Public Speaking Dilemma: What To Do When You Don’t Have Enough Time

Do you have a standard hour-length presentation, but your host can only spare a half hour? Are you in the middle of a presentation when you realize that, due to a late start or abundant questions, you are running out of time?

No matter what your topic, always be flexible and ready to cut short your session (or ready to lengthen, as the case may be). Here are some ways to make sure your presentation always fits the time slot.

Pointer #1: Use a timed outline

When you create your presentation outline, include time estimates next to each section (I like to add mine in red to make them easier to spot on the page).

A brief, one-page bulleted outline (or two pages double-sided) will be easier to time than a long, rambling novel written in paragraphs.

Practice your presentation and jot down time estimates as you go (two minutes for opening, five minutes for section I, seven minutes for section II, etc.) When you get to the end, add up all the time and determine whether you should add to or subtract from any sections to make it all fit into the allotted time slot.

If you have to edit severely to fit into a different time frame and your presentation will be adversely affected, you might want to develop separate self-contained presentations for short, medium and long time slots.

(If you are a PowerPoint user, see the book “Beyond Bullet Points” for instruction on creating a PowerPoint that serves different timing needs.)

Pointer #2: Shift information depending on its priority

If you notice that you are running out of time while in the middle of a presentation, you may have to shift some of your content around. If you have important points at the end of the presentation, now is the time to bring them forward. As soon as you notice the time crunch, start changing the order of your sections.

When creating and practicing your presentation, it’s always a good idea to think ahead about how you would handle this situation. The layout of your bulleted outline should make it easy to see which sections to leave out, move up or move down.

If you have to leave out something that you feel is important, gather business cards from the audience and offer to e-mail them additional content.

Pointer #3: Supplement with handouts

There’s usually some information that we want to share, but that we don’t necessarily want to include in our live presentation. You might have some relevant articles to supplement your workshop, or you might have charts and graphs that you didn’t have time for or the technology to project.

Use handouts wisely. If the material does not need to be reviewed during your presentation, then leave handouts at the back of the room for the audience to pick up on the way out. If you choose to put them on seats before you begin, be aware that your audience may spend half the time reading and not listening to you.

Your handouts should always include your contact information and a link to your website, if you have one. Make sure all resources and references are clear and easy to read; use graphics if appropriate and leave a lot of white space on the page. Don’t overload handouts with text; make them concise and relevant to your presentation. Otherwise, they will end up in the recycling bin!

Follow these suggestions, and you will always be prepared, no matter how much (or little) time you have.

The Importance of Eye contact in Public Speaking

In order to effectively undertake the tricky task of public speaking, there are many factors you have to work on, but one of the most essential tools you can use is that of eye contact. Your eye contact can make or break your speech, and by using it in a positive way you can keep your audience more involved and interested in what you have to say.

Think of it this way – you are attending two speeches in the day, both about the same topics. The first speaker fails to make eye contact with the audience, his eyes are often darting all over the place, with no real strong looks towards the audience. The second speaker always makes sure his eyes are up. He makes eye contact with various members of the audience and keeps his eye contact strong and steady at all time. Which person do you think has the most effective public speaking skills? The second speaker of course. By using eye contact he is keeping the audience interested in what he is saying. Making eye contact with people creates a bond between speaker and audience. Whereas by making your eyes wander all over the place as the first speaker did, you may come across as being nervous and having a lack of confidence.

By looking at your audience you can also keep note of their reactions to your speech. Once you realize what parts they like, you can build on those areas and use tools you know they will like and react to. This will also let you know if your message is being heard.

In order to have effective presentation skills and ensure you message is really being received by your audience then you must maintain good eye-contact. By doing this you create a rapport with the audience as well as establishing trust and credibility. It’s also a way of saying ‘thanks’ to your audience for taking the time to listen to what you have to say. After all no one wants to listen to a speech by someone who looks like they don’t want to be there or are not interested in what they are saying.

