You Can Write Well… Now Transfer Those Skills To Your Speaking!
Written by Alesha Caines
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If you’re reading this, you will no doubt have extensive creative writing skills. You may have already had a few bylines in some notable literary journals or websites and could have even taken part in some literary events. There is one key part of literary events that you might be well aware of – most people read out their work, whether it is a personal essay, poems, or piece of flash fiction. However, no matter how good your writing skills may be, bad public speaking could cause you to flop. And that could turn into a proper embarrassing situation!
So, are you ready to brush up on your speaking skills so that you can ace your next appearance at a literary event? Then read on for more information!
Embrace Your Nerves
It is perfectly normal to feel nervous before you are about to speak in public. And rather than let the nerves get the better of you, you need to stand up to them and embrace them! As long as you have practised and prepared, you don’t have to worry about your nerves as you will easily be able to overcome them. However, if you need some extra guidance on how to use your nerves to your advantage, there are lots of online guides such as this one.
Enroll In A Course
There are now lots of courses, including Effortless English, that focus on improving spoken English. Some of these courses are aimed at people who are learning English as a second language, but it’s always good to try the course out as there will be plenty of tips and tricks to help you with your own spoken language. For example, many of these courses include classes on enunciation and diction, which can really boost your public speaking.
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Listen To Feedback
It’s a good idea to ask people for feedback on your public speaking. Many will be happy to give you some constructive criticism and a few pointers on how you could improve. It’s important that you listen to these tips and use them to improve for next time. Don’t ever take any of this kind of criticism to heart, though. People just want to help you so that you can improve your performance for next time, and aren’t trying to be mean.
Don’t Hide Who You Are
While you are performing, it is important that you let your personality shine through. This can help the audience warm up to you and enjoy your performance. You might feel slightly inclined to clam up when stage fright sets in, but it is really important that you try and overcome this and let your personality out. Otherwise, you will find that your performance could come across as quite dull and boring.
Don’t worry if you do struggle with public speaking at literary events; it can be a very nerve-wracking situation at first! Eventually, though, you’ll nail it after a while. Just remember that practice is the most important thing you can do!
Bio:Alesha Caines is a freelance writer. She lives and works in the UK.
