Practice These 6 Things to Become a Better Speaker
The number one fear that most people have in the world is public speaking. When given the hypothetical choice of either standing in front of a crowd of people or getting into shark infested waters, most people would rather swim among sharks than say a few words in front of an audience. However, speaking doesn’t have to be that difficult. It also doesn’t have to be scary. If you remember the first time you ever learned to ride a bike, it was scary at first because you didn’t know how to do it. But as you learned and got better, it became less and less scary, until you were so good that it became second nature to balance and move freely on your bicycle. It’s the same exact thing with speaking. The more you practice and get better at it, the easier and less intimidating it gets.
However, in order to even want to become a better speaker, it’s important to understand just why it’s so important to get good at it. For most of the world, speaking is our main form of communication. It isn’t just about speaking on stages. Every interaction, from greeting your friends at work to closing a deal over the phone, has everything to do with the way you communicate. If you want to build stronger relationships as well as grow your career better and faster, it’s important to educate yourself on proper communication. Speaking well will help you build connections, network better, build trust, grow your confidence, and even become a more attractive person. So knowing these things, practice these six things below if you want to become a better speaker.
1) SPEAK IN FRONT OF THE MIRROR
The first step to getting better at speaking is to simply do it more. Stand in front of the mirror and start talking. Observe the words you say and how easily it comes to you. You may find that you have a difficult time continuing one train of thought, or that you look timid when you try to speak loudly. Simply take note of these things that you notice and get used to being more vocal.
2) RECORD YOURSELF SPEAKING
Yes, many of us hate listening to our own voices, but watching a video of yourself speaking is one of the best ways to figure out what you need to improve. You might find that you mumble, talk too quickly, or are afraid of making eye contact. All you need to do is take out your phone, start talking to it, and rewatch what happened. If you want to take things to another level, take a video of yourself speaking to another person. You’ll be surprised by what you see.
3) START TALKING TO STRANGERS
Make an effort to start more conversations with strangers. This can be while you wait in line at the coffee shop, while you’re walking to work, or during your grocery run. Learn how to start conversations in a natural way that sparks the interest of the person you are talking to. The more you do it, the better you’ll get.
4) ROLEPLAY WITH FAMILY OR FRIENDS
Maybe you’re already good at speaking but just need to improve in one specific area. This could be cold-calling, sales calls, class presentations, or even talking to attractive guys or girls. Ask a family member or friend to pose as the ‘audience’ and start to roleplay a conversation with them. This is a great way to improve your speaking skills quickly in one specific area.
5) GET OUTSIDE OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
Our muscles grow bigger and stronger when we push them to their limits. Getting better at any skill is exactly the same. If you don’t push yourself to do what you’re uncomfortable doing, you won’t grow as much as you have the potential to. So put yourself into situations that you normally wouldn’t and watch how fast you get better at speaking.
6) TAKE SOME PUBLIC SPEAKING CLASSES
You don’t need to stand on a stage in order to benefit from public speaking classes. In reality, anything you say to another person can qualify as public speaking. Take advantage of lessons because you don’t know what you don’t know about speaking until someone teaches it to you. If you have some extra cash, you can take some classes, or if you can’t afford it, there are plenty of free lessons on YouTube that you can learn from.
IT’S BETTER TO BE PREPARED
Even if you don’t think you need to improve your speaking skills, it’s better to always be ready. You never know when you’ll need to rely on your speaking abilities. You might run into a pretty girl that you want to ask out, or bump into someone in the elevator that might end up becoming a huge client for you. Staying silent or communicating awkwardly may cause you to miss out on amazing opportunities that could have changed your life if you were able to connect with the other person just a little bit better. Because speaking is the most major communication method between humans all around the world, it’s imperative that we all put at least some effort into getting better with the way we talk to each other.
As someone who has been working on my communication skills since I was a teenager and has actually worked as a speaker for many years, this is a topic that I am very familiar with. If you’re wanting more tips and advice, you can sign up to my free newsletter here, or follow me on Instagram to see some real-life examples of how I communicate on a daily basis.
