Style and Technique

Once we have dealt with the things underlying confidence, the matter of style and technique is actually a small thing.

·         Style and technique:

A huge trap that people fall in to is trying to be something they are not. The problem is that we see a presenter do a great job and everyone is attentive and captivated, and we want to be like that, so we try to copy. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but not many of us do it well.

o   Not everyone is the same – you have to be the best YOU can be, not a copy of someone else. Understand this truth and you have taken a huge step to effective communication. Don’t try to be someone else. Find your own ways, your own style – there are many basics that can be adapted, and many methods that can be used, but you must present as yourself.

o   Visuals are not necessary, but can be helpful. This is a sticky one – I have already briefly mentioned that Powerpoint has sort of fallen out of favour lately, but some information is just passed on better with visuals. This will depend on your industry and the particulars of your presentation. But a short video, or even simply displaying a live Excel spreadsheet, can be useful. Just make sure you practice with the tech you will be using, and have a backup plan – computers are great when they work, but not all of us can make them work all the time.

But there are also other visuals you can use – people are absolutely fascinated by a bloke drawing on a big sheet of paper. Doesn’t have to be a masterpiece either – stick men, rough pie graphs, and big arrows, make people take notice – if they are relevant.

o   Sound effects, used well, can be great. There was a time that sound effects were frowned upon at pretty much every level, but as you draw that big arrow on your big bit of white paper, there is no reason why you can’t make a bit of a V8 engine sound as you go across the paper. The key to this is that it must be APPROPRIATE. Don’t use silly sound effects at a somber funeral.

o   Changing speed, volume, tone, can all be used for emphasis and interest.

The way you use your voice is as important as what you say in some respects. I am sure you have all heard someone who is just a monotone drone – you very quickly find yourself either falling asleep or wishing he would stop.

But there is so much you can do with your voice. Speaking softly can get everyone straining to hear the words (But make sure you can still be heard), and can gain attention as much a sudden raising of the voice to a yell can wake people up. Talking quickly or slowly can emphasise a point – speaking quickly can raise the excitement level, while slowing down your words can bring an intensity to your words. Even talking in a higher or lower tone can bring the spotlight onto a point.

All of these are sometimes called “dynamics” and they are very useful, but overuse can make your presentation a bit of a caricature.

o   Speaking clearly is important.

The other thing about dynamics is that all this speeding up, slowing down, talking loud and then quiet, can all end up being a bit annoying – so make sure that however you use these dynamics, you do not stop being clear – when you talk quietly, make sure that your quietest is still audible, and make sure your loudest is not so loud that you are blowing out speakers and hurting ears. The sound man should be able to look after that, but it is easier if you control that rather than him guessing.

o   First impressions can be overcome, but it takes hard work.

Someone once said that you only get one chance to make a first impression. You can be an individual, but the more “out there” you are, the harder you will have to work to convince people that you are worth their time.

§  Speak well – poor pronunciation gives a bad impression.

People will quickly get distracted by poor pronunciation. If you talk in certain ways, the impression is that you are not educated. A classic example is someone who says “Sumpfink: instead of “something”. When people hear this, or similar things, they automatically put you in a box that says he is a bit dim, and probably not worth listening to.

§  Poor dress gives a bad impression.

If you are making a presentation to a group of top end businessmen, you probably don’t want to turn up in a rashie and surf shorts. They simply won’t take you seriously. In that case a suit and tie is probably what is expected. You could possible get away without a jacket, but wearing a tie, or maybe you could get away with a jacket and no tie, but you want to be somewhere in the ballpark. This is harder today than it has ever been, because some companies within an industry normally known to be conservative have changed their acceptable dress standards. A Friday presentation might be just fine in Jeans and a polo shirt, but don’t try it on Monday.

§  A strange voice or a “weird” appearance start you behind the 8 ball.

Some people have some quirk about them – a strange voice or a physical difference from what is “accepted” – they just have to deal with those things, but if they are reading this, they already have a strategy. But if you have the choice, then try to be near the accepted “normal”. You want to be memorable and individual, but if you stand out for the wrong reasons, then your good points will be lost in the distraction.

