Tag Archive for: Presentation Skills

A lot of people, myself included, often talk about the importance of authenticity when it comes to communication.

But in this video Mark Bowden blows this notion out of the water with his incredible talk on body language and how to use it to manipulate how other people feel about you.

Mark is a body language and human behaviour expert and a very very good speaker.

In this fascinating and very funny talk, Mark explains how our brain works when we begin to communicate with people.

He starts by talking about how we use our brain to make snap judgements within nanoseconds based on people’s behaviours.

In our primitive brain, has four categories that it uses for everyone we interact with:

  1. Friend
  2. Enemy/predator
  3. Potential mate
  4. Indifferent

Mark goes on to explain that unless you already know someone , the default category that people we interact with is ‘indifferent’.

From a speaking and presenting point of view, if the audience decide in their brains that the speaker/presenter is ‘indifferent’ to them, then it won’t matter how powerful the message or idea is, they most likely wont pay attention.

“Behavioural psychology says that you’re just not going to pay attention to me unless I can get into the category – ‘friend’ with you.”

And this is when Mark begins to explain and describe the tiny little signals that he has been doing during his talk to get the audience to put him into their ‘friend’ category within their brains.

And his tips and techniques that he describes are not difficult for us all to learn from:

  • Smile

Mark explains that just creating a smile with your mouth isn’t good enough “the smile must build over 3 seconds and it must sustain for 3 seconds otherwise it’s insufficient data and your primitive brain gores ‘ah predator’”.

  • Eyebrow Flash

Mark then goes on to highlighting the importance of just raising your eyebrows when you first meet someone; “This is the universal signal for ‘I recognise you, i know you, you’re my friend…”

  • No tools, no weapons

As in the David JP Phillips video, Mark discusses the importance of open and closed body language.

He explains that when we feel threatened or unsafe, we close our body to protect ourselves. Whereas when we open up our arms, hands and our bodies, we are highlighting that we are unarmed and not dangerous.

Mark finishes his talk by explaining and demonstrating what his true ‘authentic self’ would look like if he was presenting on stage.

The contrast involves him raising his voice, pacing angrily and scowling as he is angry/defensive at the thought of being judged by the audience and uncomfortable.

And this is where the message hits home, Mark is asking the audience not to be indifferent to the people they meet.

He wants them to use the smile, eyebrow flash and open body language so that they can enter into the ‘friend’ category.

We can all learn from this talk and use these simple signals to ensure that the message and ideas that we are presenting or speaking about are not lost on the audience.

If you want to see more TED Talks on public speaking then take a look at my Top 5 TED Talks to improve public speaking.

In this fascinating talk Nancy Durate breaks down some of the most iconic speeches in history to show a pattern, shape and structure that we can apply to our own speeches and presentations.

Nancy is hugely passionate about presentations and the value that they can have.

The world has been and still can be changed through powerful and meaningful presentations.

And just like Chris Anderson’s talk, all presentations and talks h ave to start with an idea.

“The idea has got to be spread, or it won’t be effective. So it has to come out of you and out into the open for people to see. And the way that ideas are conveyed the most effectively is through story.”

A story with the correct structure can be easily consumed and remembered by the listener.

The big question that Nancy asked was; how do you incorporate stories into presentations?

She then goes on to break down structures of stores:

  • A beginning, middle and end
  • A likeable hero
  • A desire
  • A roadblock
  • Overcoming to emerge transformed

What I like is that Nancy highlights that in a presentation or speech, the speaker is not the hero in the story.

If we truly want the audience to engage and have the emotional response we want them to have, the audience have to be the hero, the speaker has to be the mentor.

To present our ideas with the biggest impact, we need the audience to believe that they are the heroes in our story, we create a desire from them through our idea.

Then we bring in the roadblock through creating curiosity, making the audience want to know how they can overcome the roadblock.

And that’s when our idea gives them the transformation in how they think, behave or act.

But to have this impact, Nancy has created a shape which we can all fit our presentations and speeches into so that we can have the desired impact when we tell our stories and share our ideas.

The shape identifies that there are 2 main features

  1. What is
  2. What could be

To break this down further, Nancy explains; “At the beginning of any presentation, you need to establish what is… And then you need to compare that to what could be.”

She goes on to explain that there needs to be a back and forth between the ‘what is’ and the ‘what could be’ to highlight the idea even greater.

Using another tip from Chris Anderson, Nancy goes on to use a sailing metaphor to highlight how her structure works when encountering resistance to your idea.

By working with the resistance in the ‘what is’ and ‘what could be’, just like a sailing boat using the wind to generate more power, the structure helps the presenter pull people towards their idea.

And finally, after the back and forth of using stories, analogies, metaphors to highlight to the audience the ‘what is’ and then the ‘what could be’, the speech or presentation ends with the call to action which should leave the audience transformed.

Nancy goes on to show how she uses this shape as an analysis tool for famous speeches like Steve Jobs and the iPhone launch and the iconic Dr Martin Luther King ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.

I’ve used this talk so many times to work on my own public speaking skills which is why I’ve put it on my Top 5 TED Talks to improve public speaking.

 

David JP Phillips is a public speaker, coach and renowned TEDx speaker.

In this talk, he explains that he dedicated time to analysing 5,000 public speakers from all over the world to understand “what makes a good speaker good, what makes a great speaker great, and what makes an outstanding speaker outstanding.”

From his studies, he created a list of 110 core skills that we can all learn to improve in public speaking.

“The more of them you fulfil, the greater you are”

One of the key takeaways in this talk is that these are skills, not talents.

There is often an argument that being able to stand in front of a group of people to speak or present is a talent.

But in this video, David is quick to highlight that skills can’t be learnt, practiced and developed.

And if you follow his 110 core skills, anyone can become a confident and established speaker.

Here are some of the tips he shares in the talk:

  • Stepping forward increases focus
  • Tilting your head to the side increases empathy
  • Changing the pace of what you’re saying increases focus on your words,
  • Lowering your body increases trust,
  • Lowering your voice creates anticipation and
  • Using pauses gets audiences attention.

He shares 5 of his most important skills that he focuses on when he is coaching:

  1. Using open body language
  2. Stepping forward into focus
  3. Use functional gesturing
  4. Slow your speaking pace down
  5. Use pauses to add impact

I’ve followed a lot of these skills and techniques and worked hard on honing in on the ones I need to work on more.

Being aware of how you’re speaking, what you’re saying and what you do when you are speaking are essential to becoming a better speaker and/or presenter.

This video gives so many tiny lessons we can all learn from and improve our communication skills.

This is one of my Top 5 TED Talks to Improve Public Speaking.

Chris Anderson is the head and curator of TED.

So if there’s one person who knows the secret to a great speech it’s him.

In this video, he explains in that there is no such thing as a ‘TED Talk formula’.

But from all of the talks that Chris has listened to and watched, he does point out that there is one thing that they all have in common: A speaker transferring an idea across to an audience.

“Your number one task as a speaker is to transfer into your listeners’ minds an extraordinary gift, a strange and beautiful object that we call an idea.”

He describes an idea as being:

“A pattern of information that helps you understand and navigate the world.”

Ideas can help change how people think about the world and can impact on the actions that the audience take.

Chris then goes on to give his four guidelines on how to build an idea inside the mind of your audience:

1. “Limit your talk to one major idea”
  • Don’t overload the audience with loads of different ideas, focus on the single idea that you are most passionate about.
  • Share examples and paint the picture for the audience to give them context to your idea.  

2. “Give your listeners a reason to care”

  • It’s all about creating curiosity.
  • Identify why something doesn’t make sense by asking the audience questions to get them thinking.
  • Creating a knowledge gap, the audience will need that gap to be bridged through your idea.

3. “Build your idea”

  • Use concepts that the audience already understands.
  • Language is a huge tool when helping people understand your idea, but don’t use complicated and technical language, what language will your audience understand?
  • Using metaphors and analogies help people understand complex ideas and can be a great tool to get your idea across.

4. “Make your idea worth sharing”

  • When crafting your speech, ask yourself who the idea benefits.
  • TED don’t want this to benefit the speaker or a related business or organisation, they want it to benefit the audience.
  • Will your idea brighten up someone’s day, change their perspective on a subject for the better, and/or inspire someone to do something differently?

In this short video, Chris Anderson is able to convey the importance of creating an idea and how to share it with an audience in the most effective way.

I use his 4 guidelines regularly when I am working on creating a new speech.

Is your message clear before you step in front of an audience?

Without clear boundaries and guidelines for a specific subject, discussions may lack depth on key points while simultaneously delving into excessive detail elsewhere.

When speaking at a Climate Change convention, rather than addressing Climate Change broadly, the speaker would likely focus on a specific aspect within the larger topic.

Having a clear focus will help the speaker create a powerful message that the audience will understand and remember.

Defining the message of the speech is an essential public speaking skill. 

When I do this, the process I like to follow is nice and simple: Topic – Intention – Plan – Message.

Step 1. Identify Your Topic

Think about subjects that you are most passionate about or have extensive knowledge in.

A useful technique I once discovered for this purpose is the “Three Rs Test”: List down subjects and topics for which you’re Recognised by others, have achieved positive Results, and actively invest time in Researching.

Example: Communication is far too broad a topic to talk about, so in the past I have chosen ‘Communication in Sport’ as a topic due to a personal and professional interest in sports dynamics.

