Public Speaking
by:
James N. Morrison & Associates
Professional Speaking & Leadership Training
James N. Morrison, President
Copyright Considerations: Optimist International reserves all rights to all materials contained in this Skills Development Module. Permission to photocopy, distribute and use these materials as educational supplements in Club and District training is hereby granted to all Optimist International Club members. No other
permission for any other reason is granted without prior written permission of the copyright owners.
INTRODUCTION
I’d rather die than give a speech! How many times have you heard that phrase uttered?
Have you ever made the statement or at least thought it?
You’re not alone in your feelings. One version of the “Book of Lists” identifies speaking before a group as the greatest human fear. The list includes – heights, insects, snakes, sickness and even death. Death, as a matter of fact, comes in seventh place on the list –
so when people say they would rather die than give a speech, THEY ARE SERIOUS!
Why, then, do people like me, a professional speaker enjoy the platform? We are really not sick or masochistic. Indeed, many professionals are as scared in front of an audience as some of you. Other speakers, including me, come from a performance background and enjoy being in front of people. That is not to say we aren’t nervous; of course we are. But the nervousness is good for us and shows that we are concerned. This module provides steps to help deal with these fears.
LESSON OBJECTIVE
Upon completing this module, participants should be able to prepare and give a short presentation to an Optimist meeting (or other similar group of their choice). The participant will be able to break the overall presentation into small steps which can more easily be accomplished while striving to achieve the main goal of actually giving the presentation.
NOTE TO OPTIMIST MEMBER…This module will not discuss research of a topic or expertise. It is assumed you will be knowledgeable on your topic or do appropriate study.
This module is designed to help you in improving your presentation skills.
LESSON DESCRIPTION
This module will cover. . .
• tips in preparing for a presentation,
• presentation format (including openings and closings),
• tips for just prior to actually presenting,
• things to do and not to do while giving the presentation and
• handling questions.