§  These are not game losers, but why make it hard for yourself?

None of these things are the end of the road, and if you are willing to deal with the consequences, then by all means retain your individuality and flair. But unless you have a reason for dressing in a way that you know will cause a raised eyebrow, why give the audience something to be critical of?

§  There are exceptions – “Gimmicks” can be used to good effect, but they should never be the reason why you are remembered.

o   Move – in some way, move around – if you move the eyes of the audience, their attention span grows.

This is hard for many people. Again, there are those who are natural walkers, but “the speakers two step” is a well-known phenomenon – that is where the speaker rocks either back and forwards or side to side, shifting his weight from foot to foot without actually moving. It can be distracting for an audience, so it is better to deliberately move around a little bit. Those who are natural walkers have a definite advantage here, because the simple act of getting the audience to follow you across the stage with their eyes helps to hold attention.

o   Gestures are great for emphasis.

If you are not much of a walker, then Gestures need to become your friend. There are many ways you can use your hands in front of an audience. The classic is in the instance of a comparison where you point to one side of the stage as you talk about one side of the argument, and then turn and point to the other side as you present the opposing view.

Or you might want to emphasise that an old theory has been done away with and so, as you pronounce its demise, you pretend to kick it off the stage to the side.

As with sound effects, this needs to be used intelligently, but can be highly effective.

·         Practice and assessment:

o   Find a reliable and truthful person to critique your speaking.

§  You do not want a yes man – you will not get any good help from someone who is afraid to offend you.

§  You do not want an overly critical person – that will only lead to discouragement.

§  Video or audio recording can be useful.

§  Any critique is only useful if you use it.

Notes are (not) for numpties!

Confidence Part 5:

I am sorry to destroy the mystique, but most speakers use notes.

With the modern technology, they try to make it look like they are speaking from memory or from their mind, but the “Teleprompters” (or whatever they call them today) are simply so well hidden that even live it can be hard to spot the notes.

They want it to look seamless and professional, but the truth is that very few people speak without notes, regardless of how it appears to the audience.

I always surprises me when someone comments about me not looking at my notes, because I feel like I rarely ever look up from my notes.

·         Notes:

o   It is very rare for a speaker to NOT have notes. It is easy if you give the same talk over and over, but if your speeches vary, notes are almost mandatory. Those people who do a basically unchanging presentation wherever they go, of course will get so used to their presentation that it basically sits in memory. But these people are basically showmen – and I do not mean to disparage such people, but their shows are primarily for entertainment. If your presentations change every time, then you will almost certainly want notes.

§  Some people do get away without notes, but they are rare.

There have always been some rare individuals who either have outstanding memories, or a natural way about them that allows them to present without notes, but the overwhelming majority of speakers use notes of some form.

·         Many noted speakers used extensive notes.

Winston Churchill apparently had even the pauses and inflections written into his notes, and yet I have heard people say that he spoke with no notes at all. As far as I could find, the majority of the time he used extensive notes.

§  Notes can take many forms.

·         Powerpoint can be an assistance to a presentation, but it has become a passé nowadays. Use with caution. But the slides can be your prompts for your presentation, if used well.

·         Palm cards – these are small cards that can be concealed in your palm – hence the name – with the headings and main points written on them. A skilled user can swap through these cards without the audience noticing.

·         If there is a Rostrum or Pulpit or stand of some sort, then the easiest thing is to simply have written notes on the Rostrum before you. The audience can’t see them, but you can have the information clearly displayed before you.

·         Tablets or Phones – you can have your notes displayed on an electronic device either in your hand or on the Rostrum – just be careful to stop the screen turning off after 2 mins.

§  Notes can be as comprehensive or brief as YOU need them to be.

