Speaking Frankly About Public Speaking

by J.B. Bernstein @JBBERNSTEIN

A friend recently asked me how I can go in front of a crowd of over 1,000 people and speak so casually.

The short answer is that I don’t. Public speaking is something you must take very seriously, so although my delivery may appear casual nothing could be further from the truth.

I once read a stat that over 60% of people feared public speaking more than death… Jerry Seinfeld even did a joke about it saying that if you are at a funeral, 60% of the people would rather be in the coffin than giving the eulogy.

Whether you are speaking to a large group or even doing an interview that will be broadcast to millions it does not have to be scary if you are truly prepared.

You see, what most people are really scared of when speaking in public is the fear of looking bad. They are afraid someone will ask a question that they don’t know the answer to. They are worried that their opinions will be challenged. They panic over audio visual glitches. They are even scared of forgetting something or just plain slipping up in their delivery.

The truth is that there are a million things that can go wrong, and trust me as someone who presents a lot; it is almost inevitable that something will go awry more often than not.

Here of some tips on how to best prepare, because the more prepared you are, the less you have to fear.

1) Rehearse – This should go without saying, and even for people who feel like they are rehearsing, they are not really doing it right. Going over your slides on the plane on your way to a keynote address is not rehearsing. I always go through my presentation in front of a mirror. You would be surprised at how many little idiosyncrasies you have when you speak and by looking in the mirror you can see them and avoid them.

2) Memorize your Slides – Reading slides is the quickest way to lose an audience. What I like to do is to have a very topline outline on my slides akin to talking points. In fact, some of my slides only have pictures.  I memorize what I want to say about each point. I never read, I don’t use notes, and never look at the slides. The key is to talk to the audience. If you read to them, they will doze off just like your kids do.

3) Movement – Unless you are the President of the USA there is nothing worse than someone who stands at the podium. There are way too many bad habits that develop when you do that. Some people get into a white knuckled grip on the wood. Some awkwardly bend over to speak into the microphone leaving them in a weak hunching position. The “toe tap”. The “swaying soldier”. The “fixed stare”. I have seen them all. If you are confident in your material, you have to sell it. You should engage every person in that room and to do so, you must move. What I like to do is to pick three points on the stage to engage the left, middle, and right side of the crowd. Then I actually choose the moments in my speech that I will be in each of the three locations. Once I am standing in a spot, I make sure to make eye contact with as many people as I can in that 1/3 of the audience. This is a delicate balance, because you don’t want to be running all over the stage looking like you are nervous. At the same time you don’t want to look robotic. Another great trick is to ask the audience questions. Require them to answer… i.e. “Who here has ever said – Why Didn’t I think of That? Raise your hand if you have”. Your main job as a presenter is to keep the audience engaged. Movement is a great way to make them feel like you are talking to them individually no matter what the size of the crowd.

4) Recovery – The more speeches you give, the more you realize that it is impossible to prevent things from going wrong. That does not mean you should not prepare. You need to do A/V checks prior to going on. If possible scout the room you will be in. That being said, something will go awry, and if you don’t show confidence through the gaff, you will lose credibility and the audience. One trick I like to use is to have something on stage I can give as a prize. A copy of my book, a signed ball… it does not really matter. If someone points out and error or asks a question that I don’t know the answer, I will say, “Congratulations. You win.” Then I will toss them the prize and say that I put that error in there on purpose just to see if the audience was paying attention. Or if it is a question I don’t know the answer to I will state that it does not happen often, but you stumped me. Check my Twitter account tomorrow and the answer will be posted there.

5) Custom Tailor Your Opener – One of the biggest mistakes is to use the same opener every time you speak. What I like to do is to find something in common between what I do and what the audience does. For example, if I am presenting to a group of franchisers, I might point out that at the end of the day we are both entrepreneurs. The key is to create common ground early as it will help establish you as an expert. What is the opposite of relevant? if you said irrelevant, I would argue you were wrong. The opposite of relevant to me is DEAD. It is true in business and true in public speaking. If your audience does not find you relevant, then your message will be lost.

6) Lather, Rinse, & Repeat – No, I am not talking about hair conditioner, although it is important to look your best. There is a great trick I use for key points in my speech… repeating myself. There are certain moments in your speech you want to hammer home, and great way to do it is by repeating yourself. In my Seven Figure Selling speech I make a crucial point about the sales process when you are selling goods and services that cost more than $1MM. “Don’t fool yourself. When someone is buying a $20MM airplane from you if you don’t think that they are buying into you as much as they are buying the plane you are nuts… Let me say that again… When you are selling something that costs $20MM the buyer is buying you as much as they are the product. There is no way to overemphasize this point.” You can be dramatic in your speeches as long it is authentic. You can achieve the same result through pausing, or through posing a question to the audience. The key is to pick the one or two main points in your speech that you need people to walk away with.

7) Interviews are Public Speaking – There is no difference between media interviews and public speaking. When I prepare for an interview, I do it the exact same way I would for a corporate talk to a 1000 businessmen. When I was interviewed by Bob Woodruff for ABC Nightline, I studied for weeks. I knew everything about Bob. Where he was from, the highlights of his career, ect. I prepared for 100′s of questions, even though I knew he would likely only ask 5 or 6 with the limited time of the segment.

8) Lights, Camera, Action - Many times your client will be filming the speech, so you should always ask for a copy upfront.  If not, I will tell you the best investment you can make in your speaking is to pay for a videograpgher.  Watching yourself on video is the best way to improve.  The one thing you never get to be as a speaker, is an audience member, and it is exactly that point of view that will allow you to refine your speech to optimize audience response.  There have been several times where I gave a speech, and I felt it went great, and the client/audience response was amazing, yet when I reviewed the video, I noticed several things I could have done better. 

There are so many other tips I could give, but the best way to improve as a speaker is to do it. 

So many people have something important to say, yet without the skills to say it, their impact is lost.