By maintaining eye contact with the audience you will also help rid yourself of any public speaking fears you may have. It will make you feel more sure of yourself and boost your confidence, helping improve your speech making skills and have you talking publicly like a professional in not time.

Teleprompting – A Speaker’s Dream Come True

When my new husband told me he was going to be teleprompting I was clueless as to what he was talking about. He explained that it was like cue cards but on a computer screen and used extensively not just by the media, but also by corporations for presentations and for video taping commercials. Okay, that sounds interesting but how does it work?

After the speech is written, it is input to a computer that will allow it to be displayed in front of the speaker without the audience being aware of its existence. I remembered from my past speaking encounters where I had to memorize everything that I wanted to say and the order that it would go in for a complete uniformity. It usually meant a tremendous amount of practicing the evening before or taking a stack of 3×5 index cards with me for the presentation. Teleprompting has simplified this process for the speaker. They no longer need to memorize a speech; they only need to be able to read from a screen in front of them. Image the hours of practice, not to mention the stress this removes from the speaker.

I was interested in how this came about. The first teleprompters were created in the 1950s by Fred Barton Jr., Hubert J. Schlafly and Irving Kahn. At the time Fred Barton was an actor and suggested the teleprompter as a way of assisting the performers who had too many lines to memorize in a small amount of time. The script was printed on a paper scroll and advanced as the performer read.

In 1982, the first computer based teleprompting system was developed and ran on an ATARI 800 personal computer with very specialized teleprompting software to work with the camera hardware which was also modified. Today’s teleprompter still runs on a personal computer and is connected to video monitors on one or more cameras. This monitor is placed directly in front of the camera so it gives the impression of the speaker talking directly to the camera instead of reading a script. The displays used vary drastically depending on the type of presentation. One which I’m sure you’ve seen used and not even noticed, is the presidential glass. It is mostly transparent so that it will not block the view of the speaker by the audience or cameras. Even singers such as Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen, and Elton John have used teleprompter hardware on stage.

Okay, enough about the history and hardware of teleprompting. I am now being made aware of the fact that there is an “art” also being employed here. Let me explain. The basic idea is of a script being up on screen and the speaker reading from it. Too many times this will sound like it is being read. This is not usually the impression that they want to convey. A “seasoned” teleprompting operator knows how to get in touch with the speaker and craft the speech to their speaking style. During rehearsal, the teleprompting operator is listening intently for voice inflection to make sure that the speaker is comfortable with the flow. Sometimes it means changing a word or two or rewording a sentence to ensure a natural delivery. A professional teleprompting operator knows how to get these results and understands that there’s more to prompting than typing in a script and turning a knob. For the speaker, finding a good teleprompting operator can be a real salvation.

How to be a Great Speaker Without Using PowerPoint

RESEARCH YOUR AUDIENCE It amazes me how some speakers will show up for a speaking engagement and really not know anything about the audience they are speaking to. Many speakers just get lazy and feel that their message is so important that anyone would want to hear it. They couldn’t be more wrong. Your core message may be about the same for everyone, but knowing your audience will allow you to slant the information so that the audience feels it was prepared just for them. They will relate much better to the information and think much more highly of you for creating something specifically for them. Of course, in many cases you were only slanting your information, but I won’t tell if you won’t.

PRACTICE The only way to look polished while speaking is to practice. This is one skill you cannot delegate to anyone else. It is you that is on stage with the microphone and it is you who will look either great or terrible. You are sadly mistaken and egotistical if you think the PowerPoint slides that either you or someone else created will make you a dynamic speaker. There are specific techniques used to practice that don’t take much time and make you look extremely polished. One of these techniques is called bits. You practice a short piece of material over and over again. You don’t practice it word for word, but just talk your way through it. This way you won’t blank out when a distraction happens while you are on stage.

