The most important aspect of public speaking is capturing the attention of your audience. If you are not engaging, the onlooking crowd will pay little attention to what you have to say. That being said, there are ways you can rectify this roadblock. Here are some ways to help you capture a crowd’s attention during public speaking scenarios.

Start Strong

A very popular saying is that it’s not about how you start, but how you finish. In public speaking, the opposite is true. The first thing you say needs to be something that instantly grasps the attention of your audience. Why? It’s a tone setter. This is what determines what the flow of your speech is going to be. Whatever comes out of your mouth should always be engaging, but you should initiate it with something the audience will remember. You can initiate a sense of suspense and curiosity. This will inspire the crowd to hear everything come together.

Make A Connection

Another important thing to bear in mind with public speaking is making a personal connection, and relating to the crowd. If people have a general idea of what you are going to be speaking on, they also know what to expect from you. However, if you want to increase engagement, you will have to master the art of making it seem relevant to the experiences of other people. You could even be anecdotal and grasp what you have experienced and relate it to others.

Take Note Of What Works For You

A great way to improve your public speaking skills is to use each experience as an opportunity to learn. What you should be focusing on is what you are getting a reaction to. If you are speaking for prolonged periods of time and you are not getting a reaction, then maybe you should consider changing your style. If something you say elicits a reaction from the crowd, that may be something to write down for future reference. Of course, the onus will be on you to discern whether or not the reaction is something out of something humorous you said, or if it’s something productive.

Use some of these tips, and you will see your confidence in public speaking increase greatly.