I’ve been doing more public speaking lately. It wasn’t really planned, it just seems to be one of those things that the more events you do, the more you get asked to do. I’ve not had any training in how to do it well, and most of the online advice was either useless, impossible or just plain weird (how is “imagine you’ve got a broom strapped to your back helpful”?).
As always, asking people who do a lot of public speaking, and do it well, was where I found the most useful advice. So I thought I’d pass the best of it on, in case anyone else doesn’t find broom imagery helpful.
The audience is on your side. Most of the time when you’re speaking to an audience they are there because they want to hear what ever you have to say. They’re not there to point and laugh, or sneer at any tiny mistake, they’re there because you know something they want to hear about. If you make a misstep or have to correct something, chances are they won’t even remember it. Think about the last public event you were at, you weren’t looking for the speaker’s every slip-up, you probably didn’t notice them if they happened. People walk away with a general gist of what you said, so don’t sweat the details.
If you’re nervous, say so. Most people understand being nervous about speaking in public. If tell your audience at the beginning that you’re not used to public speaking and you’re a bit worried about how it’s going to go, even make a bit of a joke about it, they’ll be sympathetic. I’ve done it a couple of times and I’ve always seen encouraging smiles and nods in response. If you are really nervous you’re probably not going to be able to hide it completely, so being up front about it makes it a bond between you and your audience rather than something you need to worry about.
Don’t forget to breathe. Our body’s immediate physiological response to fear is to start taking short fast breaths. Which is enormously useful if you need to run away from a bear, but not so great when you’re standing at a podium trying to describe fluctuations in the futures price of electricity. Pausing at the end of a sentence to take a long deep breath does two things, it gives your audience a moment to take in what you’re just said and it gives your brain a moment to understand there isn’t a bear in the room.
Pitch your voice low. Another effect of fear is that your throat tightens and your voice shakes. If you’re worried about sounding shakey, speake in a slightly lower tone than your normal speaking voice, your voice won’t shake. I don’t know the reason for this, I’m sure there’s an ologist of some kind out there who can explain why this works (please jump into the comments if you are such an ologist) all I know is that it does. It’s just one of those weird things like not being able to lick your own elbow or cry if you’re whistling.
Powerpoint is not your friend. When I was at university I had to do an Auditing 101 subject. It was a two hour lecture after lunch on Friday afternoons. A small beige man stood on stage reading out the dot points from the screen in a monotone, as the entire lecture hall slept peacefully in front of him. That is perhaps an extreme example, but even if you don’t just read from them, dot points on a screen are a distraction from what you’re saying. You can always email notes to people before or after the presentation if you want them to retain the basics, but unless you have specific graphs or images to talk about, screens will only detract from the main reason people are there – to listen to you.
Speak without notes. This is a big one. I went to a Business Chicks breakfast a few months back where Tara Moss spoke for 45 minutes. She had no podium, no notes and used the screens only to show a few photos and a couple of graphs. She didn’t skip a beat the whole time and it was one of the most engaging public addresses I’d ever heard. I assumed this was something that just came naturally to her, but she told me afterwards that she had taught herself to do it as a means of overcoming nerves about speaking in public. Superhuman and all that she is, I figured that if it was something you could learn then I could learn it. While I’m certainly not as good at it as she is, I’ve found that it’s not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. It does require a lot of preparation in the beginning, I still write a full speech a few days before the event, and practice it out loud to my dogs to check the timing and flow. Then I read it over and over again until I’ve got it mostly memorised. I also do a dot point summary to put in my phone and keep it in my pocket as a safety net, but I think just having it there means I don’t panic and draw a total blank – I’ve not yet had to use it. When you’ve done that amount of preparation you’re much less likely to be nervous and once you start speaking, it’s surprising how easily you fall into the rhythms you’ve already practiced. Also, if you’re not looking at notes or a screen you’re making direct contact with the audience, which make you much more engaging and them much more interested. Talking to a group of people is not that much different to one or two people in that way, no one likes trying to talk to someone who is staring at their phone or a TV while you’re trying to have a conversation with them.
Be kind to yourself. We always remember our own failures more clearly than our successes. Other people always remember our successes more clearly than our failures. If people tell you afterwards that you were great, listen to them and believe them. If you noticed something specific you did that might have been a problem then don’t do it next time, but don’t walk away thinking that one mistake in a 30 minute speech was the only think that mattered. If you got through without dying of fright or vomiting on stage then it’s a win and you almost certainly did better than you think you did. Go home, have a glass of wine, be proud of yourself for what you did and start plotting your next speech, because there’s very few public events that don’t to hear need more women speaking.