TAKE CARE OF HECKLERS The following is my famous asterisk technique; I use it to make sure hecklers don’t interrupt my presentation. I get people in the group to identify potential troublemakers BEFORE I get to the event. I phone these people and interview them to give them the attention they are craving. I then mention their names during the speech. This virtually eliminates the chance they will give me a hard time because I am praising one of their opinions. This works really well but don’t mention their names exclusively or the rest of the audience that knows these people are trouble may think that you are just as bad. Mention a wide variety of people in the audience. Just make sure the bad ones are included which normally keeps them at bay.

USE EMOTIONAL LANGUAGE Boring old facts rarely move people to action. Learning to use words that evoke emotions in people will make a much greater impact when you speak. There are many emotions you can trigger in the audience just by your choice of words. Happiness, anger, sadness, nostalgia are just a few. Knowing your purpose for being in front of the group helps you to pick which emotions you want to tap. When your purpose is known, choosing words to get the desired emotional response is much easier. For instance, if you wanted to take someone back to a childhood experience you might say, “Do you remember when someone did something bad at school and the teacher smacked the yardstick on her desk?” The word Phrase “smacked the yardstick” would evoke an emotional response that many adults can relate to. A younger group may not relate to this phrase since corporal punishment has all but disappeared from schools. You must pick the words that would mean something to your audience.

REVEAL YOURSELF Often people have trouble implementing this idea because they like to remain aloof and private. This will hurt their chances of making a good connection with people in the audience. You certainly don’t have to reveal your deepest darkest secrets when on stage, but you certainly could tell someone how much you like horses, or how you love to cook . . .anything that will give them a glimpse into the real you will give you a better chance of connecting with them and getting them to listen to you.

USE PROPS A prop is worth a thousand words. People can really anchor a thought in their minds when it is connected to an object that relates to the point you are trying to make. You could use large, small, funny or serious props. Always relate the prop to the point you are trying to make and make sure the audience can see it. Sometimes you’ll want to hide the prop so people don’t wonder what it is until you are ready to present it.

USE HUMOR Even Shakespeare used humor in the middle of the tragedies he wrote. Humor is a powerful and effective tool that gives the audience’s mind a chance to breath in the face of heavy material. It also makes you more likable and fun to listen to. Humor is also much more likely to make your information more memorable. You don’t have to be a stand up comedian to use humor in speeches and presentations, and you don’t have to tell jokes either. There are many ways to add humor that don’t require any skill at all. You can show funny visuals, tell stories, or read from books or periodicals. Just like with props, make sue your humor relates to the point you are trying to make and you will be much more successful. Each issue of “Great Speaking” has about 20 pieces of humor you can use during speeches.

MOVE ‘EM TO ACTION If you are going to bother taking up people’s time to speak to them, don’t you think it would be a good idea to get them to do something positive because of your presentation? Even if they do something negative, it’s still better than doing nothing because they will at least get a chance to learn something from their mistake. Regardless of the size of your ego, the reality is that you are there for them, not the other way around. I’m all for you building up your reputation, but if you go into your speech thinking it’s all for you, it will show and you probably won’t do as well as you would have had you concentrated on the needs of the audience more.

BRING SOLUTIONS One of the best ways to make sure the audience loves you is to bring solutions to their problems. If you have done a thorough job of researching your audience, you already know what their problems are. It’s your job to bring ideas for them to try. In modern day thinking this is what motivational speaking is all about. No longer is it good enough to get people all fired up where they are bouncing off the walls without a clue as to what they will do with this new found excitement and motivation. Modern professional motivational speakers bring solutions and a plan of action to achieve them. Now those are motivating.

PAY ATTENTION TO LOGISTICS The best preparation, practice, and audience research could be ruined if you forget to pay attention to all the details surrounding a presentation. You want to know what is happening before you speak, and what is happening after you speak: How are the people seated? Are they at round tables where half of them are facing away from you, or are there no tables at all? What kind of microphone is appropriate? How big is the screen in the room? Will the people be drinking alcohol? What is the lighting like? All these items and many more affect the overall effectiveness of a presentation. The same exact words delivered with significantly different logistics could be received in entirely different ways. You could even go from a fantastic evaluation to a bomb just because of the way people are seated. It’s up to you to know the differences and how they affect a presentation.