Step 2. Understand Your Audience

Who is the audience and what are their interests, needs, or problems related to the topic?

Understanding your audience is crucial for making your speech relevant and impactful.

Example: The audience I spoke to consisted of individuals within the commercial environment with a keen interest in sport that were looking to enhance their communication skills.

Step 3. Find Trends and/or Themes

Think about any specific trends, themes or even personal observations that are relevant to the topic which will make the speech more engaging and relevant.

Example: I used examples of how coaches and players communicated from the rugby and football World Cups.

Step 4. Determine the General Purpose of the Speech

What is the main goal of the speech?

Do you want to inform, persuade, entertain or achieve a mix of them all?

Example: The purpose I wanted to achieve was to inform the audience with the facts that I had, but also entertain them with stories and anecdotes.

There was also a small element of persuasion as the part of the purpose was to help people learn new ways to communicate in a team environment.

Step 5. Identify the key Outcome

Define what you want your audience to learn, feel, or do as a result of your speech. This should be a specific outcome that your speech is designed to achieve.

Example: The specific outcome for my audience was to learn the key benefits of interpersonal communication in a team or group environment.

Step 6. Identify a Problem or Need

Identify a specific problem, need, or gap in understanding that your speech can address. This makes your speech more valuable and practical for your audience.

Example: It had been established before I spoke that there was a need within the organisation for improved communication in leadership roles within team and group environments.

Step 7. Establish the Key Message for the Audience

Summarise the key message or what you want the audience to take away from the speech.

The message should capture the most important part of the speech and be directly related to the outcome of the speech.

Example: My key message was to highlight the importance of tailoring communication to individual team members by leaders.

After completing this simple process, this is what I’m left with:

Topic:

Communication in Sport

Intention:

To inform and persuade, with an entertaining delivery.

Plan:

To educate the audience about the key benefits of interpersonal communication in a team environment, specifically focusing on how leaders can tailor their communication to different individuals within the team.

Message:

The importance of tailoring how leaders communicate to different individuals in a group or team environment is crucial for enhancing team dynamics and overall performance.

This process took me some time to become familiar with, but it’s now the first point of call that I go to when I need to craft a speech, presentation or workshop.

Preparing for speeches this way gives me full confidence in what I’m saying.

It helps me create a clear message and establish the specific topic I’m going to speak about and gives me the focus and boundaries to ensure I don’t overcomplicate my message.

The cliche when it comes to the ‘P Word’ that I grew up with is: “Piss Poor Preparation, Promotes Piss Poor Performances”.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t until I’d long left school before I realised that homework and studying was all about preparation to pass my exams at school.

I didn’t pass my exams at school, probably because I didn’t enjoy doing my homework.

But that was because I hated school and most of the subjects that I had to sit through.

However, many years after leaving school, I found myself hosting an event as one of my first gigs as a host for a black-tie members dinner.

It was my job to do a short welcome speech and then personally announce and welcome the non-member guests and the main speaker for the evening.

I thought this would be a piece of cake.

The day before the event, I reached out to the organiser via email, requesting a list of the attending members, non-member guests, and the keynote speaker who is the highlight of the event.

When he replied, he left a line in the email that gave me a bit of a jolt: “I did wonder when you’d be getting in touch, leaving it rather late…?”.

I shrugged it off and looked at the list, there were 75 members and 15 non-member guests and the guest speaker. This would be easy.

On the night, a few of the members who had brought guests along mentioned that I hadn’t been in touch to find out about who their guests were.

I reassured them that I had a list of all the non-member guests and would be mentioning them in my welcome speech.

When the evening started, I was introduced by the club president, and I stood up with my paper in hand.

I smiled and started my welcome speech which I had decided to just do off the cuff.

I thought it would be easy enough.

Within about 30 seconds, I heard myself “it’s great to see so many people here at this great event, I’m sure we’re all going to have a great evening and the food and entertainment will be great…”

In my head a voice said, “stop saying ‘great’ for fuck’s sake!!”

I began to panic, my face was going red, the people in the room were looking a bit confused.

What was I actually saying?

So, I cut my rambling short – “Anyway, let’s introduce some of our guests….”

I looked down at the paper and just began to read the names in the order that I had printed them off.

This whole thing was beginning to sound like a teacher reading out a class register.

The room was deadly silent and when I started to look around, I could see there weren’t many smiles and most of the members I knew were unable to look up at me.

When I’d listed the guests, I finished with “anyway, I hope we all have a great night and enjoy hearing from our special guest who will be entertaining us with a great speech after our dinner. Thank you”.

There was a very bleak round of applause, and I sat down, completely flustered and embarrassed.

But it was to get worse.

The person I was sitting next to, leaned over and said, “did you forget my name?”.

