Public speaking is an art that constantly evolves, and in 2024, it’s no different. Whether you’re addressing a small team or standing in front of a packed auditorium, how you convey your thoughts will either resonate deeply or fall flat. Here’s how to ensure you’re always at your best.
Tips on Public Speaking in 2024 by Paul Park
- Former Harvard Toastmasters Club President of 1.5 years.
- Former MIT Toastmasters VPE.
- Multiple International Speech & Table Topics Wins on Three Continents.
- Father, husband, writer, speaker, autodidact, goofball, and business development architect for 8 businesses, managing $500k in ad spend per year with a ROAS of ~$3M, specializing in Google Analytics & Ads, remotely.
- Visited online Toastmasters clubs on six of seven continents.
Be Real.
This isn’t just a nice-to-have—authenticity is essential. Being real means speaking from a place of sincerity, which, believe it or not, requires work. Think. Write. Rewrite. Redraft. Get Feedback. Rewrite. Read Aloud. Cut & Clean. Refine. Recite. Memorize. That process is not just about polishing your content but embedding it into your neural pathways. When the pressure is on, this preparation will let your passion and authenticity shine through, allowing you to connect with your audience on a deeper level. The more you grow, the more tools you’ll gain—but at the heart of it, you’ll always return to your core values, beliefs, and experiences. It’s not about perfect delivery; it’s about speaking your truth.
- Think. Write. Rewrite. Redraft. Get Feedback. Rewrite. Read Aloud. Cut & Clean. Refine. Recite. Memorize. Finally, Adapt/Rewrite Live.
- The steps in your speech building process build the neural frameworks with which you’ll access/use while you’re in the live environment, pulling from your inspirations and data cores – let the beast out and unleash your passion at key moments. As you develop and grow, you’ll gain a range of tools; however, later you’ll refocus on your core strengths/values/philosophies/experiences/education/beliefs/feelings.
Don’t Make It About You.
While it seems counterintuitive, the less you center the speech on yourself, the more powerful your delivery will be. Public speaking is fundamentally about sharing ideas, not about how you look doing it. People are not as interested in our interpretation of ourselves—they want to connect to ideas that resonate with them. Shift the focus outward and deliver your message in a way that serves your audience.
- The more you get stuck in your head, the worse the delivery will generally be.
- People are less interested in our interpretation of ourselves; write/speak your perspective in the truest sense of communication: sharing ideas.
Read Aloud & Cut What Sucks.
Don’t be afraid to be brutally honest with your work. Cringe from Multiple Perspectives, but don’t compromise on staying true to yourself and the facts. Writing something that doesn’t feel quite right? Cut it. Speaking it aloud makes weak points glaringly obvious. Stay committed to your voice and the real results you want to communicate, even if it means making tough cuts.
- Cringe from Multiple Perspectives
- But, Stay True to Yourself & The Facts aka The Real Results
Be An Active Thinker.
You are always engaged, adapting your thoughts and processes to what’s in front of you. As a speaker, you need to embody this. Keep your mind flexible and responsive to the room, to the feedback, and to your own emotions. Every great speech is a living, breathing thing that adapts to the environment. Your intelligence shines through when you can actively think on your feet, incorporating real-time observations into your delivery.
- 7 Signs You’re Highly Intelligent.
Speak Like You Write. Write As You Speak.
There’s a natural rhythm when an articulate person speaks about a topic they’re truly connected to. Every word comes from experience, every sentence flows naturally because it’s part of their daily life. This clarity is where public speaking shines—when it feels like you’re simply having a conversation with your audience, no barriers, just thought-to-speech, with mastered delivery techniques sprinkled in to highlight key points. Combine this clarity with the spontaneity of a quick thinker, and you’ve got a winning formula.
- There’s nothing more natural and effective than an articulate person speaking their mind about a topic they’re truly connected with throughout their purpose, lives, and daily actions.
- Every scenario benefits from clarity of speech combined with mastered, spontaneous “combustion” of thoughts, aligned with skills & A/B testing of deliveries.
People Will Read Little About Anything Else, But They’ll Reread a Story About Themselves Several Times
The most memorable speeches are those where the audience can see themselves in your story. It’s about creating a mirror that reflects their emotions, experiences, and aspirations. Craft your speech with the understanding that people will replay anything that hits home. When you speak to their core, they’ll listen to your words more than once—even if it’s just replaying it in their minds long after you’ve finished speaking.
