During the elections Obama spellbounded his audiences with his speech. People literally got hypnotised while listening to his speeches. It can’t be denied that the speeches that he delivered significantly improved his chances of winning as a Presidential candidate.

There is a lot that you can learn from his speeches. If you’re afraid of public speaking then these tips will greatly help you overcome the fear of speaking in front of large groups of people. You can also benefit if you’re an entreprenuer, student, businessman, salesperson or anyone who wants to get his points across.

BNET published an article – 5 Ways to Speak Like Obama written by Sims Wyeth featuring important oratory skills from Obama. They are -

1. Talk about audience’s concerns – People care about themselves and everything related to them. They get emotional with things that involve them. In Obama’s speeches he addressed their concerns and when he had their attention he tried to convince them.

2. Keep it Simple – People often have a habit to make simple things seem complicated. It always doesn’t have to be this way. Everyone likes to pay attention to something which is explained in layman’s terms. You wouldn’t like to sit with a Physics professor for an hour listening to his metaphysics lecture (unless you are a Physics student, of course!), would you?

Successful companies and people often sum up the ideas into a simple sentence. For example, Google’s motto is “to organise the world’s information”. Simple and Sweet. Even a 5 year old will “GET” it. Obama used – “change you can believe in” and people did making him the President.

3. Anticipate what the audience is thinking – Great orators read the minds of their audiences. They often predict, rather correctly the possible outcomes of their speeches. And they unfold their speeches to get a positive response from the audience.

4. Learn to Pause – This is rather an art I should say. I’ve seen many people go on and on and..well you get it. They bore me to death. I’d rather ask someone to hammer me than to sit listening to a person who doesn’t know where to take a pause. Pause not only retains interest in what you’re trying to say but also gives time for them to assimilate what you’ve already said. The article shows a nifty little trick to use “/” to mark where to pause in your speeches. My sister taught it to me when I was a kid and it still helps me and will help for a very long time.

5. Master the Body Language of Leadership – People speak more from their body language then through their mouths. I’ve been to a couple of body language workshops and I’ve become quite good at reading through people. And let me tell you this – people with similar traits have a common body language. Focussing on one word like confident will urge you to behave so. If you’ve got something to add please do so.