I was sitting beside the man who was being paid by the members club to deliver a speech about his life and successful career, he was the ‘headline act’ and a very well-known and established speaker.

I had completely forgotten to welcome him and even say his name in my speech.

It was a disaster.

Even thinking about it now has me cringing.

Sensing my embarrassment, the guest speaker put a very kind and sympathetic hand on my shoulder and said, “don’t worry about it, these things happen”.

It didn’t make me feel any better, but I appreciate the gesture now looking back.

That night was a very harsh lesson for me.

No matter how many times a teacher had shouted at me, or I’d found myself in an exam hall not having a clue how to answer the question on the paper, that night I realised the importance of doing my homework.

When it comes to public speaking and hosting, failing to prepare and not putting the effort in is the ultimate sign of disrespect and a slap in the face for the audience.

The next year it was suggested that I get a second chance at hosting the same event to redeem myself to the members of the club.

Three weeks before the event, I asked the organisers for a full list of guests and who the guest speaker would be.

I contacted the members who were inviting non-member guests to ask for any significant details about who they were bringing.

I reached out to the guest speaker to ask about the subject, topics and themes of his speech and studied their bio.

I spent hours over the days and weeks in advance of the dinner finding out stories or details from the club members from the last 12 months since the previous dinner.

I practiced my lines over and over again.

All of this for just 7 minutes of speaking.

And when I stood up to welcome everyone to the event, it felt amazing to see the delight in the audiences faces and how much they appreciated the details that I was able to add about them and their guests.

They respected and recognised the work that I had put in for them.

Preparation is respect for the people you are speaking to, and a key public speaking skill.

If it’s a keynote speech or a one-to-one feedback session, if you’ve taken the time to prepare and make the effort, then the recipients of what you are saying will recognise and appreciate it.

Tailoring what you say to the audience builds connections and engages everyone in the room.

Engagement and connection builds trust between the audience and the speaker.

Trust builds influence.

In my interview with Music Journalist Billy Sloan who has interviewed some of the biggest names in the world through an incredible forty-year career, his key message was simple:

Be professional, be prepared and always do your homework.

When I was at school, I didn’t care about passing tests or exams, but I care about speaking.

This was a valuable and sore lesson for me, and one that I remind myself about whenever I need to do my homework.

When George Lucas pitched the idea of his original plan for ‘The Adventures of Indiana Smith’ to Stephen Spielberg, he described the storyline to ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’.

Spielberg loved the idea and described the movie concept as:

“James Bond without the hardware”.

They would go on to change the name from Indiana Smith to Indiana Jones and the rest is history.

Spielberg used the analogy of “James Bond without the hardware” to describe the concept of the movie in the most simplest terms.

In just 5 words, he was able to paint a picture of the complete concept of the character, movie themes and what the film will be about.

Analogies can be hugely powerful when we communicate and are a great public speaking skill. 

Here are my 7 key reasons why using analogies can help with public speaking.

1. Analogies break down complex ideas

When delivering a speech or presentation, there needs to be a clear and obvious message for the audience.

But if that message is complex to explain, there’s a danger that the speaker uses jargon and technical language.

This can disengage an audience very quickly and often the message or idea can be completely lost on everyone.

An analogy can simplify the idea and make the message much clearer.

2. Analogies engages with the audience

Analogies only work if they’re relatable to the audience.

Tailoring the content is hugely important to creating engagement with an audience.

If the audience can’t relate to what is being said then they wont be engaged.

Sporting analogies are very popular but make sure they’re appropriate to the audience, or a home run might turn into an own goal… (see what I did there?).

3. Analogies improve retention of wha’t being said

A well delivered and descriptive analogy will be remembered.

people are much more likely to remember information that’s connected to something that they’re familiar with.

When Spielberg described his concept of Indiana Jones in the 1970’s, everyone knew who James Bond was.

 4. Analogies help build a rapport with the audience

Rapport with an audience is finding a connection to create a positive relationship.

By using analogies that resonates with the audience’s background and experiences the audience will feel a stronger connection.

Tailoring speeches and presentations is essential when it comes to building rapport with an audience, and analogies that resonate instantly build connections between the audience and the speaker.

5. Analogies enhance persuasiveness and influence

If you need to be persuasive, an analogy can make a particular point easier to accept for the audience, especially if the analogy aligns with the audiences beliefs, values and experiences.

When communicating for change, using analogies that highlight the positives of moving forward and the negatives of going backwards can have a big impact.

6. Analogies clarify abstract concepts

If you’re concept is ‘as clear as mud’ in the mind of the audience, it would suggest that they don’t have much understanding on the concept that’s being communicated.

However, if you use analogies which helps the audience ‘unravel a complex knot’ then you’re making difficult to understand topics much clearer for the audience to get their heads round.

