Speaking publicly in English requires some efforts to make the speaker ‘sounds’ like a really good one, or as we call it ‘a pro’.  There are a number of ways that one can follow to achieve such a goal. Here are some advice and tips to assist you with your public speaking in English and to help you sound like a pro:

  1. Have a role model

You need to have a role model basically for everything, not only for public speaking. Having a role model does not necessarily make you lose your own style or identity as a speaker. It just helps you with your training and on ‘what-to-do’ as a good public speaker. You don’t have to copy everything from your role model, take what’s good, and develop your own style.

  1. Think in English

One of the problems encountered by a non-native English speaker is that one tends to ‘translate’ everything before speaking. Doing this means slowing the process of fluent speech. Train yourself on how to think in English, you will see the difference after a series of training (see my previous article entitled Don’t Translate, Think in English!). If you manage to finally think in English, you will be a lot more fluent in delivering your speech.

  1. Avoid speech fillers

Speech fillers like ‘um’, ‘so’, ‘like’, you know’, ‘well’, etc. can help you sound like a native English speaker in informal or daily conversation. Using speech fillers in public speaking is a different case entirely. When you use too many speech fillers in public speaking, it might show the audience that you are not well prepared or even lack of confidence. Limit or control yourself even if you really have to use the speech filler; because if the audience can even count your speech fillers, there must be something wrong with your speech delivery.

  1. Practice, record, ask for feedback, repeat.

The last and the most important tips would be the combination of practicing, recording, asking for feedback, and repeating the process. While you are practicing, do not forget to record your voice and expression (if necessary) to be used later when you need to watch your performance again and when you need feedback from someone else. Remember, public speaking needs an audience. After you obtain feedback, do something with it by improving what needs to be improved, and repeat the whole process all over again until you and your audience (the ones giving you feedbacks) are satisfied with the result.

So those are some tips that you might follow to help you with your training as both an English speaker and a public speaker. Happy practicing everyone!