Most people are only bad at public speaking because they don't know what they're doing. Solid physical techniques and an understanding of how to relate the content to the audience give people the knowledge they need to be good at it.

You too can make use of the methods that have trained the voice and speech of our great stage actors. We will give you vital knowledge that will help you project your voice; have a warm and charismatic physical presence, articulate your words brightly and cleanly; and structure your material to captivate and engage your audience.

Learn the truth about public speaking
The most important thing to realise is that public speaking is still a conversation. You don't need tricks and techniques that make you look like an automaton. Most public speaking problems disappear when you structure your material to meet your audience's needs. And that includes both their desire for the content of your speech itself, and their needs in terms of how you deliver it.

Charisma, confidence, physical presence
Faced with a crowd all looking at us, we can have a primitive, 'fight or flight' response. This sets off physical reactions that cut down our breathing and restrict our voice. Actors have been trained for years how to counter the negative effects of adrenalin with simple physical techniques. If you stay 'centred' and 'grounded' with deep, free breath and a relaxed neck and throat, you will feel and sound more confident.

The positive side effect is that you also look more imposing and have more presence.

Humour, being entertaining and passionate, speech making
The idea that we have to be interesting or entertaining makes most people clam up. This is probably the biggest fear behind public speaking. The secret here is our human instinct to tell stories. If you are telling the most amazing and important news to someone, you are aware that the communication is about the story, not about you. And you are focused entirely on how they are receiving it, and if they are understanding it.

You simply have to learn to transfer this natural ability to public speaking. Make it about the story and about the audience and you can relax and just be a conduit. If you focus all your attention on yourself, then you will freeze up. And if you are relaxed then your natural humour will be present - no need for forced jokes.


How we work with you

• We work with your body
  Tensions in the body affect your breathing and your throat; the two areas you need to be free in order for your voice to function properly. We will work with you from feet to head to re-balance and align your body. As your body frees up, your real, rich, natural voice will be revealed. Effortlessly. And you will look relaxed and in command to your audience, making them more open to your message.
  
  Never be persuaded into fake gestures or unnatural body positions. You need to be real and at ease. Gestures should just follow the content of your speech, giving visual back-up to the oral information.
  
  
• We work with your eye contact
  Public speaking workshops always tell you to make eye contact with your audience. But there is no point in having eye contact if your eyes are glassy, disconnected and terrified looking! Most of us will look at an audience, but will try to avoid the intensity of that connection. Often we do this by tilting our head up and slightly changing the angle of our eyes. Understanding the precise angle of the eye to 'plug-in' and connect with the audience, rather than look like a scared bear, is crucial. The 'plug-in' feels intense, but it is meant to. And you can quickly learn to embrace that intense feeling and use it in your speaking.
  
  Aside from the physical angle of the eye, you also need 'active' eyes. Look at the audience actively. See if they are following you and how they are receiving your message. And allow your eyes to warmly communicate your humour, aliveness, and interest in the audience. Then your eye contact will really begin to mean something.
  
  
• We work with your voice and speech
  Tuneful articulate voices are much better at outlining complex ideas than flat, inarticulate ones. The colour and range of the voice allows the speaker to create oral patterns that arrange and highlight the meaning for the listener. This, along with the content material below, form the ancient art of rhetoric.
  
  
• We work with your content
  Rhetoric is the art of oral communication. Another name for it could be storytelling. We are used to reading information, and less and less used to listening to it. A reader can scan a page - go backwards and forwards. He doesn't have to pay complete attention because he can check back if he gets lost. A listener has to keep up with the speaker. And the speaker must give oral clues and signposts to help the listener do that.
  
  For example. Why do our old folk stories always have events that come in threes? Because that is a very satisfying structure in an oral context. As a listener we know three things are coming and the last one is the most important. This information keeps us focused and stops us getting lost. A political speaker will use exactly the same structure. As did Shakespeare.
  
  These lost oral arts are the core of how we work with your content. Repetition, sentence structure, narrative structure and word play will make your material memorable, followable and enjoyable, both for you and your listeners.

Telephone: 0207 717 9649
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