7. Analogies encourage creative thinking

Using analogies stimulates the imagination of the audience.

When the audience begin to think in pictures and images, it encourages them to think more creatively about the subject matter.

Creativity stimulates thinking which can create new ideas and motivates people to try new things or think differently.

Using analogies is a powerful tool when speaking publicly or delivering a presentation.

Tailoring content to the audience and using analogies that are relatable and easy to understand can help create engagement, simplify the message and connect with the audience.

Here’s my full guide and breakdown of what I believe are the key public speaking skills that can have a huge impact on how you communicate.

Public speaking can be defined in the Cambridge Dictionary as:

“The activity of speaking on a subject to a group of people.”

A lot of the time, we picture public speaking as standing on a stage or platform and speaking out into a vast audience. Or maybe we have an image of standing in a spotlight holding a microphone.

We all have our own perception of what public speaking looks like.

But when we break it down to its simplest form, the reality is that to speak publicly, it is merely speaking to a group of people about a particular subject.

There’s loads of questions that tend to follow that definition:

  • How many people?
  • What am I speaking about?
  • Where am I speaking?
  • How long am I speaking for?
  • When am I speaking?
  • How are the people I’m speaking to going to react?

All of these above questions can vary and for some people, the variables like; who, what, where, when and why can often change for every speaking occasion.

But when it comes to the skill and ability to speak publicly, it’s important to remember that regardless of if you’re speaking to 3 people or 3 million people, it’s often not about what you are saying, it’s about how you say it.

This public speaking guide is designed to provide insights and public speaking tips to help you navigate the complexities and nuances of how to get better at public speaking, ensuring your message is not only heard but also resonates with your audience.

Basics of Effective Communication

For me, when it comes to communicating effectively, the first aspect that is number one is awareness.

  • Awareness of self
  • Awareness of audience
  • Awareness of environment

1. Awareness of Self

Who are you?

Are you the funny one, the serious one, the quiet one or the noisy one?

If you don’t fully know who you are, then how are you supposed to pass on a message and build trust with an audience?

Throughout all of the interviews that I have conducted on the How You Say It podcast, the one key fundamental that shines through is “always be yourself” and the importance of honesty.

And for a lot of people, being yourself can be difficult if you’re not aware of who you really are.

If you don’t normally use big and fancy words, then don’t try and use them.

Frances Frei and Anne Morriss believe that trust has three drivers: Authenticity, Logic and Empathy.

They use these three drivers as points in what they call “The Triangle of Trust”.

Authenticity is all about being the ‘real you’ and making an audience trust who you are.

If the audience trusts you, they’ll trust your message, and if they trust your message, they’ll likely do what you want them to do.

What Are You Doing?

We all have tendencies to do strange things with our bodies when we are speaking publicly.

  • Hide our thumbs in our pockets
  • Clasp our hands
  • Stroke ourselves
  • Hug ourselves
  • Touch our faces

There are loads of signs that our bodies give away when we are nervous or under stress.

And we need to be aware of them.

If you’re aware that you fidget with the paper you’re holding, you need to know what to do to stop it.

You might pace too much, you might fidget with keys in your pocket, your hands might shake.

These are all perfectly common and very normal, the difference between the people who do these cues and the people who don’t is awareness.

Once you become aware that you are of these cues, you can work on strategies on how to catch yourself and stop doing them.

What Are You Saying?

Be aware of what you’re saying.

Sometimes we say things without meaning them.

Sometimes we say things and we didn’t even realise we’d said them.

A slip of the tongue or a lapse in concentration can be fatal when speaking.

Repeatedly using the same word, often unconsciously, can lead us to begin each sentence with fillers such as ‘so’ or ‘obviously’.

“So this is my blog article on public speaking. So the reason behind it is to help people get better at speaking. So when I first started writing this I didn’t realise how silly this looks when it’s written down. So that’s my example.”

Awareness is key to identifying this habit. Once you’re conscious of it, you can take steps to address it.

2. Awareness of Audience

Who are your audience?

Audiences vary with each presentation, making it crucial to understand who you’re speaking to. Recognising this can mean the difference between a resounding success and a complete failure.

Being knowledgeable about your audience’s demographics, such as age, gender, and cultural backgrounds, informs the language, tone, and even the duration of your speech.

Would a room full of hungry kids want to listen to someone speak for more than 2 mins?

Understanding your audience is crucial to customise both your message and delivery style for maximum effect.

If people are at a stand-up comedy gig, they want to laugh, they’re expecting to laugh. So using humour is a fundamental requirement.

However, when people are at a funeral, humour has to be used only if necessary and completely appropriate.

Being aware of your audience helps you prepare and craft a speech that lands.

