Arvee Robinson once said, “Feel the fear of public speaking and do it anyway.”
Our latest webinar was hosted by Nuha Khan. Nuha is 16 years old and is a grade 11 student in Ontario, Canada. She is a Shad Canada alumni and ambassador, a past volunteer with the Liberal Party of Canada, and humanitarian founder of The Youthorpha Initiative. Her hobbies are creative writing, volunteering, stem, coding, humanitarian work, and graphic design. She hopes to have a career in medical science and loves learning new things.
Since she loves dipping her toes into all sorts of commitment oceans, Nuha has gotten to learn tons of useful skills. She’s been so kind to share with us one of the most important ones: public speaking and how to speak effectively.
Nuha’s webinar was split into 4 categories…
An introduction to public speaking
Her experience
Her four key tips to public speaking
Takeaways and a live Q&A
She also included lots of fun games and interactive activities to engage her audience—a great public speaking tip!
An Introduction to Public Speaking
Nuha started by telling us about public speaking and what it is.
Public speaking is the act of speaking face to face (or through technology) to a live audience. This includes pre-recorded speech and or talking to a large audience.
Here, Nuha introduced the big question to ask yourself before you prepare a public speech…
The big question: What do I want to accomplish?
People are taking time out of their busy schedules to hear you speak, so you want to make sure you make the most of their time.
It is important to ask yourself: What main goal do I want to fulfill through this speech? If you want to be informative, you should sound smart even if you don’t care about your topic. If you want to be persuasive, you have to find good ways to be persuasive. Your attitude and planning can make or break your speech!
It's very important to consider everything around you to be the most successful you can be. Your audience, your confidence…make sure to use everything to your advantage to deliver the best speech you can. More on this later!
Here is one of the activities Nuha had in her webinar. Feel free to complete it and email her the final result!
Her experience
Nuha admits that if you were to meet her in person, you would know how nervous she gets in social settings outside of business settings. While she was super confident during our webinar, she admits that if you ask her for an extra spoon from the waiter, she may just stutter!
To be confident and get her points across during speeches, Nuha prioritizes pushing herself out of her comfort zone. She reminds us to fake it till we make it! If you’re nervous during your first public speech, keep pushing yourself out there. It’s the only way to improve.
Nuha has always loved talking, even when she was young. She shared with us a video from her fourth-grade self when she did her first-ever public speech. Look at how adorable she is. And wow has she improved! She went from a young girl giving a speech on why dolphins are better than chimpanzees to a teen giving public speeches to large audiences and hosting internships.
Nuha’s tips on public speaking are ones that she swears by and have helped her improve. She also says that any public speaking opportunity (like this webinar) is a good way to expand your own public speaking horizons. Contact Integra Youth at integrayouth.outreach@gmail.com if you’d like to host your own webinar!
Back to Nuha and her many accomplishments!
When Nuha was in grades six and seven, she was a student council representative at her school. Loving the role, she decided to branch out even more for grade eight. She was her school’s weather girl, hosting the school announcements every day. She also hosted many school assemblies.
Sure, she messed up sometimes, but she just kept going. Nuha kept in mind that the only way to improve is to keep trying. She went into high school very confident with her public speaking abilities. In grade ten, her public speaking abilities really took off. She signed up with the liberal party as a telemarketer and attended a summer program called SHAD Valley. She was also an internship coordinator where she helped bring people out of their comfort zone.
Nuha believes that she is a different person thanks to all of these experiences. She states that the more you talk to people, the more you learn. Some very wise words indeed!
Nuha’s Tips to Public Speaking
Next, Nuha covers what she considers the main four tips to public speaking, even adding some bonus extra ones afterward.
Her 4 main tips for public speaking are…
1. Confidence and leaving your comfort zone
It’s normal to be nervous but Nuha reminds us how important it is to fake it until you make it. She reminds us that if you don't believe in your own words, no one else will either.
A tip she gave to our viewers was to take note of how politicians speak during debates. Monitor their body language and tone, and copy the way they speak loudly, with unwavering confidence in what they are saying.
It is important to be clear and confident during your speech. Make sure that every word you say can be understood by your audience. You should also have the proper body language. Shoulders back, chin up and maintain eye contact. You are the star during your speech. Make sure everyone knows it!
