Love it or hate it, as we progress in our careers, we find that most jobs require some level of public speaking. Did your stomach just clench? Are your palms sweaty? There’s no need to panic—one of the keys, as you might guess, is preparation.
Goals and Starting Early
Just as you do with nearly all PR initiatives, the best thing to do at the outset is to set goals. So before you even think about putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, take time to reflect on the goal(s) of your speech. Are you aiming to motivate or educate? What do you want your tone to be?
When I’m in the early stages of speech planning, I like to try and establish the personal goal of leaving everyone in the room with three implementable nuggets of information. In addition I try to accomplish that goal in a fun, articulate, sincere and memorable way.
Here are a few other tactics that I use to prepare for public speaking engagements of all sizes, from an internal meeting to a large conference with thousands of audience members.
Once you’ve thought about your goals, start writing your speech at least one month before you need to give it. You’ll be grateful for the extra time you’ll have to fine-tune your message.
Let The Word-Vomit Flow
Yes, you read that correctly. I promise I won’t get graphic, though. I understand brainstorming seems elementary. Yet it continues to prove an invaluable part of the speechwriting process for me.
I approach it full on, with a grade-school brainstorming style. Get yourself a blank piece of paper and a pen. I always begin by word-vomiting all of my thoughts onto paper without worrying about style, formatting or even spelling.
Once I have all my ideas on paper, I read them and take notice of recurring themes; these will become the aforementioned key nuggets that I hope to help my audience recognize. Some of these themes may translate into the feelings that you want your audience to have during your presentation. Make sure you take these into consideration as well.
I then suggest spending the next couple of weeks trimming down your document to about 25% of the original size—remember, you’re aiming to tell a story naturally without having to refer to your notes for every word. Isolate key ideas that you want to touch on, but let the words flow naturally.
Incorporate Humanizing Elements
We’ve all been there: sitting at a conference or meeting and realizing that you find the speaker incredibly dull—or worse, unqualified.
It’s important to establish yourself as a credible source.Still, be careful to avoid being perceived as intimidating. It’s better to come off as relatable, so audience members believe the lessons you’ve spoken of apply to them.
I’ve found it helpful to connect to the audience through incorporating personal stories of struggle and how I overcame them. I find that people can connect more to stories and me as a person when they realize I’ve been through—and still go through—the same challenges that they have.
A good way to decide how best to relate to your audience is simply to learn about its members. If you weren’t provided information, see if there’s a Facebook event or an Eventbrite page where you can take a glance. Is it mostly older women? Young professionals? You can tailor your speech to any demographic, but it helps to go in when you’re informed.
Practice Out Loud
Again, this seems obvious, but it can’t be said enough or too often—if you want your speech to flow naturally, you’re going to have to practice, practice, practice! Whether it’s in front of other people or just the mirror, get the words out and you’ll be able to fine-tune your messaging even further. I sometimes find through the process of practicing out loud that what I’ve written down and what I have in my head may be at odds. Continue to trim and edit to find the words that will flow smoothly.
And hey, it’s 2017: Whip out the smartphone and record yourself giving the speech. You can watch it afterward—no matter how much it makes you cringe—and make adjustments from there.
Get There Early
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned from decades of public speaking is that technology issues can derail even the best speech. So go out of your way to ensure that you’re familiar with the setup of the room, the placement of the microphone and the audio.
I did a presentation in a room that was three times as large as I had expected, which made it difficult for me to make eye contact with anyone during the speech. On top of that, the podium and microphone were set up in an odd way, so I was hunched over the whole time and couldn’t see my notes or the audience. This threw off my presentation. I learned my lesson: Show up early and make adjustments to ensure that the setup works for me.
CONTACT: [email protected] The author also is chair of the Women’s Franchise Committee of the International Franchise Association.