How to Practice Public Speaking Like a Pro

One question that we’re often asked is “Where can I practice my public speaking skills?” Well, the answer to that is “Where can’t you practice public speaking?” Public speaking is something you can practice anywhere in your daily life. It does sound a little too good to be true but it is and we’ll break it down for you, so keep reading…

You see, perfection in public speaking without practice isn’t practical. Now, speaking that sentence without mixing up the Ps would take some practice for sure. Clearly, speaking practice is important to master the skill, and we are here to tell you how to practice public speaking with simple tips and tricks.

Types of Methods

There are plenty of methods and tricks that can be useful for almost all kinds of public speakers. We’ll discuss 3 broad ones. Also, before you wonder “But can I practice public speaking at home?” Let us tell you that you absolutely can. So, let’s get into it. We have made sure that we only include economical methods in this blog as a cherry on the cake.

Self-Practice & Assessment Method

We are sure you have heard the expression “Change starts with you” or “change starts at home,” right? Well, the same applies to speech practice, it starts at home, with you. Hence, our first method to practice public speaking is the Self-Practice & Assessment method. 

Let’s start with the ever-so-popular method of using a mirror. Our answer to “Does practicing a speech in the mirror work?” is a resounding “Yes!”. Yes, a mirror helps a lot as it acts as both, an audience and yourself. It lets you practice in front of someone without actually doing that and that’s the beauty of this trick.  It helps you see what you look like, how your mouth and body move when you speak. It’s like a self-assessment technique that also reduces your reliance on notes. This technique has worked in our favor, so try for yourself and find out.

Tongue Twisters Exercise

The next thing we would like to talk about is tongue twisters. They might sound silly but they definitely help. In case you don’t know, a tongue twister is a sequence of words or sounds, typically of an alliterative kind, that is difficult to pronounce quickly and correctly. They are a great yet fun way to improve your pronunciation, fluency as well as your enunciation. Let us give you some examples: She sells seashells by the seashore, He threw three free throws. You can find more of these here.

“Just a Minute” Daily

Now, one thing that we swear by is the power and impact of small but regular efforts. They are always more fruitful than the one-nighters we tend to pull before D-Day, so try what we like to call “Just a Minute” every day. Now, what’s that? Just a minute is simply you taking out one minute from your day and speaking on any random topic that comes in your mind. Believe us, it works and is a great way to prepare for and practice a speech! Also, don’t take our word for it, test it out in a minute! 

You can also include simple breathing exercises or take musical breaks to calm your nerves and control your breathing which plays a major role in public speaking. Discipline is also an essential element of practice, so figure out how much time can you dedicate to improve your skills and practice public speaking. It’s okay if you can only take out 5 minutes a day, just make them count.

Now, you can obviously watch your preferred public speakers learn from them and maybe try to replicate their styles. This will help you practice and might also help you find your style of speaking.

You can even head over to our Youtube channel to hear Danish (our founder) out or head to this blog to hear some awesome tips from our favorite speakers!

Speech Coach Method

Now, moving on, we come to our next method to practice public speaking, let’s talk about our favorite one, obviously. Using a Speech Coach, and not just any speech coach, the one that can fit right into your pocket and can be carried around anywhere and everywhere. I’m talking about our Orai app, your personal AI Speech Coach. Also, don’t miss out on the bonus tips towards the end.

It’s our go-to for English speaking practice online and it also gives instant feedback, which is great. The Orai App is available for both iOS and Android users. It provides you with fun and interactive sessions along with detailed analysis and feedback on your speeches. Here’s why it will surely be your perfect speaking friend :

Why Should I Use Orai?

1. It gives you instant feedback based on a variety of parameters. It takes into consideration everything from your pace and conciseness to your confidence and expressions. It gives you an unbiased analysis anytime and anywhere. We’ve worked with a great team of speech coaches and speakers to work on these metrics and trust me, they’re pretty apt!

2. We understand that every speaker has different objectives and requirements. Some might want tips on “How to get better in presentation and speech?” or maybe just become a better speaker in general. Hence, Orai personalizes the user’s experience and goals according to the user’s needs.

3. Now, you’d like to track your progress if you’re working hard, right? Well, don’t worry because Orai helps you with that too. It tracks your progress as you practice public speaking using it over time and also gives tips and tricks to improve accordingly.

4. The recording tool in Orai is a great one, it catches all flaws in your speech and suggests changes. It helps you identify all filler words such as ‘um, so, etc.’ as well as unnecessary pauses. It also catches parts of your speech which lack clarity and thus, aids you in working to perfect all presentations and speeches.

With the Orai app, you don’t need to rely on anyone. Just take out your phone and practice away. It can evaluate anything from a motivational speech to a work presentation. So, it’s pretty reliable and affordable if you’d like to up your public speaking game!

Peer Connection Method

Tried all self-practice methods and still not satisfied? Well, don’t worry and try the Peer Connection method, yes that’s what we’re calling it for the lack of a better title.

Once, you’ve exhausted all self speaking practice methods, you can take help from your peers or family. We’d say start small if you’re new to the whole public speaking thing by asking a family member or a close friend to listen to you. Ask them for honest feedback and then go from there. Just make sure it’s someone you can trust and someone who is not biased. 

Then, you can move up by gathering a small audience of peers or anyone willing to listen. Deliver your speech and possibly ask them to fill up a basic peer evaluation form for you. And of course, work on the feedback and polish your problem areas. The reason we suggest this method is because we can easily be too critical or not critical enough of our speeches, so another person’s perspective can be helpful. [Insert picture of someone talking to a small group?]

Remember, speaking to smaller groups will undoubtedly help you in conquering your fear of speaking in front of a larger crowd.

“Picture-talk” Exercise

You can also try some activities and games with others. Try what we call the “Picture-talk,” we just made up the name but it’s a great activity to practice. All you have to do is take a picture, look at it for 30 seconds and then describe it to another person for up to 2 minutes, don’t forget to create a visual with your words and let the person be the judge of your craft and creativity. 

(Fun tip : Choose a bizarre or funny picture). Check out other  fun activities and games here.

Bonus Tips!

Though we’ve discussed the 3 major methods, we thought we’ll add some bonus tips for you to ace your public speaking game, so here you go :

1. Public speaking isn’t just about the delivery, instead it focuses on a variety of factors. So, it’s important to practice the elements of effective communication and not just speaking. You can start by improving your vocabulary and finding synonyms of frequently used words.

2. Try out face exercises that can help increase the range of your facial expressions and thus, improve your speech delivery. You can also watch other speakers and performers to learn from them. 

3. Imagine a speaker who keeps their hands on the sides without any movement like a robot, will they pique your interest? We doubt it, so it’s a good idea to work on your hand gestures as well. For example, a clenched fist can express anger or strength. So, try to associate these gestures with your words and make it a part of your speaking practice.

Well, that’s it from us for this blog on different ways and tips to practice public speaking and work on your speeches and presentations. It’s possible to be nervous, but practice and you shall succeed, and Orai is right here. So, download and try it today!