Public Speaking Tips for Interviews, Seminars & Meetings

Let me honest with you: Do you have an experience that matches my question? Have you been in a room and knew the answer - but didn't say anything because you were afraid of how it would come out? Have you gone into an interview believing you knew the subject matter - only to freeze when asked a question?

Many of us can relate to both experiences. After years of training people on how to improve their communication and public speaking skills, I have realized that the issue is rarely about what you know; it is usually about how comfortable you are with the spoken word.

The great news is that comfort can be learned! This collection of public speaking tips will provide you with more clarity, greater confidence and a far lower level of fear whether you are interviewing for a position, giving a presentation at a conference or speaking during a meeting with colleagues. 

Why Public Speaking Skills Matter More Than Ever

Take a moment and consider this — in every single instance in your professional life, the person that articulates what they are trying to say with clear language results in being “recognized.” An example of this would be during an ‘Interview’ process where two candidates have similar qualifications, but one speaks clearly while the other is mumbling through their answers.

During meetings, when people speak up confidently (as opposed to those speaking very little), they will be perceived as having their opinions taken more seriously than someone who does not speak up.

During presentations at seminars, when the presenter actually ‘connects’ with his/her audience he/she will be ‘remembered.’ Therefore, being able to ‘speak well’ is not merely the byproduct of having a certain ‘personality’; it is also a skill that must be learned. Like any other skill (driving a vehicle, cooking food, playing tennis), the practice combined with good coaching will continue to improve the individual over time. 

Before You Speak: Preparation Is Everything

If you are not prepared then you will likely feel nervous when speaking in front of an audience. However, if you have [the needed amount of] preparation = you'll have [the needed amount of] confidence! Here are some tips for proper preparation of one's material:

1. Know Your Content, Not Just Your Script

It is not necessary to be able to recite your content verbatim but it is important to understand your subject well enough to be able to present it in different ways. When you can present it in different ways you will feel less nervous even if you forget how you planned on presenting it.

1. For interviews: know the company and the position you are applying for and your own resume better than they do. 
2. For Seminar presentations: be able to discuss your topic from various perspectives. 
3. For meetings: know the numbers and your opinion.

2. Practise Out Loud — Not Just in Your Head

This is the most impactful method. Most individuals 'prepare' for a talk by only looking over their notes, which constitutes reading and not speaking. The way you will best prepare yourself will be by getting up, speaking out loud and if possible recording yourself.

While hearing those recordings of yourself, you can easily identify the errors you did not recognize while speaking, such as using filler words, talking too quickly, and not pausing for effect. However, this practice, out loud exercises the best possible way to improve your speaking habits. 

3. Prepare for Questions, Not Just Your Content

Preparing for an interview, seminar, or meeting includes anticipating questions to help you feel less anxious and more confident. Think of the top three questions that are likely to come up during your interaction with them and create clear, concise responses for them. In other words, you’re building a quick mental plan. That way, you gain some sway over the whole anxious feeling of not having a ready reply for the unexpected stuff. 

How to Control Nervousness Before and During Speaking

Public speaking can cause anxiety. However, while professional speakers may also feel anxiety when speaking in front of an audience, but over the time they have learned to work with their anxiety. 

You can help eliminate some of your anxiety by practicing the following:

• Take three deep breaths before you start speaking; this will help relax your body and get your heart rate under control.
• Arrive at the interview, seminar, or meeting early: Arriving early will help make you familiar with your surroundings and provide you with an opportunity to reduce your environmental anxiety.
• Instead of trying to fight your adrenaline rush — use it: use the same adrenaline rush that is creating anxiety. You can reframe your adrenaline from a fear of public speaking to excitement over the opportunity to speak. The feeling is the same; it is only how you perceive that feeling.
• Focus on the message that you have to deliver and not on how your audience perceives you. When feeling anxious before or while speaking to an audience most of the anxiety is self-focused; i.e., "What will they think about me". Turn your attention away from yourself towards your audience by asking yourself the question, "What do they need to know?" This mental shift reduces self-consciousness dramatically.

Also Read: How to Build Self-Confidence and Overcome Self-Doubt

Public Speaking Tips Specifically for Job Interviews

Communication skills for interviews are a bit technical. Even though an interview is a conversation between you and an interviewer, it can feel like an exam because of the evaluation process that occurs during the interview process. Here are some ways to help you turn that dynamic around in your favour.

1. Create a Structure to Your Response Using the STAR Method

Answering behavioral questions (for example: "Can you tell me about a time when you dealt with a difficult situation?") using the Situation - Task - Action - Result structure will give your answer a clear shape (will not ramble) and will show confidence in your response despite being nervous.