Some people can get by with major points and headings, others feel more confident with extensive notes. You will figure out where you are most comfortable in this. For instance, my personal speaking notes could be read out word for word and would make perfect sense – but I don’t read my notes word for word, and will sometimes stray from my notes if I think it is relevant. But I am most comfortable knowing that if I get lost, I can revert to reading the notes until I get back into rhythm.

o   Using language appropriate to your audience is vital.

One problem that people fall into is that of assuming everyone knows what you are talking about.

§  Don’t speak too far below or above your audience.

• I remember a friend once who was a highly studied scientist, but who just thought everyone understood what he was talking about. He would get onto a technical subject and start using big words, and discussing technical details, and no one around could keep up with him. But he was oblivious to it. He genuinely thought everyone was a smart as he was.
• But just as you can lose an audience by talking over their heads, you can also lose them by aiming to low.

It is a trick that takes some practice, but you need to aim for the middle of the group, high enough to give useful info to the experts, but low enough to lift up the novices with your info. They might not understand it all, but they will get the general points, and it will spur them on to know more. Meanwhile the experts interest may be spiked to look more into a few points.

§  Don’t use specific jargon in a general audience.

Jargon: every industry has it. 

• If you must use it, then explain it briefly for those of your audience who may not be up on all the latest acronyms.
• If your group is all very specific, then by all means, Jargon yourself silly, but in my experience a room full of experts is a rarity. Be careful with Jargon.

o   Preparing your notes.

§  You need to have gone through your presentation several times before you actually present it. 

• The process should be something like this: 
• First draft, re-read, make a cup of coffee, second draft making changes, re-read (with another cup of coffee), make further changes and finalise presentation, re-read (third cup of coffee), go for a walk, go home, watch a footy match – anything but thinking about your presentation. Then review it again. 
• I have been told that you need to review and re-read no less than seven times - after that much coffee, you will be in some sort of trouble. However, having read through your notes that many times, you will have confidence that you know your presentation.

Practice makes perfect.....sometimes.

Confidence Part 4:

Practice: this is so often overlooked.

Put simply, you cannot expect to be perfect first time out.

Think back to when you first got your driver’s license. The first time you went out on your own, you were stiff and cautious, and mega alert, not wanting to make a mistake which could be extremely costly or even dangerous. But now you hop in your car with hardly a second thought – what has made the difference? Experience – or practice!

This goes right back to the first post really – it is not a natural thing for most people to stand up in front of a crowd and hold their attention for an hour. Even the best of public speakers is far better now than their first time. And it all really does come down to experience or practice – simply put – the more you do it, more comfortable you get doing it.

o   Practice really does make perfect – if you practice right. I have added an addendum to this common saying, because it is not practice alone that makes perfect, but good practice.

§  Practicing wrong things makes you better at doing it wrong.

The actor Leslie Neilson made a video called “Bad golf made easier”, but it is not about playing golf better – it is about playing BAD golf better. And this is the thing about “practice” if you practice bad technique you will get better at the BAD technique, but you will not improve. The key to good practice is to learn good techniques and practice them.

§  Practicing will make you better, just like any other pursuit. The more you do it, the better you get at it.

Once you have found a source for good technique, then practice it as much as you are able. If you don’t feel too silly, stand in front of the mirror and present to yourself (I never was able to get comfortable with this, but it is often suggested). If you can convince your wife, husband, or kids, to sit through it, present to them. They will most likely not be able to comment on the content, but the delivery is something anyone can see.

§  Never turn down an opportunity to do a presentation– at least if your goal is to do them well. Of course, there are times when it is not your field, or you have promised a holiday to your family – turn those down – family is more important than any single presentation. But if it is relevant, and if the timing fits, and if it is worthwhile for your work and your goals, then take every opportunity you can. Practicing in the nets is great, but nothing can replace time out in the field. (That’s a cricket Metaphor for those non-cricketing people).

§  Record your presentations if possible.

This is really useful, but only if you then watch them back. If you have someone you trust, you could ask them to review it for you, but having a recording is a great way to see if you have any bad habits – like always saying “Now then…” at the start of every sentence. It can be really embarrassing and even off-putting if you know you are being recorded, but it is an invaluable tool for your improvement. A recording doesn’t care about your feelings…….

