Confidence is one of the main things that makes for a great public speaker. When a speaker looks confident, the audience feels more relaxed and engaged.
Unfortunately, much of the typical advice for appearing confident is ableist. From maintaining eye contact, to standing up straight or having “good posture”, to speaking clearly, many of the tips for public speaking come from an ableist perspective of what confidence looks like.
It is not acceptable that this is the norm, and these ideas should be challenged. It is important to understand this perspective to so that you can modify it to work with your needs or even use it to your advantage.
- Recognize your right to be there: The biggest tip for being confident is knowing that you deserve to be there. Whether or not you can follow any of the advice for looking confident, no one else has more of a right to speak with the audience than you. You have something to share and that is valuable on its own.
- Connect with the audience: One of the best ways to look confident is to feel connected to the audience. Feeling connected follows inviting the audience to engage with you. For example:
- Tell a joke
- Ask them to participate by a show of hands or round of applause
- Address them directly in your speech
- Communicate slowly – don’t rush: By communicating more slowly, your points will usually be clearer and more understandable. This will give the audience more time to listen and process what you are saying. Communicating slowly also helps any captioners or sign language interpreters who are present to do their jobs better.
For more disability-specific tips on confidence and body language, check out these resources:
