SIX STEPS TO BOOSTING YOUR EFFECTIVENESS AS A PUBLIC SPEAKER

Two weeks ago we celebrated the lives of two great American icons in the Maverick Senator John McCain and the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin. Like many of you, I watched and listened to the speakers at their respective memorial celebrations of life. And probably like you, some of the speeches connected with me better than others.

As I thought about the speeches I heard, I knew even the less effective speakers had a desire to be uber effective. And for speakers everywhere, we can all say without exception, “been there, done that, and have the t-shirt for it!

Surveys over the years have confirmed that public speaking is a great fear for many people. Most of us prefer for someone else to be the speaker, but a time is coming when your number will be called and no one else will be a suitable substitute for you.

The best way I believe to give an inspiring presentation is to have a message that you believe in and that the audience can connect to. The connection between you and the audience is what allows them to actively listen to your message and be inspired. Here are six keys I use with my public speaking opportunities that have been effective for me, that I hope will likewise be inciteful and encouraging for you.

1.  Inspiration: Speak to serve.

Choose to take the focus off yourself and shift it to your audience. Why is your audience here at this place, at this time? What do they need to hear that they may not even know they need to hear? Who are you speaking for that doesn’t have a voice, that doesn’t have a platform? It’s your voice but it’s not your platform to use for your own benefit. After all, the objective is not to benefit the you the speaker, but to benefit the audience through your teaching, motivation, or entertaining speaking skills.

When you focus on who you are serving, you’ll feel less pressure to “be perfect” with your mannerisms, gestures, and voice tones. So, in all your preparation and presentations, think about your purpose. How can you help your audience members achieve their goals, even the ones they may not have realized they had before hearing your presentation?

2.  Authenticity: You have to be “real”.

It’s not enough any longer to simply stand and deliver your information perfectly to an audience. You have to engage them with your stories. Tell them a story about your experiences that connects to their personal motivations and self-interest. Take the opportunity to put a face on the facts of your presentation. People like to hear about other people’s experiences—the triumphs, tragedies, and everyday humorous examples that make up their lives.

Telling stories will give you credibility, helps your listeners engage more often, and will put you at ease by helping overcome lingering nervousness. Authenticity begins with helping answer the question that the audience has about you, “can I trust you and what you’re saying to me”? You get to choose what you reveal – and we don’t want too much – but we need something to know that you’re for real. That demands far more attention and attention to detail than speaking required in the past.

3.  Consistency: Keep the main thing the main thing.

What is your main idea you want your audience to take away and share with others when they leave. That desired outcome has to be consistently clear throughout your presentation. You have to avoid at all costs having multiple story lines in your speech. Your thoughts outside of your main idea may be important but completely different lines of thought may leave the audience feeling like you’re disorganized and unsure about what you’re really wanting to communicate.

In some cases, your inconsistency may actually entertain the audience, but will still leave the audience confused on what should be their takeaway or call to action from your speech. As a result, it is critical then as you prepare for the presentation, that you begin by “keeping the end in mind”. The measure of your effectiveness will be determined by whether you leave the audience with a clear understanding of what you’re wanting them to know, to understand and more importantly to act.  

4.  Repetition

In times past, speakers had a confidence or perception that they had a captive audience for their presentation. We can’t say that they really had everyone’s full attention but it was much better than the challenges speakers inevitably face today. There are swarms of distractions, constant interruptions, various sound tones chiming all around, and texting under the table that all combine to overload our mental circuits creating a never-ending mental traffic jam.

The challenge any speaker has today is to style your presentation in a way that manages the audience’s attention so that your main idea isn’t lost to the inevitable distractions. Repetition can help ensure your audience takes the main points away from your presentation. It promotes clarity and helps to encourage acceptance of an idea.

In order to employ repetition in your presentations, determine what you want your audience to take away from your speech. Say it. Say it again. And then say it a third time just in case anyone missed it the first couple of times.

5.  Anticipation: Always leave ‘em wanting more.

One of the most valuable lessons I have learned from my years of public speaking, is that less is usually more. My long-time Pastor J. Lee Foster reminded us often, “you can’t tell it all!” The temptation every speaker has is that you’re likely to have more content to share than actual time to share it. The key to remember is that it is an extremely rare occurrence to hear someone say after leaving a gathering, “I wish that speaker had spoken longer!” I'm sure there have been far more times where people have left speaking engagements and have said, “I’m glad that speech is over. It seemed to go on forever!”

So, surprise your audience. Always make your presentation just a bit shorter than anticipated. If you’ve followed the first four principles outlined here, you already have their attention and interest. If that's the case, it’s better to leave your listeners wishing you had spoken for just a few more minutes than squirming in their seats waiting for your speech finally to end.

6.  Know your speech. Don’t memorize. 

Most of us that are presenting are dedicated enough to prepare in advance for our speeches. One of the “traps” in preparation is that you may focus primarily on memorizing your speech. The challenge with that is that it almost always occurs that something will happen during your presentation that will influence you to adjust your presentation. Making that type of adjustment is quite difficult when your preparation was focused on memorizing your speech. In addition, when your speech is only memorized, you can find that you have “boxed yourself in” from being able to be flexible in enhancing your presentation “in the moment” that present themselves.

In order to ‘be yourself’ in a presentation, you shouldn’t memorize your speech in absolutes. Practice your speech as often as possible, but be willing to change up the wording each time. This makes it easier to change it up during the actual presentation if things aren’t going exactly as planned. Memorization can set up a barrier between you and your audience.