2. Slow Down at the Beginning of Each Answer

Most people who are nervous tend to speak quickly; this makes it hard for listeners to understand what you're saying and causes listeners to perceive you as being less confident. To avoid these issues, make it a point to slow down for at least the first 30 seconds of each answer before getting into your natural speaking pace.

3. Use Deliberate Pauses to Create Pauses in Your Speech

When an interviewer asks a question, pausing before answering does not show awkwardness; rather, it gives you a moment to think about the question before answering it appropriately. For instance, by saying to the interviewer, "That's a good question - let me think for a second," you give yourself 3 to 5 seconds to think before responding.

Your response will set you up for a better impression than providing a rambling or unorganized longer answer immediately. Interviewers values the candidates who take their own time before answering them. 

4. Maintain Eye Contact

Always focus your full attention towards the interviewer’s body language as a way to show confidence and build trust with him/her. You should make a well-coordinated effort to engage eye contact with all of the interviewers who are present, even though you may have a specific one to watch. As you give an answer to the question being asked, while still employing a look to the one who asked, attempt to share your look in between two or more of the other interviewers. 

Also Read: 8 Types of Listening in Communication and How They Improve Your Communication

Public Speaking Tips for Seminars and Presentations

Speaking at a seminar or giving a presentation has a different energy from an interview. You are not answering someone — you are leading the room. That is a privilege, but it comes with responsibility to engage your audience.

1. Open with Something That Gets Attention

Those seeking to capture their audience's attention should avoid introducing themselves with "Hello Everyone, My Name Is...". These introductions tend to be forgettable after 30 seconds because the audience will begin looking at their phones.  

2. Talk to the Audience — Not at Them

To keep the audience's attention engaged, use eye contact and engage with your audience through questions such as, "How many people have had similar situations?". When speaking to an audience, it is important to create an environment for conversation, even if you are the only one speaking.  

3. Use Your Voice as a Tool

An uninterested audience will become distracted or disengaged, regardless of your subject matter. Speaking louder during key points in your speech, speaking slower to create time for important thoughts to be processed and stopping after making a key point allows you to allow time for your audience to process your key point.  

4. Handle Questions with Confidence

You should always answer questions with a tone of confidence; if you do not know the answer to a question, do not try to just bluff your way through the answer or affiliate the question to something that is in your expertise. You should respond such as "That is a good question, I will try to answer with my expertise".

However, if it is something you have no expertise or experience with, be honest with the individual and tell them that you do not have the expertise to give them the answer and you will follow up wth a response.  Being honest will also create a better experience for both parties. 

How to Speak Confidently in Meetings

Meetings are where careers are quietly made or missed. People who speak up thoughtfully in meetings get noticed. People who stay silent are often forgotten — even if they do great work behind the scenes. Here few simple tips for speaking in meetings:  

• Speak early in the meeting. The longer you wait, the harder it becomes. Make a small contribution in the first 5–10 minutes — even if it is just asking a clarifying question. It breaks the mental barrier and makes it easier to speak again
• Come prepared with one point. Before every meeting, decide one thing you want to say or contribute. Having a prepared point removes the 'I don't know what to say' anxiety in the room
• Be concise. In meetings, shorter is almost always better. Make your point clearly in 3–4 sentences. Then stop. The person who rambles gets tuned out. The person who speaks precisely gets respected
• Disagree respectfully. If you have a different view, say: 'I see it slightly differently — here is why.' You do not have to be aggressive to be direct. Confident disagreement, stated calmly and with reasoning, is one of the most respected forms of communication in any professional setting

Body Language: What Your Body Says When You Are Not Talking

Repeatedly, Studies show that words alone provide only part of the message communicated in verbal communication. Before you've uttered a single word, your body language (your posture, your gestures, your eye contact and your facial expressions) signifies whether or not you are confident.

The easiest thing you can do is to make sure you have good posture before speaking in any situation; i.e., sit up tall/straight, place your feet both flat on the ground, and relax your shoulders while doing so. Improving your physical posture is beneficial to both your perception of being confident and how others see you as being confident.

Final Thoughts

The ability to speak in public is not something that you are born with. It can be learned and improved by everyone who puts their mind to it, works at it and has a positive attitude toward developing that ability.

Every time you speak up in an interview, ask a question in a seminar, or give an opinion or idea at a meeting; you are practicing and developing a skill which will continue to compound over time. Those who speak well not only get to speak more often but will also be remembered and rewarded with promotions more than others who do not have this ability.

Start small. Practise often. And do not wait until you feel ready — because that feeling of readiness only comes after you have already started.