A lack of awareness can feel like a lack of respect for your audience.

3. Awareness of Environment

William Henry Harrison was the 9th President of the United States.

He holds two presidential records; the longest inaugural address which took nearly 2 hours and, the shortest running presidency in U.S. history.

Harrison died just 31 days after his epic inaugural address, which he did outside on the 4th of March on a cold and wet day without an overcoat or hat.

It is largely believed that his death was related to the cold and ‘flu-like symptoms that he suffered from in the days and weeks after his cold and wet speech.

Pay attention to your surroundings.

Stuart Mitchell, a comedian, emphasised how crucial the setting is for comedy’s success.

He pointed out that factors like inadequate lighting, the vast distance between the audience and the stage, or the absence of a stage altogether can significantly impact the outcome of a performance.

Is the venue overly spacious or uncomfortably cramped? What about the temperature conditions?

Often, these details become apparent only upon arrival at the venue.

Stuart went on to say that on some occasions, he’ll address the environment in his act to try and engage with the audience.

But if it’s a cold and wet day and you’re outdoors, learn from poor old William Henry Harrison and have the awareness to cut your speech short, or make sure you’re wrapped up warm.

Preparation and Delivery

Practice and Preparation

“You can’t practice public speaking, you can only prepare for how you’ll feel when you’re speaking” – DK, The Public Speaking Lesson you Never Had

A lot of people mistaken practice for preparation.

Practice involves repeatedly performing an action, with the aim of enhancing and refining your skills over time

A common error many make is assuming that being able to speak means they don’t need further practice or improvement in their speaking skills.

We can always get better and learn new ways to enhance how we speak.

By practicing, you get yourself used to going through a process.

You can hone your message, you can enhance the language you want to use and you can practice building suspense.

Comedians practice ‘new material’ on audiences to test and refine all the time.

But what’s the difference between practicing and preparing?

If you practice a speech, you’ll begin to learn it word for word.

However, simply memorising your speech word for word doesn’t necessarily prepare you for the emotions you’ll experience during delivery.

Are you ready for the audience’s response to your words?

Have you considered how to handle potential disruptions, such as a lapse in memory or a momentary loss of focus?

We might avoid contemplating such situations, viewing them as the worst-case outcomes, yet being prepared for these eventualities can instil confidence and readiness to tackle them effectively.

For me, it’s about doing the preparation first.

Thorough preparation demonstrates to your audience that you have considered their perspective, adding depth and significance to your message.

Incorporating references to particular individuals or events familiar to the audience can help establish a connection between you and them.

Prepare for how people might react to what you are saying.

Before you begin writing or practicing, you need to think about how you want people to feel during your speech.

That begins the process of how to craft the message and the objective of the speech.

When it comes to preparing a speech, I focus on the process of Facts – Feeling – Actions.

  • Facts – What do I know and what do I want my audience to know by the end of my speech?
  • Feelings – How do I want to make my audience feel? What emotions do I want to trigger?
  • Action – What action do I want the audience to take after my speech?

For me, visualisation is key, I begin to picture how my speech will flow.

I contemplate the delivery of specific segments, identifying which parts should carry the greatest impact and strategising on how to achieve that effect.

I prepare for people’s responses.

What if someone disagrees or challenges me?

What If people don’t find the punchline funny enough?

And this is when I begin to move into the practice part of my preparation.

I practice how I want to say the speech. I practice telling the story I want to use to deliver the key message.

I say it out loud, I think about it, I think about how it could sound with a different tone or different language and I say it again.

And I repeat the process over and over and over again.

I’m always nervous before I begin any speaking engagement, but those nerves are more excitement than anxiety.

Anxiety and stress come down to a lack of control.

However, with adequate preparation, consistent practice, and adherence to your methodology, you’ll maintain control, effectively reducing stress and anxiety.

Choosing Your Topic

The easiest thing in the world to talk about is yourself.

We all have a story to tell, the only thing that makes it interesting or not is how we tell it to people.

The first speech I ever did was an ‘About Yourself’ speech.

It wasn’t a life story from birth to the current moment I was in, but it was a speech explaining to the audience who I was and why I was speaking to them.

Know Your Topic

The point of that speech was that nobody knows you as well as you know yourself.

And when it comes to speaking publicly about a particular topic, you need to know what you’re talking about.

If the audience gets the smallest of hints that you don’t know what you are talking about, they’ll lose trust and begin to feel uneasy.

That uneasiness will begin to spread and if you become aware of it, you’ll become uneasy.

There’s a huge difference between being vulnerable (which is often a good thing) and being out of your depth.

Vulnerability can build trust, but faking it in front of people who know the topic better than you do, can kill trust completely.

Know what you’re talking about.

Knowledge is powerful, but be careful not to be too knowledgeable.