§  Even if you will never be a full-on pro, you can be better at it than you are now.

When someone thinks they have reached the pinnacle of their field, and they can do no better, it is time for them to retire. A wise man will constantly strive to do better than he is today.

Everything needs a solid skeleton (Except jellyfish - but they are not generally considered good speakers...)

Confidence Part 3:

Once we have prepared ourselves it is time to prepare our presentation.

We have already talked about preparation, and about the importance of thoroughly soaking our mind in the information about our particular subject, but once we have that info, we have to find the best way to present it.

One of the big things that damages confidence is not knowing where you are going with your presentation. Think of it this way – when you are driving along and you don’t know exactly where the street is that you want to turn down, you tend to slow down and drive with caution, knowing that you may not see the turn until the last moment; but if you know exactly where you are going, you drive up with confidence, knowing precisely where you are going.

Public speaking is exactly the same – if you have a general idea of where the presentation is going, you go cautiously, but if you know exactly where you want to take this bus, then you speak confidently, knowing exactly when to turn from one point to the next, and you know with certainty that you will find the final destination – a successful conclusion.

This is like having a good structure to your presentation – it is like a clear map from the start to the finish, and once you are familiar with your “Map” (Structure), your journey can be made with confidence.

o   Structure is important – you have to be taking the audience somewhere.

There is nothing worse for an audience than to not be able to follow where the speaker is going. Chasing Rabbits is what it is sometimes called – this is where the speaker gets distracted from his main purpose and goes off telling stories that have little or sometimes no relevance to the subject. Something he says in his speech made him think of something else, and he goes off chasing it like a hunting dog after a rabbit. Can be funny, but it rarely leads anywhere useful.

Strong structure can help you to not chase rabbits, or if you do, it helps you find your way back easily.

The structure of the average presentation follows the same basic structure that you were taught in school for a good essay: introduction, body, and conclusion.

§  A great introduction catches the audience, and gets them on your side from the start.

You should have a strong opening sentence, something that grabs the attention. It shouldn’t “sensational” in the tabloid sense, but the use of a BIG opening statement can be effective, as long as you don’t promise too much with it.

§  The stuff in the middle is where you feed them the actual info.

·         Separate the subject into points

·         Join the points so that you end point “a” with a lead in to point “b”.

·         Each point should be mentioned or at least indicated, in the introduction. How specifically you mention the points depends on your own style, and the particular style you choose for the structure of your presentation.

·         Each point should be mentioned or at least alluded to in the conclusion.

·         I have never figured out why, but three points seems to be optimal. This doesn’t mean that you can’t get away with two points, or stretch into more points, but three points just seems to work.

o   If you don’t have at least three points, you are probably trying to fit too much info into one or two points. See if you can make a division somewhere.

o   If you have more than three points, you just might be trying to cover too much info altogether. I have heard up to twelve points used effectively, but each point is brief.

o   Many presentations are between 30 mins and an hour. To divide that out: 5 mins for intro, 5 mins for conclusion, leaves you only 20 mins for three points – that’s only around 7 mins for each point. That may sound like an eternity, but it is not long to impart good information.

§  A great conclusion leaves the audience satisfied. The conclusion is where you tie everything together and make sure that the listeners see the connections between your points. This can even be the place where you see the “lights go on” in the audience – that is a great feeling. To actually see people “get it” as you pull everything together at the end.

§  “Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, tell them what you told them.” It is a pithy little saying, but it is accurate. Keep that I mind and it will keep you on track as you prepare.

a good public speaker is a good Boy Scout!

Be Prepared!

Confidence part 2:

There are certain mechanisms that we can work on that will help our confidence.

People are afraid of many things when they present – most of them are wrapped around the idea that they will forget what they are supposed to say.

This is where we can take some practical steps and put in place some procedures to minimize the chance of this happening.

·         Preparation is KING – if you are prepared, it is so much easier to be confident.

