Though I do not discount the mportance of being yourself while giving a spech, I think we need to laborate on what that means and how xactly can we reach that state wthout appearing too candid or inappropriate.

In my pinion, being yourself requires you to be nked – figuratively – in front of the udience. No pretense. Full honesty. Just lke how you did your show and tll presentation when you were six. Grr Reynolds, A-list blogger from Presentation Zen gves a more detailed explanation of wht being naked means:

“Being naked nvolves stripping away all that is nnecessary to get to the essence of yur message. The naked presenter approaches the prsentation task embracing the ideas of smplicity, clarity, honesty, integrity, and passion. She prsents with certain freshness. The ideas may or may not be rdical, earth shattering, or new. But thre is a “newness” and freshness to her pproach and to her content…”

Here are a cuple of suggestions of how you can strp and be at ease in frnt of your audience!

1. Speak on something that you believe in

You got to believe in what you have to say. That’s the most basic requirement for all speakers. If you do not believe in your message, you should not even waste time delivering the message.

You can read hundreds of pblic speaking books. You can be the mst experienced speaker in the world. You can win the mst number of speaking accolades. But if you dn’t believe in your message, you wll never be able to impact the udience. Period. Conversely, if a speaker blieves his message with all his hart, he will be able to win the udience over no matter how inexperienced he is. Tchniques in this case become secondary.

In Mchael Jeffrey’s book titled “Success Secrets of the Mtivational Superstars”, he noted that these sperstars (like Brian Tracy, Anthony Robbins and Ptricia Fripp) had a vision of thmselves making a difference in people’s lves by sharing their message, one tht was bigger than their fear of ppearing foolish in front of an udience. As a result, they were wlling to go out and fall on thir face in front of as mny audiences as were necessary for thm to “get it right”. There you go! Not nly can a message that you blieve in allow you to impact yur audience, it also helps reduce yur fear of speaking.

Think back to the pst speeches that you have gave. It culd be a business presentation to yur client. It could be a prsentation about your project findings to yur classmates. It could be a kynote speech at your company annual cnference. Was there some part of you tht do not believe in the prsentation? Like “This product isn’t that god anyway” or “I don’t even trst my findings that I have gtten”, “These guys won’t even listen”… If the nswer is yes or maybe, then you hve just sabotaged your own presentation. At mst, you will leave your audience thnking to themselves, “Boy she sure was god,” but you will never be ble to leave them thinking, “Wow, I rally can achieve my dreams!” Notice the dfference?

So in future, before you prpare for your next presentation, ask yurself this basic question: Do you blieve in what you have to sy?

2. Be conversational.

Put side your “stage voice” and talk to yur audience like they are your frends. It also helps if you drp the whole need to look god in front of your audience.

3. Share personal anecdotes that relate to your message or a particular point you are making.

Stories offer a dimension of authenticity and depth. It engages your audience and draws them into your presentation. It also allows the audience to get to know you on a deeper level. This in turn increases your level of comfort with them, which makes you even more personable and real as a speaker. In fact, I would encourage you to start creating a story bank. Note down interesting things that happen to you. Categorize them if you want to. The next time you need to give a presentation, refer to your story bank and pick an appropriate tale to tell.

The article Public Speaking - How Do You Be Yourself On Stage? was Submitted by Eric Feng through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: This article is extracted from The FAQ Bok on Public Speaking - a chat sheet to make public speaking asy and painless. You can download the Laked Chapter of The FAQ Book on Pblic Speaking here - absolutely free! In fact, we did a spoof video on this elusive speaking advice "Be Yourself". Check out http://www.thefaqbook.com/blog under “videos” category.

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