Speech Skills and Confidence

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Public Speaking & Confidence
Mini-Lesson

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Table of Contents

1: Confidence

4: Posture

2: Different Approaches

5: Eye Contact

3: Voice

6: Additional Tips

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CONFIDENCE

1

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Confidence is...

the feeling or belief that one can rely
on someone or something; firm trust

Fid:Latin; fidere = trust

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Boosting Confidence

As you watch, consider:

• How do self-esteem, optimism, and courage help with presentations?

• How can a growth mindset help you with confidence?

Open Ended

What is one thing you learned from the video?

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Confidence in Speaking:

Physically

●

Face the audience to project
your voice outwards

●

Talk slower than you think
you need to

●

Make eye contact

●

Pick places in the room to
look at or walk to

Mentally

●

Remember to use a growth
mindset- we are all
practicing

●

Practice and rehearse your
presentations

●

Think about your STRENGTHS

●

Remember: confidence is
learning to trust yourself

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APPROACHES
to public speaking

02

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Approaches to Public Speaking:

● Extemporaneous-use of notes or notecards

● Impromptu-done on a whim with little to no preparation

● Memorization-whole speech written out and memorized beforehand

● Manuscript-whole speech written out and read off of as speaking

Multiple Choice

Which approach do you think is best for a class presentation?

• Extemperaneous

• Impromptu

• Memorization

• Manuscript

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VOICE
03

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Projection

● The volume of your voice while speaking

● Varies depending on:

○ Venue
○ amount of “noise”

● Venue = location (outside vs. inside, small room

versus large room)

● Noise = people talking, heater running, mental

distractions, etc.

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Inflection

● The rise and fall of your voice while speaking
● Varies depending on intention
● Ask a question = upward inflction for example
● Try to avoid a “patternized” inflection
(i.e. every

sentence ends in the same manner

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Rate of Speech

● How quickly you speak
● Should have a happy medium

○ Speaking too quickly makes you seem nervous and is difficult to follow

○ Speaking too slowly will put your audience to sleep

● Pausing is OKAY and is better than using filler words → allows

audience to process your words

Multiple Choice

Which of these locations would require the loudest projection?

• a classroom

• the hallway

• an auditorium

• an outdoor stage

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POSTURE
04

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Posture:

● How you stand and present yourself while speaking

“Dos”
● Stand upright with a straight back and relaxed shoulders

● Use something to stabilize your hands (to avoid distracting hand gestures

● Anchor your feet to avoid too much shifting back and forth and the distracting crossing of legs

Posture

Which of

these

would be
the best

for

speaking?
(answer on next slide)

A B

C

D

Multiple Choice

Which posture would be best when presenting? (refer to previous slide for images)

• A

• B

• C

• D

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EYE CONTACT
05

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Eye Contact:

Where you direct your eyesight during your speech/presentation

“Dos”
● Look at your audience more frequently than your notes

● Look at all areas of the classroom and not just the back of the room or up randomly

● Make direct eye contact with your audience when you can

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06

ADDITIONAL TIPS

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Things to Avoid:

● Filler words ("like," "uh," "um," etc.)

● Distracting hand gestures or “talking” with your hands (using notecards can help "anchor" your hands)

● Avoiding eye contact (will result in major deduction in delivery)

● Distracting mannerisms (practice helps a lot in feeling confident about what you are saying and will help with nervousness

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Suggestions:

• It may not completely eliminate your nervousness, but it will help you feel more confident in what you are saying, which will help calm your nerves

• Practice in front of an audience (your family, your friends, a mirror, even your pets or stuffed animals)

• Record yourself practicing so you can see what you are doing well and where you have room for improvement

• Give yourself plenty of prep time to practice

• Remember to have a growth mindset & focus on your STRENGTHS

​PRACTICE is your best friend

Poll

After viewing these techniques, tips, and suggestions, how prepared do you feel for any future presentations?

• I'm confident and ready for any future presentation!

• I feel okay about future presentations; I'm not super confident, but I'm not overly nervous either.

• I feel better after reviewing these slides and tips even though presentations are not my favorite task.

• I'm still nervous (even though I know I'll be okay and able to accomplish future presentations).