Stay away from using jargon and complex language which can highlight how knowledgeable you are on the topic, but isolate people in the audience who don’t know what you mean.

It becomes a fine balance in knowing how to tread this line, but that’s why preparation and awareness become so important.

It’s not what you say, it’s How You Say It

The execution of each speech holds significant weight.

If the delivery isn’t right, the focus, message, and entire purpose of the speech risk being overlooked by the audience.

Once you know who the audience is, the intention of the speech, and the message you want to hit home, you need to know how you’re going to deliver it.

The two main parts of the brain that we use during communication are the prefrontal cortex and the limbic system.

The prefrontal cortex functions largely on logic and rational thought, while the limbic system is mainly governed by emotions.

These two parts of the brain can operate as opposites which is often why we find ourselves feeling conflicted between logic and emotion, often referred to as ‘head vs heart’.

The limbic system is the part of the brain that processes what we see, hear and feel instantly, it i is linked to our instinctual ‘fight, flight, or freeze’ reactions.

This is the part of our brain that picks up on body language, facial expression and tone of voice.

If someone is speaking in an aggressive tone, raising their voice, has an angry look on their face and are clenching their fists, our brain will recognise this as a threat and respond with a ‘fight, flight or freeze’ reaction.

Whereas, if someone has a smile on their face, raised eyebrows, uses softer tones and has their arms open towards us, we will process this as open and welcoming and not threatening.

In these scenarios, the focus isn’t on the spoken words themselves but rather on the speaker’s actions and the manner in which they communicate.

Non-verbal communication conveys messages without the need for spoken words.

Body language plays a crucial role in communication, revealing a great deal through our physical actions, whether we’re speaking or silent.

And this is a hugely powerful tool that can be used to emphasise the intention and message we want to deliver when we speak.

Speaking quickly can emphasise urgency, speaking quietly can build suspense, using a strict and direct tone can ensure people understand that you are serious.

Raising your eyebrows, opening your body with your palms up and smiling is a welcoming gesture and will make your audience feel comfortable and not threatened.

By learning about body language, you can use them as tools to manipulate how we want our audience to feel before we’ve even said a word.

However, if what your body language contradicts what you are saying, then this will cause confusion with the audience.

Confusion can foster doubt, potentially undermining the audience’s trust in you and your message.

Even with an exceptionally inspiring and motivational speech prepared, its impact and intention will be diminished if presented with uncertain body language and a monotone delivery.

It’s important to know about non-verbal communication and how much impact we can create through how we use our voice and body language.

“Communication is the transfer of emotions” – Seth Godin

Overloading speeches and presentations with information, stats and facts won’t generate emotional responses and we don’t know how much of that information will be remembered.

They’ll remember how they felt.

Stats, facts and information are processed by the prefrontal cortex which has rational and logic but no emotion.

If we want to create an emotional response, we need to communicate to the limbic system.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t use stats, facts and figures in your speeches. Often these are important elements and it might even be the reason for speaking publicly in the first place, e.g. presenting sales figures to investors.

However, listing them and presenting them in a PowerPoint might look good and will get the necessary information in front of everyone who needs to see it.

But will it have the desired impact and generate an emotional response?

Tell the Story

It is thought that the ancient hieroglyphics were religious stories being passed through generation to generation.

We learn important messages throughout our childhood from stories being told or read to us.

We can use stories to emphasise the intention and message we want to deliver when we speak.

Why dull the audience with an overload of numbers, data, and pie charts in a sales presentation when you can captivate them with a story woven through the figures?

  1. Set the scene by providing context.
  2. Introduce characters.
  3. Identify the conflict or challenge to overcome.
  4. Describe the journey – what did you do to overcome the challenges?
  5. Highlight key moments – talk about the ups and the downs.
  6. Finish with the lesson/message/call to action.

Plot development is the way in which a story unfolds. The most simple form of telling a story is having a beginning, middle and ending.

But within all good stories, there is character development, twists and turns and an ending with meaning or purpose or a call to a action.

The teller knows where the story is going, the audience is on a journey with the speaker, but they don’t know where they will be taken.

Telling a good story involves knowing how to create intrigue through pace, tone, language and following a plot that develops right up to the end.

If you master how to tell a story, you’ll be able to get your point across, share knowledge and create influence with your audience.

Stories are the best way to communicate with emotion and meaning. People remember them, they remember how they felt when hearing the story and they’ll learn from the moral and the message of the story.

If you master how to tell a story, you’ll be able to get your point across, share knowledge and create influence with your audience.

Stories are the best way to communicate with emotion and meaning. People remember them, they remember how they felt when hearing the story and they’ll learn from the moral and the message of the story.

