Public speaking is a vital skill for any professional, especially if you are leading a team. However, not everyone is comfortable or confident in front of an audience. As a team leader, you can help your team members improve their public speaking skills and succeed in their presentations. Here are some tips on how to do that.
The first step is to assess the current level of public speaking skills of your team members. You can do this by observing their past or current presentations, asking for feedback from others, or using a self-assessment tool. Identify the areas where they excel and where they need improvement. For example, some may have great content but poor delivery, while others may have good voice but weak structure.
Move the centre of gravity from yourself to the audience. Dont focus on your performance but on making people understand something new. Have a controlling message that runs all the way through. Introduce a mix of negatives and positives. E.g. 'most cross border M&As fail. But it doesn't have to be like this'. Have a stock of stories you can use in different orders, connected by your central argument. Keep a balance between the rational and the emotional.
First to face the fear and just do it. On the run-up to that, however, there's a few useful tips, tools and techniques to consider. The aim is to make it memorable and move people to action. Of course practice makes permanent, but you have to know what to focus on in the first instance. Here's a few strategies I have employed; - Know your subject - Grab people's attention from the start. - Use stories, the more personal and vulnerable, the better - Use big bold open body language - Master vocal variety including the......pause - Consider humour, get that right and people listen more - Importantly, get feedback and evaluation from a trusted source (directly or from a recording) - Make public speaking a habit and look for opportunities...
Give them more opportunities to practice speaking in front of others (even it is a small group) and provide encouraging areas of improvement. It also helps if they speak on a topic that interest them.
Begin by fostering a supportive environment where team members feel a sense of trust and safety. This creates a foundation for building self-esteem, making it easier for them to step out of their comfort zones. Encourage regular practice sessions, providing constructive feedback to boost their confidence. These positive interactions contribute to a culture of self-love and continuous improvement.
TEN PRACTICAL RULES TO BECOME A GREAT SPEAKER I transformed into a keynote speaker on design thinking innovation, all of the world the last ten years. That’s why I like to share with you ten practical rules that made me fly on stage: 1. Understand your audience by knowing what’s keeping them awake at night. 2. Tell stories. 3. Use gestures purposefully. 4. Entertain and use humour to break the ice. 5. Vary tone, pace and volume. 6. Be genuine and share personal anecdotes to humanise your presentation. 7. Be passionate. 8. Exaggerate as a real actor would do. 9. Dress up, fitting your subject and personality to create more impact. 10. Talk to one person (in mind). I wish you lots of success! #keynote #keynotespeaker #speaker #topspeaker
The second step is to provide constructive feedback to your team members based on your assessment. Feedback should be specific, timely, and balanced. It should highlight what they did well and what they can do better. It should also be respectful and supportive, not harsh or demoralizing. You can use the sandwich method, which is to start and end with positive feedback and put the negative feedback in the middle.
?? Team members will appreciate feeling seen, heard and valued for both their strengths and their weaknesses. A good place to start is not by "telling" them, but confirming whether you have understood each person's input correctly. Even if they say yes, ask if there is anything else to consider. Based on their assessment and feedback, ask (don't tell) them how they could build on their strengths... and mitigate weaknesses. When they stop talking, ask: "What else?" Only then, ask if they would like your suggestions and discuss, rather than push them. This way, each team member will feel a sense of ownership in their speaking and results. TIP: This is not a once-off process. Revisit regularly to see what is and isn't working.
Visual examples while proving feedback helps connect the actions and advice. When speaking on the strengths, show them what success looks like - when giving criticisms show how it appears to the audience.
One thing I learned throughout my experiences is that we always need to start with the positives. Mentioning three strengths will build confidence and courage to improve. It will also empower the team members to take risks and enjoy rewards. After the positives, discovering points of growth through honest but kind feedback will allow reflective and purposeful improvement.
Feedback is critical not just for public speaking but for all aspects of business and life. Let’s not mistake feedback for harsh criticism however. Feedback can be built on and used to improve. Which is why we often use the sandwich method. When I was in debate we used this method. 2 pieces of positive feedback for every one. Putting the negative feedback in the middle. Next time you are tasked with giving feedback. Try using constructive criticism and you’re sure to be happy with the results.
