How to Improve Public Speaking Transitions
Some people are natural orators, but for many of us the prospect of public speaking brings stress and anxiety. Fortunately, public speaking skills can be acquired with training and practice. One of the keys to successful public speaking is the ability to smoothly transition between topics and ideas in the speech.
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Instructions
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Use transitional words with a specific function. For instance, as you progress in you speech, insert words such as "first," "second" and "third," before and after topics, rather than repeating, "next" or "also" between topics.
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Draw attention to transitions with more than a single word or phrase. Specifically, If you presenting a list of items that are each discussed in detail, help the audience understand when you are transitioning to the next item. For example, announce, "The budget, which I have just described, is the first item on the board's agenda. The second item is public engagement."
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Use only as many transitions as your speech requires or you may confuse the audience. If you overuse transitional phrases and words, the audience may think you are transitioning to a new topic, when in fact you are not. Conversely, if you under-use transitional phrases and words, the audience may not grasp the shift to a new topic.
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Give a breakdown of what you plan to say. For instance, start by advising the audience that you are going to speak on points A, B and C and that within each point, you are going to discuss two specific elements. This will help the audience recognize transitions within the speech.
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Use visual aids to reinforce transitions. An overhead projector can display the heading for each section or item being discussed. Each time you transition to the next part, the slide changes to reinforce the transition.
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References
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