What do you do if your boss prefers a different public speaking style?

Adapt your public speaking style to align with your boss's preferences while maintaining authenticity. Observe their preferred approach, such as tone, pacing, or use of visual aids, and incorporate those elements into your presentations. Seek constructive feedback from your boss to understand their expectations and make adjustments accordingly, while still expressing your own unique voice and personality.

Authenticity key when speaking publicly so your style has to come from within. If it doesn't it won't resonate with your audience. That being said you can adapt your style in a way that is still authentic to you but in your boss's preferred speaking style. Observe your boss, what do they do differently to you? How does this land with the audience? What can you take from this that seems natural for you? Take the things you can and practice, practice, practice. This should be a gradual change but a good boss will notice your efforts and appreciate the slight tweaks in style.

Invest time to observe and comprehend the specific attributes of your boss’s preferred speaking style. What makes it effective? How does it resonate with the audience?

Understand Their Preferences: Identify what specific aspects of their style they value, such as structure or tone. Observe and Learn: Watch your boss present or review presentations they admire to gain insights. Seek Feedback: Get feedback on your current style to identify areas for improvement. Incorporate Key Elements: Gradually integrate elements of their style into your presentations. Practice and Iterate: Test the new style in less critical settings and adjust as needed.

Staying authentic means being true to what you believe, and this does not exclude adaptation. If you’re asked to adapt your speech, you should consider what parts of the asked style you can adapt to yourself. It doesn’t mean shadowing your style or being unnatural, it means incorporating the parts that you are able to identify and work with.

It’s essential to remain true to yourself while incorporating new elements. Authenticity is key in public speaking, as it helps to connect with the audience on a personal level.

Staying authentic is of utmost importance. If you will just run after copying your boss style, it will make you less impactful in long run. Maintain a balance - learn your boss's style but without compromising with your own unique style. For example, if your boss makes use of hand movements to convey something, that may be a part of his personality and may seem natural on him but if you will copy paste that style, it may or may not seem natural on you.

Constructively discuss with your boss to understand their expectations. Ask for clear examples and reasons behind their preferred style to gain deeper insights.

Try out the new style in smaller, less formal settings to build comfort and proficiency. This could be during team meetings or in presentations to smaller groups.

Identify elements of your boss’s style that align with your own and integrate them into your presentations. This can create a balanced approach that satisfies both parties.

Make incremental changes to your style rather than overhauling it completely. This allows for a smoother transition and helps you assess the effectiveness of each change.

Always remember "Rome wasn't built in a day." Things take time and that is completely okay. Adapt yourself to changes gradually so that it may not seem burdensome or unnatural at the first glance. Practice, be patient and enjoy the new learning while remaining unique in your style at the same time.

Stay away from imposter syndrome. Everyone has a different personality, style of communication and different speaking styles, be it your boss or a team leader or a colleague. I would recommend to retain your originality. However, the flow of communication must be in sync with each other especially when speaking in a public platform. Listening to what your team member is saying plays an important part so everyone sticks to the narrative and there are no conflicting statements. Team dynamics and understanding does play a big part in the same.