Get ‘em On Stage

Good public speaking should use attention gaining devices. Here is one that works every time: virtually every public speaking presentation I do, I find some excuse to get someone on stage with me. When an audience member is on stage, the rest of the audience is glued to the action for the following reasons:

1. They want to see what is going to happen to one of their own.

2. They are priming themselves to be up there.

3. They are worrying to death that they may be asked to be up there.

Reasons 1 and 2 are good and reason 3 is not so good. For 1 and 2 the mindset of the observing audience member is that, “I want to watch to see what my colleague or other audience member will do when they are on stage. No matter how exciting you are at public speaking, you cannot compete with the excitement generated by someone who is on stage who is not “supposed” to be on stage.

The other mindset is, “I BETTER watch what is going on in case I am asked to go up there.” This mindset is good too, because it forces the audience member to actually think about the point you are trying to make.

For number 3, you want to keep shy or sensitive audience members from withdrawing from your program altogether because of the fear that they may be asked to stand up in front of everyone. Public speaking is discomforting for them. This chance of withdrawal is easily eliminated by the following statement:

In a moment I’m going to ask for some / a volunteer to come on stage with me. Don’t worry. No one will have to come up if they don’t want to.

If you have a high percentage of shy audience members, you will almost feel the breeze as they breath a sigh of relief at being able to avoid public speaking.

Now we will take a look at what things you can do with them once you get them on stage. According to a study done at the University of Wichita, public recognition is one of the top motivators of people. If you claim to be “motivational” at public speaking, it might be a good idea for you to use your highly public profile while you are public speaking to give out public recognition. I find out the good things that particular audience members have done during my extensive research before the public speaking program.

Here are some ways to use the information you learn:

* Recognize a single audience member for a particular achievement, or for a period of high performance.
* Recognize a group of audience members for a particular achievement, or period of high performance.

While they are on-stage make a custom visual highlighting their achievement, or performance (If you use an overhead you can give it to the audience member or team after you show it. Do not forget to include your company name at the bottom of the visual. Many times these will be hung on the wall in the organization which will give you free publicity).

Another reason to get an audience member or group on stage is for some sort of demonstration. I do one where I’m demonstrating personal space across cultures. The person helping me gets a good laugh from the audience as we interact.

Try to have pre planned ad-libs ready to go for many of the comments or questions you anticipate from the people on stage. You can also have someone on stage to assist you in writing on the flip chart, changing overheads, or to blow a horn when someone in the audience asks a good question. Use your imagination.

Whenever, someone is up there to assist you in your public speaking, make sure you give them some kind of prize. One of your products is usually good because it gives you a chance to mention it without using a hard sell. And just about always lead the audience in a round of applause for the participants as they return to their seats. Your audience will love your public speaking.

Fluent Speech And How To Achieve It

This article is all about how to achieve fluency and looks at the specific speech impediment known as stammering/stuttering. My name is Steve Hill, I suffered with a stutter from the age of four and despite regular conventional speech therapy, continued stuttering until the age of twenty-two.

I found life with a stutter extremely frustrating as at times I could speak very well. For example when I spoke to what is now my ex-girlfriend I very rarely had a problem, however when attempting to speak to her parents I struggled quite badly.

When I was drunk my fluency level also would improve to a level where I would be shocked if I stuttered at all.

I could not understand why I could talk to one person but not to another and why I could speak when I was drunk but not when I was sober.

I read many books about speech imediments, achieving fluency and stuttering and spoke to many speech therapists. From what I read and from what I was told, I was made to believe that I was unable to live a stuttering-free life as it suggested you are unable to eradicate a stutter.

