This page contains answers to the Frequently Asked Questions put to our team of training instructors, as well as hints and advice. 

1. What is the best piece of advice you could give me if 
   I had to speak in public?
      

2. What is the normal rate of speech I should use?
        

3. What am I supposed to do with my hands when I speak in public? 
      

4. How should I dress when I have to speak in public? 
      

5. What’s a good way of avoiding superfluous movements and nervous tics? 
      

6. What role does non-verbal language play?
   
   

The best advice
     
The best advice for performing well in public is obviously to prepare yourself thoroughly BEFORE the event. But once you’re there, take time to pull up and settle in. Everyone can recall some speaker who had only just been introduced to the audience, but who had not yet fully settled in behind the podium before launching into his/her presentation—without even thanking the master of ceremonies. It’s the classic way to blow the first contact. 
  
When being introduced to the group, take the time to take in your surroundings and smile, which will give you poise and self-assurance. People will still be in the process of applauding your appearance and sharing their first impressions. 
   
This moment of silence, which you will use to take up position at the podium and establish initial eye contact with the audience, will enable you to make your presence felt and assess and take control of the assembly from the start. 
     

   
Then, thank the person who introduced you. The audience frequently identifies with this person, and ignoring him or her at the beginning of your presentation risks being interpreted as either a lack of basic courtesy, rejection, or, at the very least, indifference. Once you have gathered all your thoughts and reflexes and have established contact with the audience, then, and only then, may you launch into your presentation. 
         

      
     
    
A normal speech rate
     
In order to be fully understood, a speaker should speak at a rate of 90 to 110 words per minute. Any slower than this and you will put your entire audience to sleep. Any faster and you will catch your audience off guard, and they will have to make an additional effort to keep up with you. 
     

    
In addition, by speaking too quickly, the quality of your enunciation and pronunciation will suffer.
        

     
     
    
Arms and hands
         
Have you ever tried to strike up contact with someone who stood in front of you with his/her arms crossed? Not an easy task, is it? In our Western societies, crossed arms signify distance, defence, a barrier. People withdraw into themselves the better to protect themselves. But communication is, on the contrary, a process of opening up to others. By definition, it is an act of giving and generosity. 
  
Crossing your arms cancels out the rapport you could be creating with your audience if you simply adopted a more relaxed posture. It’s practically as damaging as turning your back to the audience, when all contact is cut off. 
    

       
And don’t put your hands in your pockets either. This is something women do less often than men. Many speakers also jingle change in their pockets—something an audience finds downright annoying. Of course, there’s nothing terribly wrong with putting one hand in a pocket and using the other to emphasize a particular point you’re trying to make—particularly if you’re standing in front of a group without a podium. But making an entire speech with your hands in your pockets certainly won’t go far in terms of being more communicative, since it conveys a “care-less,” detached attitude. 

Don’t put your hands behind your back, either. This comes off as a sign of discomfort and powerlessness. Instead, adopt a casual, open attitude toward your audience. You’ll have to work at it a bit, since it takes some practice before you’ll learn how to control your hands and use them as an extra tool to help you better communicate. “Managing” your hands is easier whenever there’s something to hold on to like a text or notes, or whenever you’re behind a podium that you can rest your hands on. There again, be sure not to drum your fingers on the top of the podium, which is perceived as a sign of nervousness and uncertainty. 
             

     
    
     
How to dress
        
Dress codes continually evolve, and their meanings vary depending on the groups and sectors we come in contact with. People personally accord more or less importance to the way they dress and the type of fashion they adopt. Some individuals even go so far as to tell themselves: “It’s my style, the others will just have to adjust.” 

       

       
However, our manner of dress is the first signal we send our audience, which may or may not be comfortable with our clothing. If listeners are comfortable, then they will identify more quickly with us and be immediately inclined to listen to us. If they are not, then they will not be as receptive to us initially, and will in fact remain distracted until they are able to shift their focus elsewhere and begin concentrating on what we are saying. All the same, this delay is detrimental to the quality of communication, since for as long as it takes people to become accustomed to us, they are not really tuned in. The accepted wisdom on this issue is to dress at a level equal to or slightly higher than that of the audience you are trying to win over. 
          

     
      
    
Superfluous movements and nervous tics
    
If you have the opportunity to see yourself in action, there is some likelihood you will notice certain words or gestures that reoccur mechanically during your delivery. It may be, for example, playing with a pencil, or marking each sentence of your presentation with a jab—or worse, by bringing down your fist on the podium. Another unconscious habit may be to litter your talk with “so” or “as I was saying.” These parasitical words and movements do not give your presentation added strength. Quite to the contrary, your listeners will begin waiting for the next manifestation of your tic. In the meantime, they will not be concentrating on your presentation, and their attention and attentiveness will weaken accordingly.
        

      
One of the odder habits we have noticed most often consists in handling objects such as pens and eyeglasses, or, as was mentioned above, playing with change in a pant’s pocket. Be careful about developing ingrained verbal habits such as repeating, “like…,” “I mean,” “you know,” etc. You must not smoke during your presentation, nor adopt a closed or tense demeanour. And avoid shifting back and forth from one leg onto the other. Finally, you must check your hair, tie, dress and pants BEFORE you are introduced to the audience. 
            

     
     
     
Non-verbal language
       
Like it or not, interpersonal communication is somewhat akin to theatre. You can assert one thing and yet have your entire body, movements and expressions state the exact opposite. 
  
I will always remember the president of a major insurance company who came to our offices to practice the speech he was going to deliver at the upcoming shareholders’ assembly. He had a genuinely first-rate speech, full of promises; it was going to make a major difference in the way business was done at his company. However, his delivery was totally wooden, devoid of expression; he himself remained almost completely immobile. 
    

         
Move, for heaven’s sake! Obviously, there’s a middle way between continually gesticulating and turning into the proverbial pillar of salt. It can be useful to highlight an important passage in a speech by making an appropriate gesture at the right time.