How can I learn to speak confidently to large groups of people?

To properly view this site, javascript must be enabled and Flash version 9 or higher must be installed.
Get the latest Flash player

Sean McArdle is a master motivator and speaker in the areas of sales, negotiation, strategic planning and personal development. His distinctions about what makes for a successful career and life come directly from his own experiences. His stories will take you on a personal journey from living under a bridge at 25 to negotiating some of the largest printing contracts in the publishing industry at 28. Since 1992, Sean McArdle has written numerous books, tapes and software programs in the areas of sales, strategic planning and personal development.

Sean McArdle's tapes series, LifeMapping: A Thinking Tool for Living Your Life On Purpose, was televised nationally in a 30-minute documercial with host and ESPN Sports Analyst, Joe Theismann. McArdle believes that the key to his success and yours is "the ability to design the architecture of a day that will bring you what you want for a lifetime."

A faculty member of the American Management Association, Sean McArdle delivers more than one hundred keynotes and seminars each year. He has shared the podium with many of today's leading celebrities, thinkers, and achievers. He is a consultant to some of America's leading businesses, including: Lucent Technologies, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance, Re/Max Properties, and the National Association of Printers and Lithographers.

Sean McArdle is the Chairman and founder of a nationally recognized training company providing seminars and consulting to some of America's leading corporations and the U.S. Federal Government. When he is not speaking or teaching others to teach his material, he focuses on new ways to help individuals take advantage of accelerated learning skills and techniques.

How can I learn to speak confidently to large groups of people?

 

This expert: 216,405 views

This series: 73,612 views

Print

Transcripts

Host:How can I learn to speak comfortably to large groups of people?

Sean McArdle: Like anything else, public speaking is something you must practice and I believe that you should start a practice in a place where you feel safe. Most of us feel safe looking ourselves in the mirror. I don t suggest you do it first thing in the morning, but after you are feeling good and you have been up for a while, you take your public speech, you walk over to the mirror and you begin to deliver it confidently. You begin to deliver it confidently; you begin to deliver it happily.

You begin to develop the physiology of somebody who is pleased with what they are saying and positive about the way they are saying it. Now, you are talking to somebody who really believes in you -- you. Now, we are ready to expand. Next time we might want to practice in front of the dog or the bird and then a time after that in front of our family or our children or our spouse and do you hear is that if we practice something in advance, we are not as nervous when we actually go to do that thing in particular.

Too many people do not speak too often; they will practice it all in advance. They just make notes or write a speech and try to read from it and they believe that they have spoken publicly and that was the best they could do. I say no, if you want to be great, you must rehearse.

So, put your speech together, rehearse it on your own with a mirror. You might even want to rehearse it with a video camera then overtime you can critic yourself and have others critic you, so that when you make the speech to the group intended for, you actually come across as very confident.

Other Videos

  • iPhone App - Bluetooth
  • High Tech Suggestions
  • How will college be different from high school? In this video, Dr. Stevens discusses the dynamics of living in residence halls. The video provides insight into planning during the year prior to attending college and transition issues during the first semester at a university.
  • How to Complete the Perfect College Application In this video, Jerome Cole tells you everything you need to know to complete the perfect college application and have a great college interview.
  • What are the differences between a single-sex and a coed college? This video discusses the steps a high school student should take to begin the process for identifying the right choices and applying to college. It will provide you with both facts and expert opinion on various aspects of the college selection and admission process. There are suggestions on how to plan and strategize for gaining admittance to college. In addition, it will highlight different aspects of the process and breaks each down to a specific segment like standardized tests, college essays, financial aid, etc. to name just a few. We will offer suggestions on how to get started, remain on schedule and finally how to make the best choice for college. This video will provide every student and parent with the necessary insight as to how to begin and best move forward with the college process.
  • How to Build a Computer Jay Simenson of Valcom Computer demonstrates how to build a computer.