How to develop public speaking skills

Public speaking, as a profession, has been practiced and spread since ancient times, where those who managed to master this art, could position themselves in the highest spheres of society. Nowadays, the skill of public speaking is used in multiple fields as a tool for social communication. Being a good speaker is the result of a mixture of innate aptitude, dedication and a lot of practice. Regardless of how good you are at public speaking, you can improve this skill if you dedicate enough time to training and enhancing your communication skills.

During this session, we will be offering you a series of recommendations that will be useful to get you started in the world of public speaking and develop your skills as a communicator, in a simple and progressive way.

Lean on mirror neurons: The human being is capable of learning almost any skill through observation and practice. At the neuronal level, a curious effect stands out when we observe someone performing a certain action. This effect is related to the activation of the so-called "mirror neurons". Mirror neurons are those that are responsible for reproducing certain information in our brain, the result of the observation and visualization of something that is striking to us.

A clear example of this can be found in the practice of physical exercise. When we carefully observe our trainer performing a specific movement, these neurons will try to reproduce as accurately as possible the same movement when you are going to execute it. The repetition of the "visualize-execute" process allows us to perfect the movement more and more to make it as similar as possible to the observed pattern.

In public speaking, as in physical training, it is possible to rely on the use of mirror neurons if we want to learn from people who master this profession and have capabilities significantly superior to ours. Use audiovisual materials of great speakers and try to decipher which are the elements that you can adapt to your profile, then put them into practice during your training. Repeat the process as many times as necessary, remember that it is not about copying the person in front of you, but about learning and adapting the skill to your personal characteristics.

Rehearse from the listener's perspective: One of the most common mistakes when rehearsing is not rehearsing from the listener's perspective. When rehearsing we are not able to observe ourselves, our perspective is completely biased and the only information we receive is from listening to our own voice at the same moment we are speaking. Record yourself while rehearsing and visualize yourself afterwards. Try to recreate the listener's feeling, examine your posture and make notes that will allow you to redirect your presentation during the next rehearsals.

Speaking in front of a camera conveys a certain feeling of discomfort, this is because we feel that we are being observed by a foreign agent. This is the feeling you have to get used to, otherwise you will be preparing in a scenario that is not realistic and will not resemble the one you are practicing for.

Recreate the stage: Recreating the stage is nothing more than trying to adapt the environment where you are rehearsing to one that is as close as possible to the one you will be facing. If you have to give a speech standing up, rehearse standing, if you have to be on a seated panel, adopt the actual position you will be in on the day of the presentation. Similarly, you should consider elements such as the microphone or cameras. Something as simple as a microphone can change everything during a presentation. Emulating the stage where you rehearse and adapting it to the real conditions will make you feel more confident when presenting to your audience.