Another quick tip from Nuha is to record yourself and listen to what you are saying. Practice giving your speech before the final presentation. This helps you catch any errors beforehand!
2. Audience
Although it is a very underrated thing to focus on, your audience can literally make or break your entire presentation. They decide whether or not your speech is successful. Think about it this way…if you spoke to a business employer the same way you talk to your best friend, you can bet you won’t be getting that job.
Think about what you want to bring to the table. What message are you trying to get across? What about your audience can help you deliver your message in the most effective way possible?
Nuha tells us to use information about our audience to engage them. For example, if you’re giving a class presentation, appeal to your classmates and their way of thinking. Use humor, some gen Z talk, interactive activities, and other things that you know you would be interested in.
Nuha also reminds viewers to incorporate their audience with their prompt. For example, if you’re trying to sell a rubber duck to a group of adults, think about how you would engage them. Give them the pros and cons, the usefulness of this rubber duck. Maybe they can give it to their kids, or maybe it has some cool component that they would be interested in.
Realistically, your audience will be mixed, with different interests and perspectives. This means you have to vary your efforts. Try to pick things that will interest and engage the largest variety of people to be successful.
3. Conciseness
Be straight and to the point. Most people don’t want to sit through a speech any longer than they have to. It seems pretty weird but just think about it. Humans have pretty poor attention spans. That’s why TikTok is so addicting! It's short, eye-grabbing, and very to the point.
Your audience really only wants the end product, so you don’t have to over-explain all the nitty-gritty details. Nuha’s tip is to take all the fluff out of your speech. You want to be short and clear.
Make sure your point is thoroughly met but try and do it without your speech being overly long. Don’t beat around the bush! Instead, tell your audience exactly what they came for. Details are always good, but not if they distract from your main point.
4. Attitude
Your attitude while giving your speech is very important as well. Nuha reminds us to present ourselves as leaders and to always speak with a purpose. You should be showing your audience that you relate to them and that you truly care about what you are talking about. To reiterate previous points, be bold and clear. Always maintain eye contact and use your facial expressions thoughtfully to keep your audience engaged.
Here are some more public speaking tips!
When speaking, don’t keep your eyes on the paper. This makes you seem unprepared and nervous.
Take advantage of any opportunities to better yourself, even if you are not completely sure. Nuha says that if you’re capable of doing something, you should do it. Not everyone is lucky to get opportunities like the ones she has had, so Nuha never lets a good opportunity escape her.
Keep trying! If you don't do as well as you had hoped, just try again. The only way you learn is through trial and error. If you give up, you can never succeed.
Examples help to make your presentation more engaging. They also help when you don't know what to say.
If you're doing an online speech or presentation, make sure to have your camera on. This engages your audience and makes you seem more relatable.
Look up speeches online and analyze the techniques of different presenters.
Make presentations for your family and friends. Get their feedback!
Use programs like Toastmasters to improve your skills.
Live Q&A
At the end of her webinar, Nuha answered some of the viewers’ questions. Here are some of the best ones!
What does she love about public speaking?
Nuha said that she loves the adrenaline rush that comes with speaking in front of people. She loves how good it feels when she’s finished a presentation that she worked really hard to prepare.
Where does her passion come from?
Nuha has always loved talking to people in a group setting. When she was little, she would always give little science presentations to her family and talk to them about what she was passionate about. Her parents pushed her to explore her passions and start talking in front of bigger groups. She took a lot of opportunities to get better and discovered that she loved public speaking. From then on, Nuha hasn’t looked back. She keeps finding ways to improve her skill and spread her passion to others.
What is she most afraid of when public speaking?
Nuha admits that she has a big fear of failure and judgment. However, she has learned that some people will always be judgemental but that others are kind and very impacted by what she has to say.
What does she wish she knew earlier?
Nuha says that she wishes she knew that you should always act like you're confident, even when you’re not.
Conclusion
Well that's a wrap! I hope Nuha's tips and tricks have inspired you to step out of your comfort zone and explore the world of public speaking. There's so much to learn and discover!
Want to get in touch with Nuha? DM her personal Instagram at @nnuhakhan or email her at khan.nuha73@icloud.com.
Written by: Nevadha M
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