I’m on tap to speak to a civic group later this week, and as I prepare I’m reminded of how stressful getting up and speaking in front of people can be.
Beefing up this skill is important because it’s an element of communication that can advance your career and influence. Leadership roles often involve public speaking, whether to a group that fits in a board room or a crowd in an auditorium.
In my experience, three keys are critical to presenting well.
Key 1: Face the fear.
We need to start here because fear biologically moves us into fight, flight, or freeze. None of those serves us well in the context of sharing something of value with others.
More than 40 percent of adults say they fear public speaking more than they fear death. What’s at the root of this fear?
Deep in our brains is a primitive area that lights up when it senses danger. It’s called the amygdala, and it has kept the human species alive. Let’s be thankful that it does its job. The problem is that it often tells us any new experience is a threat. Until the fear is addressed, we can’t learn, so we start there.
Getting up in front of our colleagues, collaborators, or other group and speaking to them will not get us killed. We can remind ourselves of this and reframe the story we are telling ourselves. Instead of centering the risk we’re imagining, what if we thought of the presentation as an opportunity? What benefit might you or others gain because you are sharing information and your perspective on it?
Science is revealing that not only do our minds influence our bodies, but also our bodies influence our minds. Communication goes both ways. When we adopt an open, confident body posture before we ever go on stage or as a way of life, we convince ourselves and actually become more confident, researchers have found. Shoulders back, eyes up and straight ahead, feet planted shoulder-width apart, deep breaths – I can speak from experience that it makes a difference in my attitude and thus how others perceive me.
Key 2: Prepare well.
You can eliminate up to 75 percent of your nerves about public speaking by preparing well. Why? The better prepared you are, the more you’ll trust yourself. The more you trust yourself, the more you can relax and communicate what you want from the heart.
Good preparation involves:
· Knowing the purpose of the presentation. What do you want your audience to take away? When you’re clear on the purpose, you’ll be able to focus your presentation and respect the time your audience is giving to it.
· Knowing your audience. What are their concerns and perspectives? Their knowledge context? Do they want to be there? How do they like to receive information? If you can anticipate some questions they might have, you can better prepare to answer them.
· Knowing your content inside and out. And – don’t be afraid to say when you don’t have an answer. That’s authenticity.
· Creating your visual aids. Your slide deck is not your presentation. It’s your visual aid. Read that again. Huge difference. And please, don’t just read your slides. If that’s all you’re doing, you might as well have sent the file and let people read it themselves. Limit the number of slides, and don’t cram too much on each one, just enough to reinforce what you are saying and guide your audience along a logical path to the conclusion you want to make. Don’t forget that other items or media could illustrate your points, too.
· Testing the tech. Know what you will have available before you plan your presentation. And always, always, test the tech before the event starts.
Key 3: Practice your platform presence. Your audience will decide within four minutes whether they should care about or trust what you are saying. Yes, the words you say are important, but they only account for 7 percent of what we communicate in a presentation. Body language conveys 58 percent, and our tone carries 38 percent of the message.
Use your posture and your arms to present your body as open. When you are nervous, that primitive brain may tell you to cover your vital organs. One, you don’t need to, and two, it communicates to your audience that you are putting up a barrier between you and them because you don’t trust them.
I try to move my eyes around the room, making momentary eye contact with individuals here and there. It’s great to take a few steps around, too, depending on the audio setup, but try not to pace. If you can move down toward the audience to make a point and draw them in, even a little, do.
Pace your speaking cadence. Too slow and you put them to sleep, too fast and you may come across as nervous and chattery. Slowing way down, repeating a phrase, or a strategic pause is a great way to emphasize something you want to be sure they remember.
Do use hand gestures; just choose them wisely. Pointing into the audience or chopping at the air are seen as aggressive. Instead, an open, palm-up hand is generally positive. You can use your hands to indicate a range or position, moving them up and down, side to side, or indicating a space between them. Like me, you might find this challenging, because in the moment I might not be aware of what my hands are doing. I’ve found it helpful to watch video of myself speaking to a group, then correct for next time.
And breathe. Some of us need to release the expectation of perfection we’ve put on ourselves. It’s more important for your audience to experience you as human than as perfect. People tend not to trust perfect. They know it’s not real. People trust people they can relate to.
Wish me luck – I’m on in two days.
How are speaking and presenting skills important in your life?
Excellent points!