I’ve been doing a lot more public speaking recently, and I’m absolutely loving it. There’s something about being in front of a group of people and speaking that just makes me happy.

People often view ‘public speaking’ as delivering keynote speeches to rooms, lecture theatres, or stages with hundreds or thousands of people watching and listening.

But actually, speaking in public can be as simple as presenting or speaking to a room of 3-5 people. Public speaking is mainly defined as ‘speaking in front of a live audience.‘ And for many people, this can be a terrifying thought.

I never knew and still don’t fully know if speaking can be a profession. But what I do know is that it’s something I love doing, and I want to explore as many different avenues of it as possible.

Putting my training hat on, I decided to jot down some of the key points that I follow when it comes to preparing and delivering a presentation or speaking in public.

If anyone would like to find out more information on this and would like to be a guinea pig for a speaking and communication coaching session, then please drop me a message.

Disclaimer: This is my own process and what I do. There will be other people who use completely different or similar processes, but this is what I do.

  1. Know the message: Before I go out to deliver training sessions, presentations, or speak to people, I always have a message that is to be delivered. Basically, what is the one thing that I want everyone to take away from what I have said? This keeps me on track, and I know this will be the ‘through line’ of the whole speech or presentation.
  2. Focus points: Have points to focus on. Less is more in this sense. I don’t want to bombard people with too much information, and I don’t want to try and squeeze too much in. Keep it simple and use these focus points to emphasise the message being delivered.
  3. Tell a story: People love stories, and we communicate best through telling stories. I like to relate all my presentations or speeches to a story or anecdote that I can connect to the main message or use to deliver on the focus points.
  4. Simple structure – Beginning – Middle – End: There’s nothing fancy or scientific about this. Keep it simple and know where you are in the structure at all times. A strong opening to grab people’s attention, bring in the relatable focus points in the middle, and then deliver and emphasise the message and/or call to action at the end.
  5. Power of emotion: We all communicate through emotion. Humour, body language, and using variety in my voice help me emphasise the emotion I want to get across at certain parts. Am I being serious, am I being funny, or am I trying to leave an impact? The only way the audience will know this is how I use my own emotions with them.
  6. Engage with the audience: Make them feel part of it. You really have to know the audience for this to know exactly what level of engagement you want or need. But, make them feel part of it, ask questions and encourage actions. Interactive presentations keep people tuned in and focused on what you are saying.
  7. Know your audience: This is one of the biggies for me. Understand and know who you are speaking to. How are they feeling? How can I empathises with them so that they know that I know them and their needs? I try to find out as much about who will be in the room as I can. Then I can gauge how I’ll deliver the message and how I can make my presentation/speech as relatable as possible.
  8. Visualise: I’m a big lover of visualisation. In the build-up to every presentation, training course, or speaking engagement I visualise constantly right up to the point I begin. In my mind, I’m picturing how people will react to certain points, what I will do in certain moments, how I will emphasise what I want to get across, and what to do if something doesn’t go to plan. Usually, I visualise being carried out on top of a cheering crowd chanting my name, but that’s still not happened yet…
  9. Practice – Analyse – Practice: My wife will tell anyone that I rarely shut up. And she’ll clarify from overhearing me that I constantly talk to myself in the toilet and the shower. I have an inner and outer dialogue, and it’s always on. If I have a topic in my mind, I’m practicing it in my head and out loud. Then when I think it’s ready, I’ll practice it on a group or in a speech. I’ll analyse how it went and what needs tweaking, practice it again and again and again, and keep doing it.
  10. Keep it flexible: I don’t like to have restrictive boundaries. Time can be the main one. I have a ‘web’ in my mind of topics, anecdotes, stories, and jokes (some funnier than others) that I can pick out and use in an instant. When I’m practicing, I’ll use these together or in different orders. I try not to use notes, but if I do, I use them as prompts so I don’t need to read and talk at the same time. If it’s flexible, I can cut bits out or add bits in as I’m going, and that way I can make it as long or as short as I need it to be and also make it personal to the audience.
  11. Enjoy the silence: In many cases when speaking publicly, silence is golden. This wasn’t the case when I did the quietest 5 minutes of comedy material at The Stand in Edinburgh. But silence can be your friend. Use it to pace yourself and use it to emphasise points. Just don’t fill silence with ‘umms’ or ‘ehs’.

I’ve tried to put my own points down to explain my own process when it comes to delivering presentations and speaking in public. I’ve read plenty of blogs and listened to loads of podcasts on this, and some of these points will be consistent with what other people do too.

It was actually quite hard to put these down in a list as it’s become something that is almost second nature to me now.

find out more about public speaking with my full guide and breakdown of Public Speaking Skills.

If you find any of this helpful and/or insightful, please let me know. And if you would like to try a free communication coaching session, then let me know.