How I learnt to woo the audience after attending a public-speaking class
About a year ago, a friend outside academia attended a talk I gave on the science of emotions, a topic I research at Stanford University in California. I thought the talk went really well. My friend, who works in insurance, disagreed. She said that academics are experts at making interesting stuff boring and inaccessible — and that we should all be required to take a public-speaking class.
The noticeable improvement in feedback inspired me to continue working on my public-speaking skills. It’s a lifelong journey, but here are the four most useful things I’ve learnt.Too often, scientific talks hit the same note, at the same pace, for 45 minutes straight. The best way to get better at playing the instrument of the voice is to practise.
When we work on our talks, we should remind ourselves of two things. First, people typically complain when talks go on for too long — not for being too short. Ending early makes it feel like time flew by and leaves more time for questions and discussion. Second, your audience probably do not care as much about the details as you do. If they do care about the details, they’ll simply ask in the Q&A or through e-mail or social media.
Also, remember to ask about the room. Before my last talk, I asked for a full description of the space. I wanted to visualize the space while I practised. I wanted to think about how loud my voice needed to be, what people would be able to see and how I might move around. By the time I arrived, the setting felt familiar and comfortable. Rather than worrying about the room, I was able to better focus on engaging the audience.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Why expensive gasoline is here to stay'Future presidents and administrations are going to be absolutely bedeviled by high gasoline prices.'
Read more »
Why is it so hard to find NYC-style pizza by the slice in S.A.?San Antonio may be the seventh-largest city in America, but you wouldn't know it if you go looking for that stalwart bastion of the metropolitan lunch hour: a hot pizza sold by the slice.
Read more »
Why A Modern Connected EV Is One Of The Best Safety/Preparedness Investments You Can MakeI recently started a new project called Beyond Preparedness. My goal with the project is to get people (especially 'preppers' who tend to come from the political right) to understand that safety and preparedness goes
Read more »
Why Is It So Hard to Buy a Copy of the Times?Once ubiquitous, print copies of the New York Times are now surprisingly tough to find. alicemdashc investigates
Read more »
Update: TO1 Unveils Digital Album Cover For “WHY NOT??”Updated July 28 KST: TO1 has released the digital album cover for their upcoming mini album! Updated July 27 KST: TO1 has released a second music video teaser for their upcoming title track “Drummin’”! Updated July 26 KST: Before releasing their third mini album “WHY NOT??”, TO1 has shared a highlight medley to preview all
Read more »
Why George Kittle should embrace 49ers’ switch from Garoppolo to LanceGeorge Kittle should become a 1,000-yard receiver again as Trey Lance takes over as the 49ers’ quarterback.
Read more »