Do I need to sound upbeat when speaking in public if that is not natural to me?

Question

Absolutely not. Pretending to be "upbeat" or even confident can backfire. If you get nervous, you will be more worried about what you look like versus about the message you are trying to convey. As an example, if you are the person making a speech about a bride or groom at a wedding, you may be a family member with amazing and funny stories to share. You may not be outgoing at all. Your particular audience will be more interested in your message than in your performance. As long as you speak as clearly as possible and enjoy the stories you are telling, you will certainly get their attention. You do not need to always sound like a motivational speaker. It is important to be yourself and deliver your message.

Answer 1

I think it depends on the circumstances, to be honest. In general, you do not want to be so fake that the audience focuses on nothing more than the awkwardness of your presentation. However, on the opposite end of the scale, if you are naturally drab and dry and without some modicum of enthusiasm the audience will focus only on how dull you are, then you may want to consider interjecting some enthusiasm. Think of it as a sliding scale. You need to slide the scale to the sweet spot where you are enthusiastic enough to keep the audience's attention but not so much that you are clearly fake and the audience questions the sincerity of your whole presentation and/or cannot look past your clearly fabricated demeanor.

As a rule of thumb though, I would err on the side of being more genuine. I think people will be more understanding of a sincere, boring person than they would be of a clearly fake person.

Answer 2

While it is important to be yourself and enjoy stories you tell, it is also imperative to know your audience. You could give a speech on a topic you have a great passion for, but if you are not enthusiastic or fail to transfer some of your passion and interest, your audience will become bored quickly and their attention will drift elsewhere.

I agree you shouldn't be fake when speaking, but you also do not want to be drab or dull at the same time. Speaking from experience, I can sometimes be rather monotone in my speaking, so I counter this by forcing myself to fluctuate my voice or even (at times) speak in a different voice altogether, similar to voice actors speaking in a role.