P⁶ was something I was told many, many moons ago. P to the power of six stands for Prior Preparation Prevents Pretty Poor Performance.

Preparation of yourself and your subject is essential if you are to have confidence.

Since one of the biggest fears in public speaking is about forgetting your subject or points, the first place to start is with your preparation.

o   Know your subject.

§  If you have been asked to speak on a subject, then you obviously have some knowledge of it to begin with.

All of us know the general subject we are going to speak on, otherwise we would not have been asked to do so. But we are not talking about your general knowledge of the subject, but the specifics of the presentation.

Every Presentation has a specific subject, and this is what you have to prepare. Make sure you know everything you can about the specific subject of your presentation. Even if you think you know it well, you need to go over the information until it is thoroughly soaked into your mind. This gives you a vast storehouse of information from which to draw for your presentation.

I must say also, that just because you have all this information in your head, doesn’t mean you have to give it all to the audience. In fact, having that information in your head and leaving some of it there, actually gives you more confidence, knowing that you have more info on tap if it becomes necessary. There is such a thing as overloading your audience, so keep the info you give out to the effective minimum required to get the point across. Better to cover a few points well, than to touch on everything just a little.

And if you keep some in reserve, it means that you have more info for the next time you are asked to present on the subject.

This is a balancing act that you only really become comfortable with after practice.

Before we move on from this sub point, we have to look at another point regarding confidence:

§  Remember, even if the audience are experts, they do not know what you are going to say. If anyone thinks they have nothing to learn, they are not worth worrying about anyway.

Sometimes people will say something like: “Most of the people in the audience know more than I do about the subject.”

This may very well be true, but there are a couple of things to keep in mind:

·         They don’t know exactly what you are going to say.

This is another time to remind you that they want your presentation to be enjoyable – even if they know it all, they still want to enjoy the time. But they don’t know exactly what you are going to say and how you are going to say it, so they are hoping to be a bit surprised along the way, either by the style of the presentation, or by some of the content.

And of course, it is YOUR presentation, not theirs, so they may know a lot about the subject, but they know almost nothing about YOUR presentation.

·         If they know more than you, they probably have stood in your shoes, and they want you to do well.

This is worth remembering – very few people are naturals at this remember, and as a result if they know more than you, it is likely that they have done a presentation or two along the way. They don’t want you to suffer the way that they did – they want you to do well.

·         They still want to learn – they are searching for a tidbit of info that they hadn’t noticed or considered.

Any wise man understands that he still has things to learn, and sometimes a great truth can be presented by a novice. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own ideas and processes that the simple things can slip our notice. Any smart guy knows this from experience, even if they have never thought it out loud. As a result, they go to these things HOPING desperately for a different angle or a different view of something, and that can come from anyone. There are times when the question of a child can turn a researcher’s mind onto a different track that leads to the answer he was looking for.

So, don’t worry if there are smarter minds than yours in the audience: anyone worth worrying about in the audience is looking for the bit you present that they hadn’t noticed.

They want you to be good!

Confidence:

There are several aspects to building your confidence, but we have to remember that ultimately some people simply cannot lay the facts over the feelings of fear, and they will always struggle with this.

Secondly, a certain level of fear and anxiety is actually a good thing. A total absence of anxiety can lead to a lack of care, and that leads to a fly by the seat of the pants false confidence that excludes appropriate preparation.

But let’s look at these facts regarding confidence, lack of confidence and reasons for confidence.

One of the fears that people have is about the audience being critical of their efforts, so the first thing to understand is:

•         The listeners WANT you to be good.

They really do. It is rare that someone is assessing you with a critical eye and ear, and even in those rare cases it is normally to help you improve. The audience is not actively looking for you to fail. There are simple reasons for this:

o   Nobody wants to sit through a boring presentation.

Think about when you are forced to go to some sort of event where you are going to be sitting and listening to a speaker. Do you go thinking that you hope the speaker is boring and terrible?

