Public Speaking

Deliver a confident and persuasive message

Command the attention of your audience

Learn to control and overcome anxiety and fear

Public Speaking has been called ‘The world’s number one fear’. Businesses can’t afford to overlook this when asking employees to speak in front of clients. Even the most seemingly confident business people can be reduced to a mess when put in front of an audience. This can be overcome with the right training and preparation.

One of the best ways to overcome fear is to confront it. To this end, we offer in-house training in public speaking by setting up a forum for your staff to face their fears and become better public speakers. In addition to the problem of fear, some people simply don’t know how to control their voice.

People often don’t realise what a powerful tool the voice can be. If you can master complete control of your voice, you have a much better chance of controlling what your audience takes from your speech.

Your voice can be used to highlight and underline key points; it can be used to shock, persuade or entertain. Above all, you can use your voice to maintain your audience’s attention. This can be achieved by using the following methods:

* Appropriate use of ice breakers; including anecdotes, shocking or controversial statistics and adept use of quotes
* Interacting with your audience through question and answer sessions- these can include ‘raise your hand’ or ‘stand up’ if… moments in order to keep the audience engaged and alert
* Effective use of vocal variation

Voice Projection:

We teach our students how to use their diaphragm to breathe more deeply and project their voice without straining the muscles in their neck or throat. This is extremely important when speaking to large audiences.

Testimonial

"I would recommend Smith's English to anyone who wants to gain confidence and speak effectively in public.

I'm an IT trainer in the City and provide group training sessions on a weekly basis. I was aware of the fact that my voice was monotone and lacked energy. The final straw came when one of my trainees described my voice as dull and monotonous following a two-day training course!

I decided to do something about it and contacted Smith's English. Francesca quickly responded to my email and designed a weekly one hour session, based over 10 weeks at my organisation.

The lessons were brilliant! Francesca provided personalised coaching and showed me how to use my voice to its full capability. With daily practice I found the effects were immediate and I now feel more confident in speaking in front of large groups and able to command my audience's attention. I also found the training to be useful in other aspects of my job. I feel more confident talking at team meetings and delivering a speech to 200 clients at a recent user group meeting was an enjoyable experience rather than a trauma!- James"