Here are 50 New Year’s Resolutions to help you take your public speaking to a new level in the New Year.
In no particular order:
1. I will prepare.
2. I will practice.
3. I will have a clear message.
4. I will be able to distill every speech and every presentation into a single sentence.
5. I will always ask myself: “Why should the audience care about my message?”
6. If I cannot answer that question, I will find a new message. Or a new audience.
7. I will arrive early for my speaking engagements.
8. I will make sure that the equipment works.
9. I will have a back-up plan in case the equipment doesn’t work.
10. I will be well rested before speaking.
11. I will use less text in my slide presentations.
12. I will use more images in my slide presentations.
13. I will speak without a slide presentation.
14. I will read Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds.
15. I will watch one TED Talk every week.
16. I will get feedback on my performance.
17. I will join Toastmasters or another speaking association.
18. I will give a toast at a party.
19. I will seek out speaking opportunities at work.
20. I will seek out speaking opportunities in my community.
21. I will join public speaking groups on LinkedIn.
22. I will actively participate in discussions in those groups.
23. I will read Resonate by Nancy Duarte.
24. I will get comfortable using props.
25. I will give a speech without notes.
26. I will tell more stories.
27. I will smile.
28. I will remember that being a little nervous before a speech is normal.
29. I will make eye contact with the audience.
30. I will read good blogs on public speaking such as the ones found here.
31. I will pause effectively.
32. I will find out as much as I can about my audience beforehand.
33. I will not speak longer than my allotted time.
34. I will get comfortable using a remote control for my slide presentations.
35. I will read Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath.
36. I will be passionate.
37. I will breathe deeply.
38. I will video myself speaking.
39. I will watch the videos.
40. I will work on eliminating distracting gestures or habits.
41. I will focus on the audience and not myself.
42. I will use quotes.
43. I will use humour, if appropriate.
44. I will speak without using a lectern.
45. I will be willing to be vulnerable on stage.
46. I will remember that my audience doesn’t expect me to be perfect.
47. I will remember that my audience does expect me to be present.
48. I will remember that all the great speakers were bad speakers at first.
49. I will recognize that there is always room for improvement.
50. I will enjoy the ride.
So pick your favourite New Year’s Resolutions or add your own. Happy New Year!
GREAT list, John!!
I believe you’ve covered it very well.
Thank for all your great work this past year. I’m looking forward to your 2012 Posts!
The BEST to you in 2012!
Many thanks, Fred. There are undoubtedly other things that could be added, but I figured 50 was good for a start. Many thanks to you too for all of your efforts to help people improve their public speaking abilities. I wish you a healthy, happy and prosperous 2012.
John
Love this! Will be sharing.
Happy New Year!
Many thanks, Janet. Happy New Year back!
John
Great list except the enjoy part (#50) should be first. Thx
Thanks, John. I was going for the recency effect!
Cheers and all the best for 2012.
John
A great list to get everyone off to a great start for the new year!
Many thanks, Valery. All the best to you in 2012.
John
Hi John!
Thank you for putting that list together. Some points are “old” and some points are new. Have a very happy and successful new year!
Cheers,
Alexandra
Hi Alexandra. Thanks very much for the comment. Yes, the list is a mix. I am sure that many people are doing many of these things already, but I wanted a list that would be useful for anyone regardless of their level.
I hope that our paths cross next year somewhere in Europe. In the meantime, all the best for a great 2012.
John
John,
I really enjoy reading your post. I would like to translate it into Spanish, giving you all the credit of course and referring back to you website. What do you think? I just think this should be shared with pepole that perhaps can’t understand English.
Thanks for sharing and I alredy included most of it in my speaker new year’s resolution list.
Warm regards from Mexico.
Hola Jorge y muchas gracias! I would be delighted if you wanted to translate my post into Spanish. Please go ahead and please feel free to translate any other posts that you like into Spanish.
My best wishes to you for 2012.
John
Fantastico! 😉
Thank you, John. Love your list! Happy 2012!
Cheers, Diane and Happy New Year back.
John
Excellent! If I may, here’s a 51st resolution: I will expect the unexpected.
Thanks very much for the comment and addition, Dave. You and other readers are most welcome to add to the list. It is much appreciated. And expecting the unexpected is a great suggestion. All the best in 2012.
John
Like it very much. Short, relevant, inspiring.
I enjoyed reading you in 2011. Looking forward to 2012.
T H A N K Y O U !
Ozgur
Tessekur ederim, Özgür! Thanks very much and all the best for a great 2012.
John
Great job, John. Your list is indeed on point.
Much appreciated, Tunde. All the best for 2012.
