Here's how you can enhance your public speaking skills using feedback.

Seeking feedback from your audience after a presentation is incredibly valuable. Honest feedback, whether positive or negative, helps you understand your strengths and areas for improvement. Positive feedback can motivate you and build your confidence . Constructive criticism can highlight mistakes in your presentation, such as issues with your slides, body language, hand gestures, voice clarity, or presentation speed. Understanding these areas allows you to refine and polish your future presentations.

Feedback will always help you to become better. It may be hard to hear, however, if you look at the bigger picture and say this will simply benefit me and make me a better speaker, then it should be encouraged and invited. Also, ask in which parts of your speech did they want to hear more or less off.

I found the BIC feedback model quite useful. BIC stands for Behavior, Impact, and Change. Behavior includes aspects such as eye contact, use of filler words, body language and vocal delivery (tone, pace, volume). Impact is how the consequences of that behavior impacted. Example, avoiding eye contacted resulted in disconnected audience. Another one, use of humor and easy going tone made audience comfortable and engaged. And lastly, Change is the specific improvements the assessor recommends; example - start your speech with a joke. Also remember to seek feedback from a diverse group, for you can get a range of perspectives, avoid the echo chamber and build in cultural sensitivities.

Lo primero es recibir feedback. Sin verbalización puedo obtenerlo en factores como la participación y preguntas, la mirada, postura y la permanencia toda la charla. Después de la presentación, o al encontrar alguien que te escuchó preguntale cómo estuviste. No te quedes con el "bien" como respuesta. Busca que desarrollen con preguntas como ¿Qué recuerdas? ¿qué te gustó y qué no? ¿qué te llamó la atención? Es importante que la gente sienta libertad para exponer. Por ej. si son subordinados explicita que tienen libertad para criticarte. Si son conocidos, aprovecha la confianza para indagar a fondo y recibir lo que otros por respeto o miedo no dirían. Es clave dar tiempo, no interrumpir, escuchar reteniendo el juicio.

Solicit feedback from a diverse audience, including peers, mentors, and experts. After each speaking engagement, ask for specific comments on various aspects of your presentation, such as content clarity, delivery style, and audience engagement. Use tools like surveys or feedback forms to gather structured responses. Open-ended questions can provide more detailed insights. For example, I once asked my colleagues for feedback after a presentation, and their constructive criticism on my pacing and tone was invaluable in refining my speaking skills.

El feedback negativo te ayudará a corregir, el positivo (parece obvio, pero a veces se subestima o da por sobreentendido) a reforzar. Cuanto más se reitere más importancia debes darle. No confundamos feedback con piropo o crítica constructiva. Busca descripciones de tu performance (más allá de la evaluación subjetiva). No hablan de ti como persona sino de como fue tu desempeño. Muchas veces lo que yo percibo de mi mismo no coincide con lo que percibe el resto, no te preocupes si te sorprendes o te sientes mal. Lo importante es enterarse de lo que recibe el resto y que eso sea lo más cercano posible a lo que querías dar.

Una vez que tienes claro que hay que mantener o modificar (no necesariamente hay que cambiar, a veces un buen feedback nos permite saber algo que hicimos bien que si nos lo dicen difícilmente lo repitamos) intenta practicar implementandolo en las ocasiones que se te presenten. Es importante ejercitar en situaciones "ficticias" (por ej. frente al espejo o un amigo) sin esperar a que la realidad nos obligue (mayor presión y cosas en juego). Filmarse es muy bueno porque permite verse y conversar sobre el video con otras personas respecto a puesta en escena. Que no te incomode escuchar tu voz o ver tu imagen. Es eso lo que reciben los otros.

Practice makes perfect. If you have the jitters when publicly speaking, I recommend video taping yourself. This approach has helped me a lot because it made me realize how many times I would say "umm". Also, you can assess your posture, your body language and times of hesitation.

Practicing with peer feedback can break you out of a rut in your presentation style even if you believe you have the skill on lock. I'd presented solo in various settings by the end of graduate school, from conferences to classroom lectures. At the end of our program, we presented our theses in public-facing, timed panels with fellow graduates. During a timing practice session, a co-panelist convinced me to ditch my note cards because "I can tell you're well-prepared; you clearly know what you're talking about. You don't need them, you keep fidgeting with them, and it's detracting from your connection with the audience." She was absolutely right, and after that push out of my comfort zone, I've never presented with notes in hand again.

Recording your presentations allows you to objectively review your performance. Watch the recordings to identify strengths and areas needing improvement, comparing them against the feedback received. Pay attention to your body language, vocal delivery, and audience reactions. By reviewing my recorded speeches, I discovered non-verbal habits, like excessive hand movements, which I then worked on minimizing to present a more composed demeanor.

Confidence is crucial in public speaking. Positive reinforcement and acknowledging your progress can boost your self-assurance. Balance critiques with recognition of your strengths and achievements. For instance, despite receiving feedback on areas needing improvement, I also focused on the positive comments about my clear articulation, which helped maintain my confidence while addressing areas of growth.

Recuerda que un buen feedack no habla sobre la persona sino sobre su desempeño. No debería ser una evaluación sino una descripción. Si te dicen "sos muy bueno (malo)" no sabrás que mantener (cambiar). A diferencia de: manejaste bien los tiempos, la mirada transmitía nerviosismo, hubo buenas pausas pero el volumen era bajo... etc. Personalmente he visto personas muy autoexigentes que no escuchaban el feedback positivo tomandolo como un cumplido, o personas estructuradas y poco flexibles que rechazaban el feedback negativo o lo justificaban. No caigas en ninguno de esos casos. Es información muy valiosa que te puede servir. Mientras recibes, escucha sin juzgar, total, si DESPUÉS consideras que no te aporta puedes desecharlo.

In addition to feedback, consider other resources like public speaking workshops, online courses, and books. Join groups like Toastmasters to gain more speaking opportunities and receive diverse feedback. Stay updated with trends in public speaking and continually seek new techniques to enhance your skills. Experiment with different styles and approaches to find what works best for you, fostering continuous improvement and versatility as a speaker.