Getting yourself ready for public speaking
Maybe you have never spoken in public or maybe you have but haven’t delived the outcomes you were targeting.
Today I’m going to share insights on presenting in front of an audience and methodology that is helpful to feel ready to the D-day.
Why would you care about speaking publicly and why it matters?
We all have different ways of positioning ourselves when it comes to public speaking. For some people, it is a daunting exercise and they avoid it at all costs. Others wouldn’t mind it but don’t want to put the energy towards it, or feel shy, or modest about what they could be sharing. You have to agree to a certain level of vulnerability when you do get on that stage.
When you think about it though, public speaking represents such an amazing opportunity.
It is a moment given to you, when you can impact a large number of people, inspire them, give them a new perspective, energize them. It is a moment when you can make a difference, and potentially maybe, impact a life - or several - in a way you would never have been able to do if you hadn’t been giving that speech.
I think about a couple speakers that have had an impact on me: first one being Steve Jobs: his keynotes were always so powerful (I’ll get into why later). Loved his commencement speech at Stanford’s 2005 Graduation, if you haven’t seen it, highly recommend you watch it. I was also deeply touched by J.K. Rowling Harvard commencement speech of 2008 which I found moving and so well structured.
Make it personal
What do these speeches have in common? They’re raw, they’re detailed, they’re thought through to transfer an experience that truly impacted the speaker. I’m not saying you should necessarily share private details of your life but share something that really resonates within you, something to drives you, something that you are passionate about, something that truly gets you excited or an experience that has shaped you.
Doing that will drive you one step further from being one insipid presenter whose content and presence is forgotten as soon as they walk out.
Know your audience & make sure they understand you
There are lots of different settings in which you can give speeches: pure business presentation with your team, introducing yourself in front of the whole company, speaking in front of a person you admire, talking to customers or giving a speech to a 500+ audience, and much more.
Getting back to Steve Jobs, his keynotes were impactful because he made his content accessible to who he was speaking to. He never spend hours describing how the Iphone chip was built rather he focused on what customers cared about: the usage, how this innovation was actually going to affect them and improve their lives.
What is key is to make sure you’ve understood not only the framework in which your presentation is going to be given but most importantly who you will be talking to. In makes all the difference in the world. You would never start speaking French to a person who only speaks Italian!!!
Your content must be tailored to capture and impact the people you are addressing.
Prepare
Here’s my typical checklist:
The context: When is the speaking slot - what portion of the day, after who / what? What’s the event during which the speech will occur, is there a theme to that event?
The audience: The number of people, their roles, their Industry, any other important aspect that you should know to better target your presentation and make it resonate.
The logistics: How much time is given to you? Is there a possibility to share visuals or not? Can you have notes with you? Will you be wearing a microphone or holding it? Will there be a stand?
The attire: Unless there a specific dress code (I’ve had to give a speech in a gown once!), wear something that makes you feel confident & good while being confortable and that conveys professionalism. My go to is a white button shirt or blouse and black jeans or trousers, sometimes I’ll add a blazer but you don’t want to feel constricted.
The aim of that list, is to lower the unknown to the maximum. No matter how prepared you are and how used to speaking you are, the more you reduce unknown factors, the more you can focus on your presentation and be calm and collected.
practice the story
Regarding the speech itself, I find it most helpful to draft it, like you would any paper. Line up the ideas, organize them by order, bring them to life so it becomes a story you are going to tell. Carve out whatever is redundant or irrelevant and do that until you are fully satisfied with your work.
I like to have a maximum of three points that I go back to several times, because I want these concept to stick and that’s what I want the audience to remember. If you give out to many details and go over too fast on a subject, the chances are high it won’t be remembered.
Once you have your speech ready, repeat it, over & over & over & over again.Write it several times if you have a photographic memory, practice it in front of mirror, with a peer, in the car. Twenty times, if necessary fifty, unless you feel comfortable with it and until you feel you own it.
Now I know sometimes deadlines aren’t ideal and they constraint from having as much as we’d like to prepare, but be intentional about making as much time as you can given the circumstances: you won’t regret it.
Work on your posture
Use your hands to make points if that’s natural for you, you’ll find advice online that go in details on how specific gestures can provide more weight to what you say.
Move with a purpose: do not go pacing back and forth on stage, be steady and move when it makes sense (you are addressing the other side of the room). If you have to choose, it’s better to just stay solid & anchored on your feet rather then drawing circles on the ground which dilutes the message you are conveying.
Give your audience the sensation of being individual listeners by making intentional eye contact: while you speak, look at a person long enough to connect, then move to another. This will keep the audience focused and make them feel like you are interacting with each of them.
Jump!
Eat lightly before you go on stage, drink a lot to be hydrated, remember there is a reason that you are about to get on that stage: you have something to say & it matters!
You will most likely be nervous and that’s normal, just accept it, breathe and re-read your text and notes as much as you want. Take your time, do not rush your words.
The great news is, the more you challenge yourself in this exercise, the easier (less hard!!) it gets!
If you’ve given speeches before, share your experience! If you are preparing for one: good luck & hope these tips are helpful!