Even if you don’t want to be there, you grumble to yourself that you hope at least the guy is not boring.

Have you ever sat in the car with your workmates on the way to a conference and said to each other “I really hope this guy is a bumbling, boring, stuttering speaker. I can’t think of anything I look forward to more than a boring presentation.”

That is a conversation that I venture to say has never been spoken, except facetiously.

Even those people who have been forced to attend “against their will” want the presentation to be enjoyable – at least that way they have had an enjoyable day, rather than a miserable day being forced to listen boring presentations.

o   Very few people actively want you to fail, and even they don’t want to waste their time.

You see, regardless of the situation, people just do not want to waste their time – even if it is company time, as some people like to joke about. You might have an enemy in the audience, but you do not have an audience of enemies. And even that mythical person that wants you to fail doesn’t actually want to be subjected to an hour of boredom just so that they can be victorious over you. They would rather not have to endure it, but instead simply rejoice in reports of your failure – so most likely that person – if they even exist – will not be in the audience. They want you to fail but they don’t want to endure your failure, and they don’t want to be there just in case you are good, and then they have to endure your victory.

So, they want you to be good.

Even the ones who you think don’t wish you the best.

•  It is not just about information – they actually want to be entertained.

The second point about this is that they want you to be enjoyable.

If it was just about information, people would simply publish facts. Presentations would be Powerpoint slides with tables, and dot points of information, with no need for any talk or discussion.

No, even in the most “informational” of presentations, the point is for it to be entertaining.

People remember facts when they are presented in unusual or exciting ways. If you list off facts, then only the most dedicated remember.

As a result of this, people don’t head to a conference saying “I hope there is a lot of good information”, they use phrases like “Worthwhile” and “not waste my time”.

The funny thing is, if you have two presentations side by side, and one is boring but full of useful information, and the other is interesting but low of detail, most people will come out of the second raving about how good it is, whilst most people will come out of the first saying very little.

Don’t get this wrong folks – I am not saying substance is irrelevant. If you have nothing worthwhile to say, then people will soon stop listening.

But people simply don’t want to be bored, no matter how much information is presented.

If your only goal is the dissemination of information, then publish a document.

People want good, useful information, but they want you to make interesting to them.

Either extreme is a waste of time – we must find that happy place in the middle, where we have enough good, solid, useful information, but presented in a way that makes it accessible and memorable.

Entertaining provision of information is what we are aiming at.

Information alone is ignored.

Entertainment alone is of no lasting value.

Present information in an entertaining way, and people happily accept that information and it goes with them, taking with it the prospects that you can build upon later.

So, with the understanding that we can have confidence because the audience wants us to be good, we can then go to the mechanics that will help your confidence.

Confidence

Confidence:

One of the biggest issues that people have with public speaking is confidence.

I believe it was the comedian Seinfeld that had as part of one of his routines the statistic that in a list of things people feared the most, public speaking ranked higher than dying – which meant that at a funeral, most people would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy!

The fear is real!

Some people will never overcome the fear sufficiently to be an effective speaker, but almost everyone can become at least competent, and only a few will ever be absolute superstars.

Think about that for a moment – in every field of life, you get a few who can’t, a majority who can, and a few who achieve excellence.

How many people become first class sportsmen?

Take football (of whatever brand you like).

Very few people cannot do it at all.

The overwhelming majority of men have at least the ability to play football at a social level, with many playing at a club level. Within that group, there is a range of abilities which cover from can do, but not well, to almost “pro-level”.

The Superstars are unlikely to be reading this, so this means that you, the reader, most likely fall into this middle group.

You then, must decide where in this group you need to be.

If public speaking is part of your job, then you need to get as high in this group as you can, but if it is incidental to your job, then maybe you can settle for just OK….. that is if you are the “settling” kind.

Once you sort out where you need to be in this group, you can start to figure out how important confidence is to you.

This is the basic building block of public speaking – your confidence when speaking in front of that group is evident regardless of the techniques that you practice and employ.

So, let’s begin with confidence.