Life Hacks about public speaking

Where can public speaking take us?

Public speaking often ranks in people’s top 3 fears – ahead of heights, closed spaces, or suffering from heart failure. But why? Isn’t it like having a regular conversation but with a broader audience?

To a large extent, public speaking is just communication. Many skills that make a conversation meaningful and valuable will apply to public speaking—same player, similar skills, but in a different board game.

Communication is a bridge you build with others. It allows you to shift perspectives, shape relationships, influence decisions, and more. Public speaking can be all that but amplified. Many significant milestones in life will be influenced by public speaking, whether it means participating in an essential meeting with shareholders, pitching a new idea to investors, or presenting at a high-level conference.

Where do you need to improve?

On a scale of 1 to 10, where do you rank yourself as a public speaker?

The closer to a 10, the more engaging and strategic you are, speaking with clarity and confidence.

Now, take 1 minute to ask yourself: what would be different if I scored 2 points higher on the scale? What would I be able to do better? How would others notice?

Would you feel more confident and less stressed? See the audience getting more connected to your message? Become more authentic and intentional with your words and body language? Improving or evolving in public speaking will mean different things for every person.

Key insights 1

Rank yourself from 1 to 10 on public speaking; then analyze what you would do better if you were 2 points higher.

How can you shape a masterpiece?

Your mindset about public speaking makes a big difference. Avoid thinking of a presentation as a presentation. You are not going to present something. You are going to take people on a journey. A journey that is relevant and exciting and that makes people feel it was worth their time. This changes how you think, approach, and even feel during public speaking! ?

Let’s face it: not even the best speakers in the world will make people remember 100% of what was said, just like you don’t remember everything about a movie you loved. We’ll usually remember how we felt, the intriguing or insightful ideas, and perhaps a memorable story that resonates with us. Using this knowledge, we can strategize for public speaking with the following key insights.

Key insights 2

YOUR ONE BIG IDEA

What is the one idea I want my audience to understand?

If someone asks them, “How was it?” what do I want them to say? This will give you a focus around which to build your presentation.

THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER

We are continuously primed with the number 3. Every story starts with “Once upon a time,” people dedicate themselves with “blood, sweat, tears,” or win a “gold, silver, bronze” medal. Most slogans use this, too.

Structuring your ideas into 3 sections or concepts will make it easier for people to understand and recall your presentation. ?

EMOTIONAL, NOVEL, MEMORABLE

The best public speakers make their message emotional (they make us feel something), novel (make us learn something new), and memorable (delivered in an impactful way).

One example of these insights was Bill Gates's Ted Talk “Mosquitoes, Malaria, and Education” (3 words). His primary focus (one big idea) was to make people aware and engaged with how concerning the topic is.

Speaking to an audience that felt comfortably safe and distant from the dangers of Malaria, Bill Gates released a jar of mosquitoes into the auditorium while saying: “Not only poor people should experience this.”

People got very apprehensive as they were led to believe the mosquitoes were infected (they were not). They felt the tension (emotional), while the practical approach made that moment unforgettable (memorable), something that made people want to listen to the information in a different way (novel). ?

?

How can you make public speaking an impactful and stress-free experience?

So much of the pain in public speaking is about fear of judgment or failure. You can see a public speaking event like a tennis match. Even the best tennis players in the world make mistakes. Yet, they still win the game.

They win because when they play, they’re not focusing on “not making a mistake” but on “scoring new points”.

So, how do we score new points?

By connecting with the audience, having fun, and focusing on delivering crisp and relevant ideas!

Key insights 3

CHARISMA vs. CONVICTION

People overvalue charisma.

What moves people isn’t charisma but conviction.

Conviction comes from an internal place of confidence and preparedness that can contagion others. Instead of “fake till you make it”, connect to your conviction. You should adjust to your audience but ensuring you remain true to yourself.

PERFECTION vs. RELEVANCE

Da Vinci said that perfection is about removing things, not adding. He was referring to sculpture, but the same applies to public speaking.

No one is coming to listen to you with a record sheet where every mistake gets noticed and checked.

Nothing helps me cope with a presentation's stress more than the conviction of its relevance and value. That converts my stress into excitement.

Don’t strive for perfection. Strive for value!

WORDS vs. BODY LANGUAGE

Words matter, but too many times, an excessive emphasis is placed on words. Curiously, speakers with excellent “economy of words” present better.

If you can say 100 words in 20, that’s added efficiency and respect for people’s time, energy, and attention.

Evidence has shown that your body language and tone of voice may account for as much as 90% of how people perceive your communication. ???

VISUALS vs. IMAGINATION

An image is worth 1000 words. Well used, a powerful image, illustration, or photo can add tremendous value.

But how much is imagination worth? While visuals engage your eyesight, imagination ignites so much more.

Storytelling and metaphors are unique tools to spike imagination: they provide visual, sensory, and emotional elements, making even an unknown concept relatable and familiar.

Connecting the dots ??

A final idea is to improve public speaking by enhancing your potential and decreasing interferences.

Performance = potential – interferences

Think of a football player scoring a penalty at the final of the World Cup. This player might have a potential of 80/100 to score. Perhaps they can improve it by working on their accuracy. But if this player has an interference of 40/100, through self-doubt or fear of disappointing fans and teammates, the overall performance falls to 40/100.

The same can be applied to public speaking.

Your potential is your ability to think, plan, communicate, and share a message. At the same time, your interferences represent the noise running through your mind, usually in the form of fear of failure at some level.

To improve your game at public speaking, you need to work on enhancing your potential and decreasing your interferences.

This Life Hacks looks to public speaking as much more than presenting. It’s a combination of communication, creativity, and stress management skills.

My goal is that the tools in this edition will help and influence you to experience public speaking as a meaningful and pleasurable set of moments. ?

Did you find this edition relevant, helpful, or valuable?

Why not share it with a friend, colleague, team, or across your Organization? ??

Let me know your thoughts!

Your opinion will be very valued! Together, we will make Life Hacks a valuable tool for your life: that is the goal!

Also, what other topics would you like to read more about? ????

Please dm on LinkedIn or reach out to [email protected]

Hi, I’m Celso, founder and CEO of Next Level Hub.

At Next Level Hub, we believe mental health & well-being and personal & professional development are core areas in anyone’s life and great boosters of career growth and advancement.

We are on a mission to take you, your team, and your organization to the next level of your development, objectives, and metrics!

Our methodologies use the scientific power from behavioral sciences to creatively adapt to your goals and needs. We focus on 3 main areas:

SKILLS

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

MENTAL HEALTH & WELL-BEING

We provide tailor-made training programs for teams and organizations, consultancy services, prize-winning skills training programs, and 1-on-1 sessions. We're currently working with teams in +20 different countries ??.

More about me ??

With a behavioral sciences and innovation background, I deeply believe in the untapped potential of combining the know-how from Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behavioral Economics to develop impactful and evidence-based solutions for teams and companies.

With over a decade of experience as a psychologist, I've held, from 2017 to 2021, the position of Professor of Strategy and Innovation at Universidade Católica Portuguesa. My soft skills training programs earned a spot among the top 10 most innovative initiatives in Education in Portugal.

My work extends across various industries, including tech, cybersecurity, aviation, banking, healthcare, non-governmental, and construction, delivering consultancy and crafting tailor-made training programs.

I'm passionate about solving problems, continuous learning, and disruption through innovation, making me a very goal-oriented and solution-focused professional person.