Speaking to people, not at them

This post is a long overdue reply to a request from a recent connection, Tony Dalton, who said he would like some advice on speaking in public and on television.

Tony, I am flattered you think I can help. I'm not entirely sure what kind of events you plan to speak at but I am happy to talk (as briefly as I can) about what works for me. As I continue to be employed by broadcasters, I'll take the liberty of assuming I must be doing something right!

Anyway, here goes.

Whether in TV presenting or any other form of public speaking, the undeniable "musts" are a comprehensive knowledge of your subject matter, clear diction, a sympathetic appearance and a clear understanding of what your audience needs from you.

Now for some tips more specifically-geared towards the work I do. Firstly, I try to be as efficient and focused in my preparation for a show or engagement as I can. There are no prizes for reading volumes of research or agonising for hours over the right word. Instead, learn what you need to learn only, rehearse in a smart, practical way by practising the statements, answers, etc, that you know will be required. In other words, anticipate what is needed to get a good job done, practise as hard as you can, then relax and deliver "on the night".

Next, some advice that comes directly from my own particular way of working on TV and on stage: look the audience in the eye.

Wherever possible, I try not to use auto cue or tele prompt or whatever you want to call it. Even though I work on live television, and sometimes spend eight hours straight on air, about 99 per cent of what I do is just me speaking to the camera (or audience) without a script scrolling in front of me.

I work this way because I believe my delivery is more fresh and natural and I feel an audience will engage with me better if I am looking at them, rather than my eye-line being slightly "off" as I read a script. Just as we like people to look us in the eye when they talk to us in everyday situations, then so should we when it comes to public performance.

Now, of course, I recognise there are situations that require scripting: news reports and certain speeches most obviously. Yet I'd usually rather script, rehearse and then ad lib when it comes to my delivery. Don't get me wrong, this is very different from doing everything "off the cuff". I am lucky to work with excellent producers and directors who "get" how I work. We spend hours in pre-show production meetings and then in exhaustive rehearsal of every item of our pre-shows in particular so we all know more or less what to expect when we go live and I open my mouth to speak.

So, keep it natural, be in command of your content and talk to the audience rather than at them. I hate sitting at end-of-season awards shows and seeing a presenter look right over the heads of the people who have paid a lot of money to be there as he or she reads some easily-memorable words off a teleprompter. Even worse when they spend the evening looking down at a written script.

When I speak to an audience in a live context, I look around the room (slightly de-focusing my eyes admittedly, in case a friend tries to distract me!) and imagine I am looking into the eyes of an audience member, just as I look at a camera and imagine it is a person. That way, when you want the audience to look at a graphic or video, you move your eyes towards it and the audience follows. When reading a script, people tend to just stop talking and the audience doesn't know what's happening until a video rolls or they are told, clumsily in my opinion, to take a look at something.

So to summarise, a bit of hard work leads to an easy delivery. That's what I always aim for.

Okay, Tony, hope some of that makes sense. Let me know how you get on.

John