bout de papier, Vol. 6, No. 1 (1988) — Spring 1988 // Printemps 1988, pp. 30–32
William Henry Harrison, the 9th president of the United States got up on his inaugural day, gave the longest such speech to date, caught a cold and died. He’s the only person I know of to have actually died from speaking in public. But most of us have felt close on many occasions.
In fact psychologists say that speaking is our number one fear. Dying is number seven. If this means that people would rather die than speak in public, that explains the large fees that professional speakers are able to command.
There are other rewards for effective public speakers. Who would argue with the contention that Churchill’s oratory helped win World War II? Who would argue with John Kennedy’s remark that Churchill marshalled the English language and sent it off to war?
Studies show that effective public speakers win respect and • visibility; earn raises, promotions and other financial benefits; build power and success for themselves and their organizations, and are strong and successful managers and executives. Almost all overcome fear and other barriers to develop their abilities. Effective speaking and presenting don’t come naturally to anyone; they take training and practice. In the same way that an experienced executive should never issue a signed memo, report or letter without reading and editing it, a speech or presentation should never be given without adequate rehearsal.
Many books are available containing a wonderful combination of sound advice, endless anecdotes, trivia, highly useful ’how to lists and motivational nonsense more useful for pyramid sales than serious business communication. Would-be speakers must wade into these titles and decide what information suits them. In the meantime here are some short-cuts.
The trivia which opened this article comes from a short and useful beginners book, Speak Like a Pro by Margaret M. Bedrosian (Wiley, Toronto, 1987). I have several reasons for recommending this title: I read it first, so those which followed seemed repetitive; it’s thankfully short, and it concentrates on practical advice, not pop-psychology or motivation.
That last point is important. The main complaint I hear about executive training in the public or private sector is that it’s short on content. Most seminars and beginner books seem to be written as if the reader or participant were completely unknowledgable and lazy. Hence the baby talk and evangelical motivation. Clients I encounter in and out of government know the value of good communication, are well educated, trained and travelled and want a senior-level program. Bedrosian seems to respect the reader and gets to the point quickly. She starts at the beginning … getting invited to speak somewhere. Instead of a immediate yes, or no, this is the time to gather facts and ask questions:
• Full name of the organization;
• Type of event;
• Length of speech/ presentation required;
• Intent of the presentation (i.e.; to inform, pursuade, teach, inspire, entertain);
• Theme of the event;
• Audience mood;
• Audience interest in the topic. My clients in the military tell me that “time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted.” Nowhere is this more true than in public presentations. You must find out about any possible sources of resistance to your presentation and the social chatter topics at coffee in order to build bridges. You have to ask yourself what you want your audience to do when your’re finished. Too many speakers go the way of Chinese food after an hour. An effective public speaker is like the famous ’tiny time release pills’. Little ideas stay with the audience, linger and even days later are released to provoke thought and action. One simple way to achieve this is to end the presentation with the challenge, “So next time you see news reports about topic X remember my main points today, which are A, B, and C.”
In order to hold an audience’s attention and motivate them to do something or see things your way, one must remember two old cliche’s of education which are as true as they are hackneyed: ’start where the student is and ’tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you’ve told them.’ Many clients have heard these expressions many times, but are still unable to put them into practice. The reason is they fail to remember that a speech is not a memo, report, performance appraisal, letter or poem. It’s a different form of communication requiring different skills — oral not written skills. The spoken word is said and gone, so beginning with the listeners’ experience, building bridges to new ideas and repetition for clarity and emphasis are not just highly important, but obligatory.
A good speaker must focus on the benefits the audience will derive from listening and agreeing to the point of view being expressed. Good speakers offer direction, relate to the audience personally and urge them to act. The vast majority of business meetings, presentations and even speeches are boring, and the audience remembers little and does nothing when they’re finished. The challenge is to construct a message that doesn’t fall into this category. Bedrosian offers a checklist for preparing a speech. It should be used by beginners and all of us who have ever had problems with presentations. It’s good to go through all the steps and wait for proficiency to develop before cutting out any procedures:
• Write the closing ’call to action’ first.