This is a very negative attitude, however I could not really believe what I was hearing and reading as I knew I could talk very well at times.

I then was fortunate enough to watch Bruce Willis being interviewed on the television. He stated that he had had a stutter which had started when he was a young boy, however he had managed to achieve fluency when he was a late teenager. This was a huge inspiration to me and I then decided that I would attempt to overcome my own speech impediment.

After nearly a year of working very hard by reading books about positive thinking and mind over matter and by basically studying people who I thought were great speakers, I also managed to beat the stutter. As a career I now help other people to achieve fluency.

Six Steps To Becoming A Powerful Public Speaker

Public speaking ranks right up there in terms of the things we are afraid to do. Whether it’s the fear of being watched closely by others, or the insecurity and self-conscious feeling of slipping up during the presentation, these six tips will help you give a polished, professional speech that you (and your audience) can be proud of!

1. Know your audience. This is the single best piece of advice for delivering a presentation. What are there interests? Their backgrounds? Why are they coming to hear you speak? What ideas do you have to share with them? Approaching your speech as more of a “me-to-you” discussion rather than a full-blown broadcast makes it less stressful.

2. What do you want your audience to do as a result of your speech? What’s really at the heart of your presentation? By concentrating on the “end result” rather than slogging through the beginning, you create a powerful punch that drives home your message instead of rambling on.

3. Share a story. In public speaking circles, this is called a “hook” – something that gets your audience’s attention and makes them sit up and listen. Start off by asking questions or sharing an experience you had. People like to be active, rather than passive listeners. By giving them something that they can identify with, you’ll find that these people are just like you; that makes giving a presentation a whole lot easier. Be sure your story has a beginning, a point, and an ending. There’s nothing quite as bad as telling a story to an engaged audience and then forgetting why you told it!

4. If you’re selling a product, focus on the benefits instead of the features. People would much rather hear WHAT a product can do for them than HOW it does it. Narrow down your product’s features until you get to the core of how it solves a problem. If you need help with figuring out the difference between a feature and a benefit, ask yourself “So What?” For example, if you’re selling a vacuum cleaner that has a hypoallergenic filter, put yourself in the customer’s shoes and ask yourself “so what?” The answer would be something like, “It picks up dust, mold and pet dander”. Again, “so what?” Answer, “You’ll feel relief from runny nose and sneezing plus itchy, water eyes.” Now THAT’s a benefit!

5 Powerpoint presentations are great but they can be overwhelming – or downright boring. Instead, give your audience something to DO by providing them with fill-in-the-blank flip charts or “team activities”. These help reinforce and emphasize your message in ways that a computer presentation simply cannot.

6. Make sure your speech ends in a way that reiterates the beginning. Speakers can get carried away with the details and leave their audiences asking, “What was the point of all that?” People naturally digest information in “chunks”, so focus on the big picture rather than all the pieces. If the details are just as important, save it for an after-speech handout that the audience can take with them and read over at their leisure.

If you keep these six tips in mind, you’ll not only have an easier time overcoming your fear of public speaking, but you’ll have a very appreciative audience who will in turn be more receptive and eager to try your product or service. Go get ‘em!

Why You Shouldn’t be Ashamed of Your Public Speaking Phobia

So the thought of having to give a large speech in front of so many eyes staring at you makes you feel uneasy. But you should never feel ashamed or embarrassed of this phobia. Why? Because it is in fact one of the most common phobias to have. A survey in America showed that it was the number 2 all time phobia – just being beaten by the fear of spiders. And roughly 75% of the American public say they have felt this fear in their lifetime. So you are definitely not the only one who has to deal with it.

In fact far more people have this problem then you may think. Even professionals get nerves too. Did you know that Donny Osmond suffered from stage fright, and had several panic attacks throughout his career? Even the world famous Barbara Streisand had such a deep social phobia it prevented her from singing live for over 27 years! Luckily she overcame this and look where she is now. Other people include Laurence Olivier , Kim Basinger even Winston Churchill! Would you ever have dreamed that famous people like that have those phobias? Well they are just like me and you and they are living evidence that it can be overcome. If they can do it so can you!

It’s completely normal to suffer from this. Just think when you learned to swim, you first had a slight fear of the water and fear of the unknown, once you learned how to do it it became second nature. That’s exactly the same for driving. Can you remember the first time you got into a car, how difficult it was learning to check all your mirrors and use all the right pedals at the right time. Then once you passed and have been driving for a while it’s easy, you don’t even have to think about it. That’s exactly the same for public speaking, the fear of doing it is often is much greater then then the problem itself. Once you face up to it, like many have before you, you will find that public speaking becomes an easy and often enjoyable task.

So stop worrying about your phobia and start feeling exited knowing that so many people have rid their fears, and you can too!

9 Tips for Handling Public Speaking Questions

How you handle questions from an audience can often be the deciding factor as to how your presentation is received. If you’re pitching for business, then it’s absolutely vital to handle questions well.

1. Be prepared for questions – When you write your presentation, think about what you’re likely to be asked and what your answer is going to be. Maybe you won’t want to answer a particular question there and then, so think about what you’ll say to satisfy the questioner.

2. Make it clear at the start – You may decide to take questions as you go or at the end of your presentation. Whatever you decide, make it clear at the start and don’t change your mind. I would suggest questions at the end in a short presentation; if you take questions as you go, then your timing will get knocked out. And always remember, an audience won’t forgive you for taking half an hour when you were only scheduled to speak for fifteen minutes.

3. Never finish with questions – Far better to ask for questions five or ten minutes before the end, deal with the questions and then summarise for a strong finish. Too many presentations finish on questions and the whole thing goes a bit flat – particularly if you don’t get any.

4. Listen – When asked a question, listen and look like your listening. It may be something you’ve heard a million times before. Treat the questioner with respect and don’t trivialise their point.

5. Thank the questioner – It’s only polite, it shows respect and it gives you a bit more time to consider your answer.

6. Repeat the essence of the question – Some people may not have heard the question so your answer may not make any sense to them. It can also be irritating for them not to hear the question. Again, it gives you more time to think of the answer and it makes you look so clever and in control.

7. Answer to everyone – Don’t fall into the trap of only answering the questioner. If they happen to be near the front then you could end up having a conversation with them and exclude everyone else.

8. Keep it simple – Many speakers, when it comes to questions, have become more relaxed and the fact that someone is interested enough to ask them a question, leads them to go on too long with the answer – DON’T.

9. Don’t bluff or bluster – If you don’t know the answer to a question, say so and find out. Suggest to the questioner that you’ll ‘phone them or come and see them with the answer. It can even be a good way to make further contact after the presentation.

As we all know, it’s possible that you may not be asked any questions and you then have that awkward silence. People may be thinking about what you’ve just said and may need more time to ask. They may also be a bit shy and may take a few minutes to speak out. Why not have a question of your own prepared and say something like. “You may be asking yourself………?” If you still fail to get any questions then go straight into your summary and closing statement.

Handling a question and answer session well, demonstrates your professionalism and reflects on your message.

Microphone Technique

Although it sounds strange to you, to hear your own voice over the P.A, in fact it doesn’t sound any different to the audience than if you were talking to them in normal conversation.

The trick here is to be Yourself, if you haven’t got the skill to project a warm friendly personality at the functions where ice breaking is required then being an entertainer isn’t for you. The trick is to find a balance, most people would simply hire the gear – saving around 50% of a D.J’s booking fee and throw a NOW Cd on – if human input and personality wasn’t important to them. At some functions, if they pay for an entertainer and get a human jukebox who doesn’t own a mic and just sits there playing music then they occasionally feel cheated!.