John
Excellent post, John. (From one Canadian to another.) Dave
Thanks, Dave! Much appreciated, eh! All the best for a terrific 2012.
John
Love it! All the best to you in 2012!
Many thanks, José. Have a terrific 2012 yourself.
John
I have already commented a while ago but forgot to click the two blocks below. Once again thank you for your great effort in sharing your valuble thoughts and experience.
Thank you, Nabeesa, for the comment. I am glad that you find the information useful. All the best for a terrific 2012.
Hi John,
Fantastic! Thanks, I just love your 50 New Years Resolution list. Its great to have so many, all in one list to work on. Even if we gain a bit further on some of them, we’ll be ahead.
Will forward it on. Have a great 2012!
Adrienne
Hi Adrienne,
Thanks for the comment and kind words. Progress is what it’s all about. All the best for 2012 in the great Down Under.
Very creative resolutions, I personally need to apply a few of them … am still new, at CC: 2, and so I need all the material/info./encouragement I can get. Thank you 🙂
Hi Alice and thank you for the comment. Glad that you find the ideas useful. Best of luck with the journey! Remember to take it step by step. It is rarely a good idea to work on changing too many things at once. Rather, pick one or two points on which to work. Once you are comfortable with them, move on to something else. You’ll notice steady, concrete improvement.
John
Thanks for sharing … 🙂
I don’t know maybe this should also be in there as well? “I shall commit to attend all my toastmasters club meetings.”
Hi Alice and thanks for the comment. There is certainly no reason why the list has to stop at 50. (I just got tired!) And if a person belongs to Toastmasters or another speaking organization, then committing to attending meetings (and participating!) is a great resolution.
John
Hello John – it’s nearly all over 2012-wise. I really like this list and plan to reblog it, but first – tell me, did you keep these resolutions?
All the best for the New Year, and keep up the great work. I love to read what you have to say.
Dear Claire,
Thanks for the message. I went back and had a look at the list. I surprised myself with how many of the resolutions I managed to keep, but of course there is plenty of space for improvement! I wish you much happiness and success in 2013!
Thank you John. This will work great for my class!
Best wishes for 2013,
Mark
Thank you, Mark. All the best of success to you and your class in 2013!
John
Great post, thank you for sharing!
Thank you, George. Happy New Year!
John
Thanks for the ideas John. That was quite a list, and of course it’s still just as valid for 2013 and beyond!
Two of my favourites are #4 (“distil every speech into a sentence”) and #11 (“use less text”).
In fact with #4, rather than saying “I’ll be able to…”, I’d go further and say simply “I will…”. I’m sure most presenters don’t distil each talk into a sentence, and that’s one of the main reasons most talks are pretty awful – the speaker hasn’t defined what the desired outcome is, so they just “ramble” about the topic for (at least) the prescribed time!
With #17 (Toastmasters), for anyone who’s curious what TM is like, here’s a 12-minute professional video that shows how their meetings work:
http://remotepossibilities.wordpress.com/2012/07/28/toastmasters-see-what-its-like-right-now/
And, as well as your idea to watch a TED talk every week, I can also recommend the work of Craig Valentine, former World Champion of Public Speaking. He offers a whole year of free weekly tips by podcast – and they even come with transcripts for those who’d rather read than listen! For anyone who’d like to register and start receiving your 52 weekly tips straight away, just visit http://www.52speakingtips.com.
Anyway, I wish you a very happy and fruitful 2013. Good luck!
Dear Craig,
Many thanks for the detailed comment. I appreciate your reflections. Thanks also for sharing the video about Toastmasters and the link to Craig Valentine’s tips. In fact, I am about 80% of the way through those tips myself!
Wishing you continued success with your speaking engagements,
John
I am a Toastmaster and have understood the importance of public speaking. But still need to implement a lot of things from your list! Thank you for sharing this!
Thank you for the comment. Happy New Year and good luck with your speaking in 2017.
Happy New Year, John…from the past, or is it now the future? Whichever the case, I popped by your site, this was at the top, and this list of 50 still works well. I would like to share these this weekend with my class(es) of young speakers, discuss them (I will skip over some that don’t really apply yet to their situation) and ask them for their own resolutions. For me, the three that had the most resonance – and themes that I have explored a little – are #45-47:
45. I will be willing to be vulnerable on stage.
46. I will remember that my audience doesn’t expect me to be perfect.
47. I will remember that my audience does expect me to be present.
With that said and borrowed, Happy New Year to you and your readers – including me, I guess – and to use one of my own tags, I wish everyone a year of laughs, smiles, inspiration and just enough wisdom.
Hi Matt. Thanks for the comment. I hope that your class went well and I wish you a terrific 2017!