Corentin Alloune / Photo credit: PAUL J. RICHARDS / AFP 16:13 pm, April 26, 2023

Do you lose your means when you have to speak in public? This exercise can become a real torment for some people. To deal with this, the guest of "Bienfait pour vous", Pierre Varrod, author of "Speak like Obama", gives some tips for a successful speech in front of an assembly.

Loss of means, stuttering, sweating... Public speaking can become a real torment for some people. Also called glossophobia, this fear is quite common in society. Guest of Bienfait pour vous, Pierre Varrod, author of Parler comme Obama published by First Editions, gives you some tips to overcome his fear and become eloquent in front of any audience.

Use figures of speech

Using the metaphor during a speech can help others better understand. This figure of speech makes it possible to understand some complicated ideas with simple images. "Simply! Instead of saying that we will develop on industries and geothermal energy, we can say that we will tame the sun and the wind!" exclaims Pierre Varrod at the microphone of Julia Vignali and Mélanie Gomez. The idea is to simplify your sentences.

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Another figure of speech to use: metonymy. "If I want to be heard, I have to start my speech with a revealing detail that explains the whole presentation," says the author. For example, the title of Cédric Jimenez's film, November. It is November 13, 2015, but it has been shortened in one word. And everyone understands that we are going to talk about the attacks, "says the writer.

But there is a risk with misuse of metonymy: not being understood. "So you have to take a detail that everyone understands," says Pierre Varrod.

Contrast your speech

Contrast is another tool to be a good speaker. Being able to anticipate what is going to be said. It can even make you feel smarter when it's added to a speech. The most telling example is learning a foreign language. "When you learn English, you are always behind what has just been said. We try to understand what has just been stated, "says the writer.

By understanding English well, people may be able to continue the sentence. Same refrain in French. "If I say sentences that you are able to finish in my place, then it means that what I say is clear," says Pierre Varrod.

Make short sentences and rhythm your voice

One of the great rules to become an outstanding speaker according to Pierre Varrod is to make short sentences. It's like jokes, the shorter the better. "Saying I love you is much stronger than an I love you very much," says the author.

One of the last keys to being a good speaker for Pierre Varrod is to be able to captivate an audience, especially by giving rhythm to his speech. That is, to give a musical air during a speech. "It gets into our brains. It is made to integrate everything that is regular. And music is rhythm, it's regularity," punctuates Pierre Varrod.