I can’t stress the “BE YOURSELF”, advice enough, don’t put on a radio style zany DJ voice – that will sound false and doesn’t fool anybody. If you are lucky enough to have a D.J training you, or are a young person helping an older mentor D.J then DON’T be tempted to become a clone of him or her. Adopt your own mic style (not a false voice), use your own tag lines but don’t rely on the same cliche’s 20 or 30 times a night – this becomes boring and predictable.

Don’t rely on “that was”, “This is” introductions all night. At some functions going out with a Radio Mic and creating banter with your audience is a great way to break the ice at the beginning of difficult, non formal functions – and a good way of enouraging them onto the dancefloor early on. You can relax the mic work and the frquency of them – once the dancefloor is filling.

Of course there are always going to be functions where you need more mic work than the last, and other functions where it is going to be little mic use, but the key is to develop a style and strength and confidence in your mic working ability and not to rely on non stop music alone to do the work for you.

Just be yourself, and talk normally into the microphone. The thing to work on is to speak confidentally and clearly and try to pace yourself. Speaking too fast will make what you are saying sound garbled, speaking too slow will make you sound like you are addressing a bunch of village idiots . Pretty soon, with a little time and practice you’ll develop your own individual skill and style and that is the most important aspect, don’t try to copy anybody else or put on a different voice, it will sound false and make learning and maintaining the technique a lot more difficult.

If being a comedian is not you, then avoid the jokes unless you are good at this sort of thing , forced comedy can sound false and you may find yourself laughing alone, after all the Client has booked a Mobile Disco and not a stand up comedian!. One of the best pieces of advice I was given my the D.J who trained me, was to “Stick at doing what you are good at and have been booked for, and if in any doubt then leave it out”.

Spontaneous one liners are another matter, if something amusing happens, then share it – use the mic to get requests, make a fuss over other people celebrating birthdays / anniversaries – people like to have their 30 seconds of glory and hearing their name mentioned, over the mic

My advice to those nervous about public speaking for the first time, is not to be frightened of the mic or avoid using one – its your closest and most useful ally, at all functions. Don’t talk all over the track, learn to pace yourself over the outro of the previous track and any intro of the next track – don’t gabble – talk clearly into the microphone as if you were talking to a friend. With time you should be able to familiarise yourself with how themore popular tracks end and finish, this way you can talk upto the vocal, similar to how they do on the radio – stopping your banter at the moment the vocal on the next track starts. Don’t rush to perfect this or gabble to do so, it all comes with time and practice. Keep it simple to start off with.

Start with the easy stuff first, just introducing tracks, and buffet announcements. Once you’ve built up a bit of confidence, you’ll move on from the ‘That was….. this is….’ routine. Try and include your audience, invite requests, make them feel welcome. Even if you are having a difficult gig don’t take it out on the audience and try and look like you are enjoying yourself, even if it’s not going to plan. Don’t worry about making mistakes on the Mic, we all do from time to time, but don’t draw attention to it, or dwell on it it’ll just make it worse – besides making mistakes shows that you are human and not a pre-programmed jukebox

Keep key information on the gig, such as the Bride & Grooms’ names, Best Man Name etc on a piece of paper on the mixer, so that you can casually glance down if you have a sudden memory blank, but don’t write your links down as a speech, otherwise it will sound like you are reading from a script and less natural.

Remember that once the dancefloor is full, you can ease off the mic a little, but keep doing the requests and don’t forget that it exists. Learn to find the balance, too much talking can bore the pants of your audience, too little mic work can make people think that you aren’t earning your keep!. There are functions where you have a full Dancefloor and it would be obtrusive to chat all over the music when people want to dance, equally there are more formal functions where there isn’t the room or inclination to dance, and so a bit of light hearted banter to break the ice and the empathsis on the entertainment side of being a DJ is required rather than just continuous music

All of this will take some time, don’t expect to develop a mic technique overnight just take it one gig at a time.

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