• Write a high impact opening to get the audience’s attention
• Outline the key points of the body of the speech.
• Research (facts, statistics, quotes, examples, anecdotes).
• Put the research where it will support the key points.
• Write out the full text of the speech.
• Rehearse out loud and change any clumsy language.
• Audio tape the next rehersal for time (add 30% to rehearsal time to judge actual performance time).
• Listen to the tape several times (this is excellent practice for timing, pacing, pitch, emphasis and other elements that you just can’t get any other way).
• Turn the Speech Back into Notes — no one reads well. Even if you’re a diplomat and the press and world leaders hang on your every word and you need a written record, avoid the written script at all costs.
• Audio tape and rehearse the notes — try headings in upper case with lower case points below.
• Prepare any visual aids needed — be sure they’re needed because the audience came to see you. They can watch TV or a movie on their own time.
• Write your own introduction — probably the best advice going. It avoids embarassing moments between you and the host/ chair and gets you presented exactly the way you want. The raw material is now in place, but the reconnaissance is still not over. It’s important to visit the room or hall long before the event. Even if it’s your own familiar boardroom, make sure everything works (lights, microphone, visuals) because if anything is going to go wrong, it will be on the day of your presentation. Unfamiliar rooms should be checked for acoustics, seating plans (can you be seen and can you see the audience?), nonsmoking areas and ventilation. The room should be uncomfortably cool to allow for body heat to warm it up. If you have any influence over the seating, remember audiences like lots of aisles and a back section should be roped off for stragglers and to move the audience up to the front. Guard your notes and visuals. Many well-meaning custodians or audience members have looked over a speaker’s slides or notes and got them out of order at the last minute. Finally, lessen any barriers between you and the audience. Podiums and microphones are the worst offenders. In a small boardroom try to stand to command attention. You may need a good excuse like a flip chart or visual, but you need to take control and keep it.
Language
We listen and learn visually more than verbally, so a good speaker must create effective ’word pictures’ in the listeners mind Because a speech isn’t print, we must use simple, clear language — the old rule of journalism, ’one thought — one sentence’ applies to speeches as well. Audiences react well to rhetorical questions, anecdotes and examples. Males especially must remember to avoid sexist language.
Gestures
Gestures are a must. They don’t have to be big or theatrical. You don’t need many, but you must have them. In oral communication we have no punctuation. Our gestures must supply the commas, periods, dashes and parentheses. Victor Borge’s classic comedy routine where he gives punctuation appropriate sounds and reads a passage complete with audible punctuation won’t work for you, but gestures will. Practice in front of a mirror or video camera helps and will add to everyone’s communications ability.
Know the Audience
The reason for doing all the reconnaissance is to know your audience and venue. The audience co-creates the speech with you. Each speech is different even if the material is the same. Many novice speakers get nervous because they think the audience wants them to fail for some perverse reason. This isn’t true. Most audiences are comprised of busy people who don’t want to be bored.
They want a good presentation and will meet you halt way.
Audiences expect polish. Nobody will accept someone getting up and saying the old line, “unaccustomed as I am…” These days everyone’s job is to get accustomed. Audiences have different listening and thinking styles. You’ll soon be able to recognize the mover, the arranger, the visionary and the people-relater and use appropriate bridges to each.
The audience’s natural state is boredom. They’re used to passive entertainment on TV and at the movies, and you have to be able to break down that barrier. People have physical, mental and chemical distractions. If someone leaves the room it may be nature or a phone call — don’t take it personally or let it throw you. All audiences respond more, to less. However long you are asked to speak, speak for 20% less and no one will ever complain. Finally, audiences need to know what to do next — clap, laugh, leave. Good speakers telegraph with body language and key words. Near the end of your speech, if you say “in conclusion” everyone will know to applaud at the next long pause. Take command of the room and the audience will do what you want them to do.
