5 ms·

I've been a public speaker for 12+ years now. I've come up with my own kit of advice for friends / peers / family members who are going to be in front of an aud

I've been a public speaker for 12+ years now. I've come up with my own kit of advice for friends / peers / family members who are going to be in front of an audience. Generalizations can be argued against, but in my experience, not successfully. :) Every time you get in front of an audience, remember: they came to see you succeed. Nobody (whose opinion matters) goes to plays, presentations or speeches to watch the on-stage talent crash and burn. They want to be entertained, or to be informed, or to experience catharsis. They have no reason to believe you're not qualified to speak, and they're subconsciously rooting for you because it is rewarding for the audience when you do well, and embarrassing for them when you do not. Bring water. Take pauses every few minutes to take a drink. It helps regulate breathing. Don't use colloquialisms without crafting a turn of phrase that explains it for those who don't understand. Don't use pop-culture references in presentations. Your audience may know you a little from a speaker bio, but you are even less likely to know their cultural background, and the awkward silence that follows a failed "Mr. Burns from The Simpsons" reference will only force you to get inside your own head. Which brings me to: Stay out of your head. Meaning: don't present material that you haven't practiced unless your particular brain excels at improvisation or social engineering, because you can't be THINKING about all that info and your presentation skills WHILE you're presenting. Practice speaking slowly, clearly and authoritatively, know your schedule for the talk, and KNOW YOUR SHIT ( a colloquialism meaning that you should be well-versed in the subject matter of your presentation). If you are unpracticed or only superficially aware of your subject matter, you will make mistakes that you will suddenly find yourself analyzing without your own permission. Your brain will put on the brakes, bringing your presentation to a screeching halt, and start to pick apart every little thing that happened and every little thing you're about to do. When someone "chokes" during a public performance, they've gotten into their own head. "Auto-pilot" - being able to perform without conscious step-by-step thought - is your best weapon here; that only comes from an easy comfort with the material and, unless you're already a skilled public speaker, practice. TL;DR?: Your audience is rooting for you; stop and sip water frequently; don't be a clever wordsmith (or a cunning linguist, if that helps you remember?) unless you know your audience will "get it"; and for the love off all that is good in the world, know the room, know the schedule and know your shit, or you'll choke and that makes a whole room full of people feel much more uncomfortable than you, because when they sat down, they already mentally prepared for you to be good.

6stringmerc 11y ago
Just a some affirmation of the above, as I think many people would be well served to study the guidance. My background? Both stage performance experience in music alongside academic (National Forensics League) and professional (presentation development and coaching in Fortune-level corporations) public speaking roles. Guitarist for 20 years or so, did public speaking and acting for about 10 counting high school and college, and another 5-6 working in the trenches of B2B sales (RFPs, etc) as a blend of creative / technical / team manager. To add a bit of side-note, I'd like to point out that humor tends to be so highly subjective that it's best to avoid trying to go there (akin to avoiding pop-culture). Being clever or witty is a way to show off, in such a format, and there's no reason to try and show off when the room is already yours, practically speaking. To me, it's a large turn-off when such deviations from the plan show up - being competent means being engaging, and through engagement the audience will appreciate the presentation for what it is doing / trying to convey. Allowing questions during a presentation is not preferred, but if presenting to a potential client, sometimes inevitable. I use the phrase "bus out of nowhere" to try and prepare people to be able to handle a difficult or even insulting question without totally losing footing. It's like a car crash, just let it happen in slow motion, hang on, and don't make any sudden moves to go in a different direction...just get through the question, avoid trying to be clever or witty in response, and get back to the script. I think Willie Nelson also had a relevant piece of advice regarding performing, in that it's good to get some practice in, but don't over-work something to the point of it being robotic. The performance should have some of that liveliness that comes from knowing something well but walking the line of risking that a mistake could happen...that's what can be so compelling about a great speaker, there's a mix of energy, competence, and human nature that gets people to tune in.
- spdustin 11y ago
  "Bus out of nowhere" - well said. Whenever those derailing questions/comments come out - pretty rare, but worth preparing for - that's great advice to just ... stop. Take a drink. Respond respectfully, punt to post-session conversation if possible, thank them, and move on. The audience won't even know what happened if you smoothly slide back into your routine.

6stringmerc 11y ago

Just a some affirmation of the above, as I think many people would be well served to study the guidance. My background? Both stage performance experience in music alongside academic (National Forensics League) and professional (presentation development and coaching in Fortune-level corporations) public speaking roles. Guitarist for 20 years or so, did public speaking and acting for about 10 counting high school and college, and another 5-6 working in the trenches of B2B sales (RFPs, etc) as a blend of creative / technical / team manager. To add a bit of side-note, I'd like to point out that humor tends to be so highly subjective that it's best to avoid trying to go there (akin to avoiding pop-culture). Being clever or witty is a way to show off, in such a format, and there's no reason to try and show off when the room is already yours, practically speaking. To me, it's a large turn-off when such deviations from the plan show up - being competent means being engaging, and through engagement the audience will appreciate the presentation for what it is doing / trying to convey. Allowing questions during a presentation is not preferred, but if presenting to a potential client, sometimes inevitable. I use the phrase "bus out of nowhere" to try and prepare people to be able to handle a difficult or even insulting question without totally losing footing. It's like a car crash, just let it happen in slow motion, hang on, and don't make any sudden moves to go in a different direction...just get through the question, avoid trying to be clever or witty in response, and get back to the script. I think Willie Nelson also had a relevant piece of advice regarding performing, in that it's good to get some practice in, but don't over-work something to the point of it being robotic. The performance should have some of that liveliness that comes from knowing something well but walking the line of risking that a mistake could happen...that's what can be so compelling about a great speaker, there's a mix of energy, competence, and human nature that gets people to tune in.

spdustin 11y ago
"Bus out of nowhere" - well said. Whenever those derailing questions/comments come out - pretty rare, but worth preparing for - that's great advice to just ... stop. Take a drink. Respond respectfully, punt to post-session conversation if possible, thank them, and move on. The audience won't even know what happened if you smoothly slide back into your routine.