How to Establish Credibility as a Public Speaker

Getting the audience to believe you is an important part of giving a speech. The audience needs to know that you have the qualifications to speak on your topic and that they should listen to what you tell them. Establish your credibility in the beginning so that they know they can trust what you're saying. Here are tips on public speaking.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Dress appropriately for the situation. Casual clothes won't make you appear impressive in a formal group. For most speeches, it's not recommended that you show too much skin. That can make you look like you're trying to distract the audience because your topic isn't important and can establish the wrong message.

2. Show your confidence. If you make it clear that you understand your topic, the audience is more likely to believe you. Appearing to be nervous or unprepared can make you seem less qualified to speak on the topic. Keeping good eye contact can show your confidence.

3. Share your personal experiences. If the audience realizes that you have gone through the process personally, they can see that you know what you're speaking about. Keep your experiences related to your topic, but don't just list everything you've done or you risk becoming a boring speaker.

4. Pronounce all your words correctly. You won't establish your credibility while speaking if you're mispronouncing words that you should know for your subject. If you have too much trouble with a word, you should find a different one that has the same meaning. Also watch how you phrase things. You don't want your statements taken the wrong way.

5. Give evidence that supports what you're saying. Seeing that another credible source agrees with you can enhance your own credibility. Don't give any false statistics. This will destroy your purpose of trying to establish your credibility while speaking.