#Professional posts are tips written by Campus Enterprises student employees for Campus Enterprises student employees. Keep an eye on your inbox for the student employee newsletters or check here regularly to get the latest ideas about how to be successful in your on-campus job and beyond!
We all have to do it, and we all hate it, but public speaking and communication in general is an important transferable skill. Many of you reading this right now are in customer service jobs where speaking and communicating well with your team and your customers is vital. Sometimes we forget that even the most simple interactions can have a big impact on our relationships with people. However, if you work on improving your public speaking skills you can improve various aspects of your career and your educational future.
1. Know your audience!
The first thing to know before you even attempt to speak to a public crowd is who your audience is! Ask yourself, “whom am I about to talk to?” and “how do they speak to me?”. If you’ve ever watched someone running for President you will notice that they change their tone, accent and language depending on which crowds they’re speaking to. This is because people are more receptive to their own level of formality in language. For you, as a Campus Enterprises Employee this means you need to understand whether or not you are speaking to your peers and what level of formality is appropriate. This small amount of research before a presentation or speech can help you really reach your target audience!
2. Maintain eye contact.
This one is very simple! Make sure to look at who you are talking to. Eye contact ensures that your audience is engaged and listening. This skill can also help you appear more confident when speaking to your supervisor, and potentially help you earn a promotion! If you find eye contact frightening, you are not alone. However, when speaking in front of a crowd a simple trick is to just focus on the wall behind them. This way you appear to be making strong eye contact, but you don’t have to be stressed!
3. Use hand gestures, and take up space.
When you speak to someone, it always help to emote. People register with others if they are expressing themselves and showing strong emotion. Therefore, you have to learn how to make yourself look less like a robot and more like a human being. This is so easy to do though! All you have to do is emphasize your points with your hands and take up space when you talk. This means properly using your hands to highlight what you are saying and to be confident in the area you are in. Be sure to use this while speaking to customers, coworkers and superiors.
4. Fake it until you make it.
I am not the most confident person, but I can public speak. This is because I pretend to be certain of what I am talking about. You can do this as well, and you will see a large benefit to your work, customer service and overall confidence!