’
The subconscious mind is being fooled.
Try it.
Strategy 4: Speak in Public
I had this one Toastmaster mentor who made me give a speech to him at iHop.
I was embarrassed as hell and was very angry at him for putting me in that position.
However, I did it.
It was a short talk about a computer learning to talk.
A few people from the iHop looked at me and went back to eating their meals.
While others were listening to my talk and wondering what was going on.
After the initial talk, my face was hot and my skin felt flushed.
After 2 minutes, I FELT BOLD.
Something about giving a speech in a setting where you aren’t supposed to be giving a speech makes you feel alive.
I’m not saying to crash your local iHop.
But see if you can get a friend and have him or her record you as you speak in a park.
Talk as though you are recording a YouTube video or documentary.
Some people will look at you, intrigued.
Others will flat out not even notice.
It’s rarely that serious.
Strategy 5: Old Fashioned Way
The old-fashioned way to practice a speech is to just talk in front of the camera and watch it back.
You don’t necessarily need to create a personalized hell..
Invite friends over..
Go to a park…
Just create a talk, record it, watch it back.
The goal is to get through your speech 5 times to perfection, before you stop practicing.
This is probably the least glamourous practice method out there…
Guess what though?
‘What?’
It works.
You don’t need to do too much.
However, I do believe making it challenging helps way more than it hurts.
Just know that the strategies are limitless.
The only barriers are limiting beliefs.
Leverage all the Practice for Public Speaking
One of the worst things you can do is have a limited perspective in regards to speeches.
When you act like you are about to give your final speech, that’s when you get jittery.
Too much high pressure for no reason.
Have an abundance mindset for public speaking.
The opportunities truly are limitless.
You can always join a local Toastmasters, create a Meetup group or host a club meeting to work on your speeches.
The ultimate recipe is to keep cultivating that abundance mindset.
That’s when all the practices for public speaking are not going to feel like a chore.
Instead, it’s going to feel like a game.
View public speaking as a game and you can’t help but become a better speaker.
Now the words flow out…rather than being pushed out.
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– ArmaniTalks 
