There are a few things to consider while addressing a large audience compared to a smaller audience as the scenario changes slightly with the audience structure. Here are some more tips for speaking in front of a large audience confidently and impressively.
Slow down – use more pauses
A critical difference while speaking in front of large audiences is that you need more pause between your thoughts. It takes a while for your sound to travel all the way around a large room regardless of the number of speakers present there. Help yourself by pausing between your thoughts, giving a little more transition time, and letting your words filter out through the room. It allows the people to process what you are saying as they cannot see your lips and mouth, and they need time to understand your words. Although there may be a significant visual image magnified in the background, you still make it easier for people to digest if you pause between thoughts and paragraphs a little longer. If you speak a little bit slower than usual, it will make your words flow through the room more smoothly. Keep in mind that when you are nervous, you tend to speak faster than usual, but you have to get control of your nerves and slow down so and have more pauses in your talk.
Use images in PowerPoint slides
When speaking to a vast audience, you have to follow some specific rules for the use of PowerPoint slides. Some beginners may think to use texts or bullet points in the slides to convey their concepts and ideas, which is a complete waste of time. If you are in a room with 100, 1000, or even 10 000 people watching you, they do not want to read the text from 500 meters away or more. If you want to use PowerPoint in your presentation, it is better to use images and pictures exclusively to dramatize your key points. If you are willing to provide some text, graphs, charts, or explanations, give a link to that source, a pdf, or prints on paper at the end of your talk or presentation. The people willing to dive into the details can study it themselves when they want to. Do not present graphs or visuals that overly and seem complicated in front of a large audience. People can’t differentiate minor differences or details from a distance and adding them will just make your audience lose interest. People don’t want to read. They are here to listen to you.
Convey great ideas and concepts
In many ways speaking to a large audience is just like speaking to an audience of any size, even a small audience. During any talk, there is a chance that the speaker makes a horrible impression, or it is possible he does not make any impression which happens with most the speakers. There is also a chance he will make a great impression when he communicates great ideas and concepts which people understand and remember. This is the goal a speaker should set for himself. Don’t make your goal to just get through the presentation. It is like a defensive way of escaping from the crowd as soon as possible. Setting yourself the high target of making an impression to distinguish yourself from your competitors is how you can shine. Suppose you get a chance to speak in front of a large audience, do not turn it down because you are afraid. Take the chance to prove yourself that it is not that hard. Working on confidence-building strategies and practicing as much as possible makes you a great and prominent speaker.
Increase your confidence by video practice
Although practicing by video recording is essential for any media presentation, one on one interview, seminar presentation, meeting, symposium, TV or radio interview. But if you are going to speak in front of a large audience, it is essential to practice on video. Because whenever you are going to speak in front of a large audience, it is natural and obvious that you will be nervous. But if you know in advance how not to look and sound nervous, you can be a game-changer. The audience will judge you based on the acts you do. If you do the acts associated with a confident, comfortable, commanding speaker, they will assume you are confident, comfortable, and commending. If you have seen a video of yourself speaking in a way that you perceive as confident, comfortable, and commanding, you are not going to sound nervous when you are up there. What makes us nervous is often the fear of looking nervous and forgetting what we have to say. If you know how not to look nervous in advance, that takes the pressure off. The video practice makes you look and feel comfortable and with the utmost confidence.
Conclusion!
Using more pauses and slowing down is necessary while talking to a large audience, to let your words travel smoothly through the audience. Give the listeners time to digest the thoughts. If you are interested in using PowerPoint slides, use images exclusively and avoid text on the slides. The audience is not interested in reading the text and minor details on the slides. You must have exciting ideas and thoughts to share. Something that everyone would listen to with interest and take something from your talk to remember. This is the only way you can stand out from your competitors. Practicing on video is of utmost importance when speaking in front of a large audience. When you are confident about how you look and sound, you are likely to perform the best on the stage. The sense that you look and sound the best takes the pressure off your nerves, and you can present yourself impressively and effectively.