For the most part writers are known to be a reticent lot. Their greatness with words is best expressed through their books. Since, writing calls for spending a whole lot of time in solitude, chalking out ideas and converting them into a brilliant story, standing up in front of an audience is bound to cause some jitters.
However, speaking in public is something writers cannot shy away from, especially in today’s thick competition, to market their book. It is an essential skill to have to pitch their book as they might be invited to speak on a panel or seminar or lead author talks.
So, here are few tips to help writers overcome their phobia of public speaking and channel it to their book’s benefit.
- Know the audience
Knowing who they are going to address can help them be better prepared. So, take time to understand the kind of gathering you will be addressing, and tailor your speech around that demographic. This will help you speak confidently and ensure the audience also enjoys it.
- Aim for brevity
Audience’s attention span is limited. As a writer, it might be easy to write out a long speech as they are used to writing long novels. But, that is a strict no-no when it comes to public speaking. So, the focus of the speech should be on the key take-aways that they want for their audience.
- Make it interactive
Just standing up and reeling off of a paper will not do anything in keeping the audience engaged. The writer needs to use varying styles of speech to achieve that. Posing questions or a problem, and then answering it is a good tool to get the audience thinking and involved in the talk. Storytelling comes naturally to writers. They should use it completely to their advantage.
- Quote from different sources
Writers tend to research a lot for their book. They can use this skill to collect inspirational, thought-provoking, or funny quotes or ideas from other writers and weave it into their speech to add depth and variation.
- Use everyday style of speech
There is no need to get hung up on getting the grammar perfect. In fact, delivering a speech with colloquialisms, contractions, and slangs will add an easy-going vibe to it, helping the author and the audience relax and enjoy it more.
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