Constructive feedback should be overall motivating to action with specific goals to work on. Hence time and mental effort required to provide a good feedback. Thought put into what exactly we want to say is important in a way of assisting the candidate in improving the future performance. The best feedback I have ever recieved was well balanced and specific in re: to goals I needed to focus on. This made me feel that the feedback was meaningful, the person providing it took time to reflect on my performance. This in itself was really motivating and inspiring.
The third step is to encourage your team members to practice and rehearse their presentations before the actual event. Practice helps them improve their content, delivery, and confidence. Rehearsal helps them familiarize themselves with the environment, equipment, and audience. You can offer to be their practice partner, give them feedback, or record them and let them watch themselves.
?? Perfect practice makes practice perfect. Practising a presentation mindlessly is not enough. In fact, it can be a formula for disaster. Practising with focus, awareness and an eye for improvement is rocket fuel. As soon as possible, empower each member to practise on their own, first in front of a mirror and then with a video recording. Watch the video recording together, cringe where necessary and then find the areas for improvement. Put the improvements in place, rinse and repeat. Doing a rehearsal with caring team members, and later outsiders if possible, can also be priceless. Again, be open to feedback, consider it and integrate where useful. Feedback might not always be fun, but it is the golden key to improvement.
As people always say, practice makes perfect. I've never looked at myself as a good public speaker. However, due to numerous invitations for me to deliver talks, seminars and training on data privacy and protection, I can say that I'm now more at ease at speaking publicly. Of course, I did lots of practice on how to deliver public speaking that I also developed confidence in doing that. Additionally, it also helps if you know your participants and their differing backgrounds.
Practice, practice, practice, and more practice. The professionals do it, the gurus of public speaking do it, and the leading CEOs do it, so everyone should. It prompts self-reflection as well as motivation for improvement. The more we practice, the more we perfect our actions. There is a Japanese proverb that says, "Three years on a (cold) stone (will make the stone warm)."
Rehearsal helps you to familiarize with the environment, equipment, and audience and practice can help you to improve your knowledge, to deliver it in a better way and to feel confident!
I will encourage more practical sessions where they are given the autonomy to create, present and constructive feedback is given. More practical sessions and opportunities to speak will help them and boost their confidence. They will be encouraged to take more speaking opportunities.
The fourth step is to share useful resources and tips with your team members that can help them enhance their public speaking skills. You can recommend books, articles, podcasts, videos, or courses that cover topics such as storytelling, body language, vocal variety, eye contact, or audience engagement. You can also share your own experiences, challenges, and best practices as a public speaker.
Pitch is extremely important when presenting. Ending sentences on a high pitch will create a lack of confidence in the audience; it is as though you are questioning yourself! A pitch that is too low and remains low will come off monotone and not retain any attention. To be dynamic, there needs to be a strong, steady and varied pitch use. This communicates confidence from the speaker, importance of the material presented, and clarity of attention from the audience.
Share useful resources and tips: Empowerment lies in accessible resources. Sharing insightful articles, books, or TED Talks equips individuals with diverse perspectives and valuable techniques. Useful tips, whether on structuring speeches or conquering stage fright, offer practical guidance, aiding in skill refinement.
In my journey of becoming a speaker, I was encouraged to join toastmasters. Their process of developing speakers made me a better speaker even though I had more experience than most of the people in our group. Accountability to work on your craft and a well-designed process helped me to elevate to the next level. I also really liked Stage to Scale by Pete Vargas. Growing as a speaker is a reward in itself! And you can influence more people for good.
The fifth step is to create a supportive environment for your team members to grow and learn as public speakers. You can do this by fostering a culture of trust, respect, and collaboration among your team. You can also celebrate their achievements, acknowledge their efforts, and reward their progress. You can also motivate them by setting clear goals, expectations, and incentives for their presentations.
We can also provide informal opportunities that serve as a platform for speeches such as impromptu roasts and boasts; farewell speeches etc. Believe it or not, such speeches can provide a boost to an individual’s sense of self and that much needed confidence to speak in public. Such occasions are part of a supportive ecosystem that recognizes informal opps as a means of propelling our teams forward.
