Don't Hide, but Survive Public Speaking
Despite the distance between us, I could see his legs tremble as if only he was feeling an earthquake. His face flickering between shades of green and gray. I never heard a stutter prior, but he did so today with such frequency that I wondered, did he as a child? Droplets of sweat appeared on his forehead and no doubt, his palms succumbed to the same. I feared that we may bear witness to another kind of puddle slowly swallow his leather Dockers. With fear emanating from every pore, his eyes darted about the room looking for laughter. None. Instead, a sea of pity. Bolting from the stage after a mere ten minutes, he fled the room. Public speaking had claimed another victim.
Oh Ted.
Before I begin, I must confess. I was that kid. The annoying one at the head of the class. Always first to raise my hand, I jumped at any opportunity to present before my peers. Even worse, I proactively wrote my own material - outside of any assignment - so I could perform again and again. Written in sixth grade, “CinderAllen” was one of my favs in which boy Allen transforms into a dapper fellow and is rescued from his dire life by a Princess. I played Allen. No Chaz Bono here - merely, a desire for the most lines!
I understand that most do not welcome nor seek out the “most lines.” Whether you’re presenting to the sales team, the PTA, your boss, friends, a large conference audience or just your significant other, below are three tips to make you a public speaking survivor!
Know Your Audience. “Figure out what your audience cares about and link it to your idea,” says my idol, Nancy Duarte, author and founder of one of the largest communication firms. What’s important to them? Who or what influences their behavior? How do they spend their time and money? What unites and incites them? How do they make decisions? What do they already know about the topic in question?
Content is king, but tailoring such content to the audience is queen. “It’s tough to influence people you don’t know,” says Duarte. For example, when selling to large prospects, every pitch is - and should be - customized for your listeners. On the home front, the manner in which you sell your dream vacation to your teenage son is dramatically different from the “pitch” heard by your spouse. Different needs, different story.
Big Idea. What is the one thing that you want your audience - of one or many - to remember upon conclusion? Most of us ramble. Read my previous post, "Pepto Anyone? Dealing with Diarrhea of the Mouth." We require an anchor. A big idea that we can re-emphasize throughout the presentation or conversation. As Duarte states in her book, Resonate, a big idea must do two things: reflect a unique perspective AND convey what’s at stake.
“To continue to grow the affiliate industry, we MUST retain our great people.” The big idea from my 60-minute, keynote presentation at a January conference of affiliate marketers. I supported this idea with three pillars: motivate, engage and inspire. Each pillar filled with data points, stories and anecdotes to facilitate the audience’s journey and ensure we arrived at the same destination. Although business oriented, I incorporated personal stories and those of professional athletes (Barry Sanders, Derek Jeter) to maintain audience engagement and hammer home the big idea.
Practice. No text. No notes. Only visuals. I was approached by astonished audience members following January's keynote. “No bullet points - anywhere!?” My secret. It’s painful, but must be done. Outline complete and I can be found before the bathroom mirror practicing variations of my presentation - obsessively. Testing words. Phrases. Concepts. Stories. Come show time, I trust that the best combination thereof will come forth. Depending on the venue and allotted time, my poor family may be listening to me for weeks.
Any and all persuasive conversations deserve practice. Role playing. Negotiations. Confrontations. Dissemination of ideas. Wing it and watch out for diarrhea!
I haven’t seen Ted for years. Not sure where he’s working or what he does. I hope he knows - like most audiences - we wanted him to succeed. Even as he ran out the door, we were rooting for him every step of the way.