Speaking to a Group

We all know that at some times speaking out to a group... whether it be friends, family, classmates, or any type of organization. I myself love to speak to people and I highly enjoy public speaking. I know that not everyone is an extrovert (such as myself), in fact, there are many introverts out there. Verbal communication is a huge part of social interactions in our lives. How hard would it be for you to go to school/work/wherever all day without speaking to anyone, even your pets. Think about it. For some people it wouldn't be very difficult, but for others you would need to enforce things such as duct tape to reach that goal. If you want to try this you can google day of silence free the children and register... but I don't feel that many could achieve that. But, even a few hours with a sponsor can help. Seriously, you can make a difference by getting a few sponsors... and not speaking. Whoa! Huuuge tangent. Back to public speaking. I find that speaking in front of your peers/people that you know can be much, much, much scarier than speaking in front of those that you don't know. This can be due to the fact that you know that it can live with you if you mess up and such. I have lots of experience in public speaking: in the 5th grade I gave a 'vote for Maya' speech (I lost the election if you're wondering), in 6th grade I gave a speech on 'better education' for a rally, 7th grade I wasn't in much, this year (8th grade) I am the vice president of the Music Club on campus, was president of FPSI (future problem solvers international), and I am involved in Zoo Corps (a post for another time). Personally I like to be involved in things, and being involved in activities and groups requires speaking - often to a group (whether it be large or small). Here are my tips for public speaking:

• Know what you're going to say
• Practice your entire speech
• Imagine your entire audience with underwear on their head/standing in their underwear! Yes, an oldie but goodie (it works)!
• Speak clearly
• Try to maintain a steady pace
• Enunciate 
• Try to use positive words and get your listeners to see the bright side of whatever you're talking about
• Project your voice
• Smile!!!:):):):):):) This cannot be stressed enough!
• MAKE EYE CONTACT!!!
• DO NOT: mumble, act like you know everything in the whole wide world, or talk for too long, cross your arms, sway or rock (distracting), look nervous

If you follow these steps you should turn out just fine:) 

*the eye photo is for EYE CONTACT:)*