Careerist

4 Simple Tips To Remember For Your Next Speech

Posted by Aida Fazlic on March 13, 2008 at 12:53 am.

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Editor’s Note: This post about presentation skills comes from Aida, who writes regularly about millennial issues with four other talented women at their blog, Life Before Noon. 

At some point we will have to stand in front of a group of people and talk. It could be a carefully planned-out presentation or someone asking for your opinion. For some of us this comes naturally. The greater majority, however, believe that speaking in public is the most horrible experience, ever. What is it about public speaking that makes some of the most otherwise confident individuals crumble? I can’t answer this question because each person is different in their reasons for dreading public speaking.

As a communication studies major and a student speech consultant at my university’s Communication Resource Center, I have a fair amount of experience with presenting and observing speeches and presentations. I am in no way part of the group of people where public speaking comes naturally. My freshmen year at James Madison University (JMU) I was enrolled in GCOM 121, General Human Communication: Principles and Practices. I had to do three speeches in front of juniors and seniors my first semester at school. Horrible is not the word I would use to describe my experience. Near panic attack paints a more accurate picture. But, I survived.

Being a competent and effective communicator is an important skill. Employers constantly list excellent communication and written and verbal skills as part of the qualities they look for in potential employees. Communication is also important in our relationships. Being able to express yourself can help make interactions with others more successful. As I have had to learn, becoming a better communicator and more specifically a better public speaker takes lots of work.

Here are a few things to help you work at improving your communication skills:

1. Know your audience. Who your audience is will help determine how you will deliver your message. Tailor your message so your audience can relate with the topic.

2. Know your topic. People know when you have no idea what you’re talking about. Save the embarrassment for someone else and do some research. Find credible sources and have accurate results that show you know what you’re talking about. Knowing your audience will help you find the information you need.

3. Eye contact. Make it. Eye contact is not looking above your audience’s head. Actually look at your audience. It will be okay, they aren’t that scary. With eye contact, you establish yourself as a credible source and when you look at people you get feedback. If something doesn’t make sense you can gage that through a person’s facial expression.

4. Practice makes perfect. Practice in front of a mirror, in front of other people. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to practice. It will give you a chance to see where you need more information or what doesn’t go as well together. Practicing in front of people can also make you aware of some of the things you do, like shift from foot to foot, and help you work out the kinks before the big day.

After countless speeches and presentations, I still get nervous. It is much more subtle instead of the frantic feeling that I might actually die right on the spot. It does take time and effort to make public speaking easier, but it is definitely worth it.

What tips would you add to this list?

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  • I would add couple of tips from a marketing guy:

    Tip: Presentations at work place, especially to potential clients are very different from the ones in the school for a couple of reasons:
    1) They don't have to listen to you like students do
    2) Sometimes they really don't want to hear what you have to say
    3) Blackberry and cell phones are not on silent.

    Certainly, this is a worse group to present to, but it does happen in real life. I think the key is Alda's bullet number 4 - preparation. When I was doing my first sales presentations I used to record myself and practice till I am myself satisfied with the presentation.

    Tip: keep it interactive. Ask questions (only the ones you know how the audience will answer) and lead the presentation by their answers. Keeps it very real and the ideas you are trying to convey are getting across since audience thinks that they came up with those ideas themselves.

    Tip: there is always one person who is skeptical about what you have to say and is trying to rally the troops against you. Don't waste you energy on trying to sell to this person, it is usually impossible and takes the focus away from the message. Find people who support you and use them to influence the audience. The person who didn't like your message in a first place will be singled out and he or she will have to switch to the buying into your presentation.
  • Most presentations I give (or listen to) these days are in a corporate setting, meaning they invariably revolve around Powerpoint. Please for the love of all that is good and pure, don't just read your Powerpoint to me - I can already see it on the screen... put simple bullets on the slides and then tell me a real story from your heart, that way I'll be engaged.
  • Roman, those are great tips. Presentations in the business world are so much different than other settings for the reasons you described. Thanks again for adding so much to the discussion.

    Matt, I hear you about the PowerPoint. The one thing I would add is the reason this happens is because people don't prepare (tip #4) for whatever reason. Sometimes in the business world we don't have time to worry about the "presentation" part, but really, this is never acceptable if you are trying to communicate information to a group of people.

    Thanks for the comments, and thanks Aida for a great guest post :)
  • I would add: move. That is, act natural. Express naturally with your body language and arms or hands - naturally not like a fool.

    Also, moving keeps the nerves at bay. When we're nervous we tense up and our speech, breathing and even thought process suffers. Once you start to open yourself up to your audience the interaction and movement will come more naturally.

    Also, all these tips are easier said than done. Also, saying 'easier said than done' is so easy to say.
  • Nez
    My speech class instructor said, when you do public speaking:

    1) Tell the audience what you're going to say
    2) Say it
    3) Tell the audience what you just said

    He said that's the only way an audience member will truly remember what the talk was about (assuming one followed all the points Aida made in her post).
  • With respect to PowerPoint, I love Guy Kawasaki's 10/20/30 rule (http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2005/12/the_102030_...
    Use no more than 10 slides per 20 minutes and never use a font that's less than 30 points in size. The post is addressed to entrepreneurs pitching to venture capitalists, but in my opinion it applies to any other presentation in the world. It's very funny and will ring true for anyone who's sat through countless awful PP presentations at work.

    And for another funny post on the subject, check out this one from Presentation Zen, which turns Obama's Yes We Can speech into a PowerPoint presentation. http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/...
  • Thanks to everyone who commented.

    Roman - Thanks for your marketing perspective. We can start using your tips now and hopefully be more successful with the clients we present to one day.

    Matt - I couldn't agree with you more about PowerPoints. People tend to forget that the PowerPoint is not your presentation rather it's an aid for your presentation.

    t h rive - Using nonverbals in your speeches and presentations is a good way to engage your audience. I like that you said keep it natural. Moving doesn't have to be over-the-top or extreme. Keep it simple and keep it you.

    Nez - Speeches and presentations are tricky because your audience can't go back and read through it if something doesn't make sense like they could with a paper. It's important that it flows smoothly and that your audience knows hows things are connecting and where you're going. Transitions are very important and what your instructor said is perfect.

    Izabella - Thanks for the links. Both are helpful for this topic. Another link to check out is http://rowcom.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2....
    The post, "Breaking the Rules - With Style," is a really cool take on using PowerPoints.
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