COACH YOU BLOG

Five Fearless Speaking Tips
31/3/2014

It’s been a busy couple of months of speaking to lots of groups, in Peterborough Cathedral Square on International Women’s Day, and at the Cambridge Style Week Ignite conference. Whilst tremendous fun, pushing my comfort zone and meeting lots of new people and seeing some old friends too, it’s certainly tested my theories of What to Do When Your Get Up and Go has Got Up and Gone!

 

OK, these are fearless tips and not for the feint-hearted, indeed, they may even be a little controversial. I’d be happy to hear your thoughts …

 

1. Make them feel …
We are sentient beings, so connect with as many of your audience’s senses as possible. The visual: they may be able to see you but can they “see” what you’re talking about … create images in their minds with the words you use. Visual images accompanying the speech can be useful to embed learning and entertain. The auditory: variation in your tone and presentation will add interest and depth.  Touch: use feeling words in your speech to connect to those in the audience with a more kinaesthetic learning style, such as “this is a hot topic” or “rough choices”. As Maya Angelou said ‘I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’

2. Educate and Entertain

Even if the subject is dry, the people listening rarely are. Connect with them in a personal level first and they will listen all the more. The use of examples, case studies and personal experience brings depth and colour to a presentation and helps the audience relate to the issues being discussed.

In Peterborough, in the midst of a somewhat feminist speech, I bravely introduced the post Zumba audience to the power of the Wonder Woman stance. This resulted in hoots of laughter from a gaggle of teenage girls who fled screaming from the square! I doubt they’ll forget it though!

 

3. Give … without expectation of reward
I know this is controversial coming from someone with a background in marketing but I believe people can hear a pitch when it’s offered and it somehow devalues the message you are trying to get across. As Simon Sinek says be generous in your knowledge and skills. It’s better to be perceived as an expert than a sales person. Yes, I know my enthusiastic personality and passion for coaching can come across as “salesy” and that is not the intention. Invite debate and connection by all means but save the pitch for a later conversation when you can establish what the individual really needs.

4. Meet them where they are and take them where you want them to go
I’m happy to confess this is one of my greatest challenges. It’s all about matching the mood in the room, moderating ones tone, pitch and pace to land comfortably with the audience. Then, should it be required gradually increasing one or all of the above as required to give you the impact that you require on the audience. So, if everyone is all excited and noisy and it’s hard to get them to settle then be noisy and excited and join in with the hub-hub to bring them on side. Then gradually change your delivery to bring them to reflective, focused or excited … whatever your message requires of them.
I have painful memories of speaking to an audience of Executive Pas in the “Graveyard” slot at a conference, just after lunch when they were sleepy and recovering still from their previous night out. It was a deeply reflective speech and they all just fell asleep (well, metaphorically at least!) I had built in no “build” of excitement to get them to focus.

5. Let it all hang out …
OK, not all perhaps but be authentic, the real you, not just your professional face. People warm to authenticity. They are also somewhat in awe of someone standing up on stage and speaking as most people are terrified of public speaking. So, let them see your human side so that you come across as more approachable. This is where the “On my way to the theatre …” construct arose from … because the audience generally have had experiences on their way to the theatre and can immediately connect.

 

And whatever you do, give it a try, it will push your boundaries and you’ll grow as a person and as a business person. You will also reach a wider audience for your message. I’d love to hear your insights and stories so do feel free to comment below.