The Rule of 12
It may be an old salesman’s rule, but it applies to speaking and presentations even more. You’ll be judged on the first 12 steps you take, the first 12 words you say, and the first 12 inches from the top of your head down. Some call this the “take charge opening.”
If your’re being introduced, you’re also being judged by your body language. Be alive and erect. Walk to the podium with determination, pause, make eye contact and start. You’ve arrived early and perhaps even practised walking to the lecturn and have rehearsed your visuals to ensure they are visible from all parts of the room.
When speaking it’s useful to be able to vary the rate, pitch, tone and volume of your voice. Tape recording will hone this skill.
An effective public speaker is like the famous
’tiny time release pills. Little ideas stay with the audience, linger and even days later are released to provoke thought and action.
Articulation and pronunciation increase in importance with audience size. Some words get muffled at the back. One highly-underused verbal weapon is silence. In the right place it commands attention.
Ironically, speaking is a real work-out. The fittest of people need to be extra vigilent in their exercise to maintain a demanding speaking schedule. It’s a high energy occupation and you need the reserve to turn on the “1000-watt light bulbs” behind your eyes to envigorate a large group.
Recovering from Problems
Even with research, rehearsal and arriving early, there are bound to be problems. Half of what you have to fear is fear itself. This can be eliminated by remembering that no audience cares about the little mistakes. Small errors of grammer, ums, uhs and repetition aren’t noticed in spoken communication. Don’t get hung up on them and the listeners won’t either.
The huge mistakes, a gravy boat in the lap, a lost speech or a preceding speaker who has stolen your thunder are big problems. Just remember what fabulous stories they’ll make a year later and try to survive.
Cut your speech short if a large percentage of the group has been drinking; don’t insult drunks. Assume your audience is conservative, so avoid risque jokes. Be human, especially about your own mistakes.
One of my most red-faced public moments came just a few months ago. After conducting seminars for over 600 clients I still managed to find an old-fashioned way to put my foot in my mouth.
At a public seminar in Toronto, participants were introducing themselves. One man said he represented company X. A thought flashed into my mind and I interrupted and told him how I had heard his counterpart from a similar company a week or so before on the CBC morning show. “He was awful,” I said, “Just the perfect example of how not to handle a radio interview. He didn’t have his facts at hand and had to russle papers to answer simple questions.” The man asked how the rest of the interview had gone. “It didn’t get any better I said. This guy really let his company down by not being a good spokesperson.”
The man interrupted, “Before you go any further, that was me. I had to fill in at the last minute for my colleague from the sister company.”
After the gales of laughter trailed off and I had sputtered out some vague apology, the man was kind enough to offer that my comments were accurate enough and that’s why he was taking the seminar.
Further Help
In addition to Bedrosian’s book, Wiley publishers had a large number of self-help business books and audio cassettes. Even more than the average book, the cassettes are junior level with only one or two good ideas per side. But if you’re in a car and they’re deductible, they pass the time. Herman Holtz is a writing machine on this topic, but I suspect there’s some overlap in all his similar books. One as a sample would probably do.
Only one book on presentation skills is probably necessary as well. Irvine is full of good information, but hopelessly repetative and long.
Bedrosian, Margaret M., Speak Like a Pro,
Wiley, Toronto, 1987.
Holtz, Herman, Speaking for Profit, Wiley,
Toronto, 1985
Leech, Thomas, How to Prepare, Stage and
Deliver Winning Presentations, Prentice-Hall
(in Canada), Scarborough, 1982.
Smith, Terry, C., Making Successful Presen-
tations, Wiley, Toronto, 1984.
Spinrad & Spinrad, Speaker’s Lifetime
Library, Prentice Hall, 1979.
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 6, No. 1 (1988) — Spring 1988 // Printemps 1988, pp. 30–32. Read the rest of this issue →