Looking for Mary Poppins, English Experts, Writers, Content Developers, Cinematographers, Editors, Advanced Q&A Specialists, and Talented Tutors/Teachers/Guides/Coaches/Mentors:
If you’re sweet and kind and can tell yourself, “My job now is to teach, to open doors for those daring to cross its threshold.”…
You’re tidy, clean, an arranger, and an organizer. You have a big heart but have your personal tendencies as well. You’re a little crazy sometimes, but you have learned with time, experience, and care, to breathe in and out and maintain composure.
You like to sing tunes, and have a smorgasbord of rhymes stored in your head that come about suddenly from time to time and are filled with affectable ethics, morals, and tidbits of knowledge. Teaching basic arithmetic, scientific concepts, and sustainability are as natural to you as teaching a child to recognize shapes and animals. You’re savvy with online educational platforms and have experience adapting content relatively fluidly and with sometimes, personal style. You also like to tinker around with furniture and interesting adaptations of resourcefulness to create better surroundings.
You’re human and seeking an environment of growth, acceptance, and kindness, willing to focus on strengths to bring about positive outcomes.
We’re flexible, adaptive, and reasonable.
3-year agreement
email: paul@internationalbubble.com
- Why It Was Effective & Who It Filtered
You Are Your Own Teleprompter. Visualize & Share What You See.
This is an important skill: seeing your thoughts in front of you as you speak. When you read your script aloud, don’t just go through the motions—let the ideas form visualizations in your mind. Then, practice without the script. Remove the crutches, and you’ll find that your brain can still access those vivid images, allowing you to communicate naturally. That’s how you unlock freedom in your speech. You see it, and now your job is just to describe what you see.
- Take a moment to practice a very valuable skill; gather your thoughts and assemble them in front of your eyes.
- Read your script in your natural voice, in an automated voice, and then as if you’re generating on the spot. Then remove every support point, relying only on your brain and voice, open your eyes, and ask yourself the question again. Speak freely.
Close Your Eyes & Pause. Then Begin Again with Power.
When doubt creeps in, take a deep breath, pause on a meaningful word, and find your grounding. Close your eyes for just a moment if needed—then open them and continue with confidence. That deliberate pause is a powerful tool. It resets your mental rhythm and prepares you to deliver the next key point with even more impact. Own the space, own the silence, and own your comeback.
- When the storm comes and doubt rumbles, find a word to pause on – take a deep breath and close your eyes and find the next opener and KEY POINT you want to share. Breathe and begin again in a slow, powerful tone.
Slow Down.
If you’re speaking 100 words and someone only catches 70%, have you really communicated effectively? Slowing down forces clarity. When you speak 50 words deliberately and powerfully, your audience absorbs your message fully. Don’t race against time—let your words land, resonate, and make an impact. A well-placed pause can often say more than a flurry of rushed words.
- If you speak 100 words and a person hears 70%, have they heard you?
- If you speak 50 words slowly, carefully, and powerfully, does your audience hear you?
End Key Sentences/Words with a Downward Tone.
If you consistently end your sentences on a high note, you’ll sound unsure—almost as though you’re asking for permission to be heard. Ending with a downward tone conveys confidence, authority, and finality. It leaves no room for ambiguity. This is a technique often seen in powerful leaders and speakers. Master it, and you’ll command attention without ever raising your voice.
- If we always end our statements and questions with a very high tone, we’re the underdog.
- If you watch any “authoritative” character in media, you’ll notice a pattern to the way they end their statements with a downward tone. Use it wisely.
Focus on Your Strength, Not Your Weakness.
- Write and speak about what you know and have thought about deeply, not the words put in front of you as a collection of minds. Start fresh without tools. Use tools. Then remove them.
Look at People’s Foreheads.
Getting lost in eye contact can break your concentration or make you feel overly self-conscious. A trick that works wonders? Look at people’s foreheads. It gives the illusion of eye contact without the distractions. You remain focused on delivering your speech, while they feel engaged. Simple yet effective.
- Don’t Get Lost in Other People’s Eyes as They’re Reflecting Your Efforts
The Audience Can’t Hurt You.
The only pain that can come from public speaking is self-inflicted. At the end of the day, the audience is just a collection of humans, much like yourself. Remember that physical violence is highly unlikely (at least, we hope!). So, let go of the fear. Speak freely, create fearlessly, and share your heart without hesitation. You are in control, and no one can take that from you.
Public speaking in 2024 requires adaptability, clarity, and authenticity. Follow these guidelines, and not only will you improve your public speaking skills, but you’ll learn how to connect with your audience in a way that’s meaningful, powerful, and lasting.
- Remember, we live in a semi-civilized society and you’ve chosen your environments semi-wisely. Physical violence is highly unlikely. The only pain that can occur from this event is self-generated. Be free and just create, then share with your heart.
