Public Speaking Rules & Advice

Video Transcript

"Hello! My name is Scott. I am name tag guy from hellomynameisscott.com, on behalf of Expert Village. We are here to learn about public speaking. In our episode today, we are going to learn how to capture the audience’s attention within 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 seconds. So you are paying your attention now, are not you? Stop looking down at your desk. You are captivated. And now you do not have to sing or do something stupid like I just did but here are a couple of examples.

#1 Just get up there and smile and shut up. Just like this. Just look around. Make eye contact that engages people.

#2 Use a number. For example, get up on stage and you say, 97% of all of you are terrified of public speaking. They are all going to saying to themselves, “man! he is right, does he read minds?” That is engaging.

#3 The last example, as I demonstrated earlier: do something crazy. It is okay. I know you might be in an office, filled with people full of suits and red ties and gray suits; do not worry about it, be a little edgy. Your whole speech does not have to be crazy, you do not have to rip your shirt off. I tried that once, it’s not a good idea. My suggestion is, use your non-verbals. Use your gestures. Maybe you can go on to the audience and say, what about you? You can even try touching someone on the shoulder. I have learned that if you capture the attention of one, you can capture the attention of everyone. So consider looking at one particular person. There are many ways you can captivate an audience. But I want you to remember this, that which is exaggerated and ridiculous is never forgotten. "