Each of the team members has their own journey and goals that need to be accomplished along the way. Understanding this while taking into consideration the bigger systemic perspective of the team as a whole is what creates healthy and nurturing environment. Having clarity in re: to goals and expectations is also helpful in providing a clear structure that can be easily referred to and will foster the overall progress.
Create a supportive environment: Nurturing a supportive ambiance fosters growth. Embracing a culture where mistakes are viewed as learning opportunities encourages risk-taking. And offering encouragement, empathy, and an open dialogue allows individuals to thrive in a safe and supportive space that exceeds your imagination, like...?? Nsido?? ??
The sixth and final step is to model good public speaking yourself as a team leader. You can do this by demonstrating the skills and behaviors that you want your team members to emulate. You can also show them that you are willing to learn, improve, and overcome your own challenges as a public speaker. By being a role model, you can inspire your team members to follow your example and become better public speakers.
Learning by doing and emulating is the best way to sharpen public speaking skills. Showing employees the right way to do it and then practicing it in real time.
Practice what you preach. Every interaction with team members is an opportunity to model good public speaking. Look people in the eye. Pause to facilitate a conversation. Look for non-verbal cues to guide the next words.
To enhance our team's public speaking abilities, we encourage them to attend my virtual and live speaking sessions. This not only familiarizes them with our agency's impactful work but also exposes them to effective public speaking practices. Observing these sessions, they witness firsthand the nuances of delivery and audience engagement. This experience is invaluable, offering them practical insights and strategies they can adopt in their speaking endeavors. Leading by example, I demonstrate the continuous learning and skill development essential for mastering public speaking, inspiring my team to embrace and refine these skills in their professional journeys.
Elevating the public speaking skills of my team involves creating a supportive environment for growth. Start with personalized coaching sessions, addressing individual strengths and areas for improvement. Foster a culture of constructive feedback, emphasizing that it's about progress, not perfection. Introduce regular practice sessions, akin to a workout routine for their speaking muscles. The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. Encourage persistence, reminding the team that every stumble is a step closer to mastery. Together, let's transform the team into a powerhouse of confident and impactful communicators. Our success story is in the making!
Model good public speaking: In my own practical opinion, leading by example is a powerful teacher. Demonstrating effective public speaking practices showcases successful techniques firsthand. By embodying confident delivery, clear articulation, and engaging storytelling, one sets a precedent for others to emulate and learn from...?? Nsido?? ?? ? ??
The only way to become a better speaker is by speaking over and over again. The more you practice, the better you get. It's a muscle that's built with consistent practice.
I find that people naturally become better speakers when they talk about topics that they enjoy. So I would first identify the specific topics that need to be discussed during public speaking opportunities and then find a bridge between those topics and what my team members actually want to discuss. Whether it’s incorporating storytelling, analogies, examples, or something else, the key is to get them more relaxed and comfortable when communicating in front of others so that they’re better able to deliver quality information when public speaking.
My experience has been that people aren’t struggling with the content as much as the delivery. So, helping individuals connect to their internal center of confidence and translate the content for the audience has always helped bring existing capacity to the forefront and helped us grow together.
Medical students and interns have challenges with patient presentation. They prioritize data over the patient's narrative. As an attending physician, I heard numerous presentations that amounted to reading off lab values and X-ray reports without a clear understanding of why the patient was in the hospital and how we could help transition him back home. I encouraged my junior colleagues to think of the patient's encounter as a story. A story has three components: a beginning, a middle, and an end. Once they understood that data supports a story, but does not tell it, they relaxed and provided more nuances and details in a more coherent and flowing manner.
Public speaking can be really daunting. Practise contributes towards mastery. There are different techniques individuals use to let go of stage fright and anxiety of public speaking e.g focusing attention on one familiar face in the room in order not to get too overwhelmed by the experience of looking at the big crowd. Centring oneself before the presentation by different applying grounding techniques and taking a few deep breaths also helpful. Being passionate about the topic we present on is invaluable in having a sense of meaning and purpose in the message we want to convey. That in itself can be a really important driving force of our performance