Reaching Your Audience: Don’t Make These Mistakes In Your Next Speech
In life there are many occasions where you are asked to speak in front of a group, from graduations, to weddings to conferences where you are the featured act. Being an effective speaker is an important quality for today’s (and tomorrow’s) business leaders.
My speaking experience is extensive. I have spoken at thousands of conferences, done numerous presentations, and led countless meetings with my team, which at one point in my career numbered in the thousands. I also have experience speaking on TV, including both CNN and BBC.
But not all speakers are created equal. Some are, in fact, pretty terrible. If you want to be an effective speaker, avoiding some common mistakes is your first step to becoming one.
Here are some mistakes you should avoid in your next speaking engagement:
Trying to “Be” something other than what you are.
One of the best compliments I have ever received about my speeches is that I am described as “down-to-earth.” In my case, I think that’s because I talk to the audience as if I was having a face-to-face chat with one of them.
Trying to BE something other than what you are, whether you are an expert, a scholar, an energetic coach, is just going to distract from your message and make your audience uncomfortable. Be who you are and talk like that person. Chances are you were chosen to be the speaker because of the type of person you are anyway.
Making too many points.
What is the key thing you want them to remember? Make sure you keep relating back to that. It is easy to complicate things and difficult to be make things simple. Make it easy on them by keeping to your points and eliminating the extraneous details.
When you organize your speech consider this tried and true formula: tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them. It’s old. It’s simple. And it works.
Leaving out the colorful details.
Now even though you need to keep it simple, that doesn’t mean to keep it boring. Colorful details can often distinguish your speech as a great address. Think of easy-to-understand analogies from day-to-day life. People can relate to concepts much easier if you ease them into the idea and establish the concept at the beginning with a relatable example. Using photos helps, too. Pictures speak a thousand words.
Also people love stories. As I related in my post, “What Story Are You Telling Your Customers Today?”, they have the ability to change the listener’s brain. Read the post if you want to understand the neurochemistry behind this concept, but the short version is that stories create a chemical reaction in the brain that changes how a person thinks and feels about a subject. If the purpose of your speech is to persuade the audience to do something, stories can be a way to get them to do it.
Forgetting that laughter is a welcome guest in any speech.
I believe in using humor in business situations. I always incorporate humor in my speaking engagements. I find that making people laugh helps them to relax and absorb what you are trying to convey. Plus, when the atmosphere is light and entertaining, there is energy building in the room instead of draining out the ballroom door as guests/attendees/employees slip out to find the bar or “powder their nose.”
If you are funny always use humor. It is a great way to engage your audience. If you are not a naturally funny person don’t! But if you do use it, it’s important to remember that if you want to be funny make jokes about you, not the audience or other people.
Going long.
The cardinal sin of speaking is going long. Always stick to time. As fellow Englishman William Shakespeare wrote, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” In this article I saw in Inc.com, the author says that he always prepares an address that is at least 10 minutes shy of what the organizer asked for, giving wiggle room to the event if they are off schedule.
I rarely do this (yet…it sounds like a good thing to start), but I do make a couple of versions of my address. This way I can adapt my speech to fit into the window I have been given. Also, don’t stress if you forgot something. Remember that the audience doesn’t know what you are going to say. Therefore if you make a mistake, don’t worry. No one else knows.
Making Your Address a Lecture Instead of Lesson.
One of the things I am known for when I speak is my interactive style. I prefer to deliver my addresses with plenty of audience participation, to create a learning atmosphere with give and take. Avoid lecturing your audience by involving them as much as you can.
I do this by going mobile. Don’t stand behind the podium and lecture. Walk around a bit. I love walking off stage into the audience and engaging with them. It gets their attention and makes people focus on you, as they don’t know when you are going to walk up to them!
Not Double Checking the Details.
Arrive early and check the technology. This is key: Always, always, always go through your slides before a speech. It’s surprising the weird things that happen when you email a presentation. Don’t discover them when in front of 500 of your colleagues.
In addition, beginning and endings are very important. People will make a decision on whether they like you in the first two minutes, so make an impact. Practice the first two minutes. A lot. I like to come on stage and just start with a funny story. The audience doesn’t expect this. They expect me to do long, boring introductions. But the story gets them ready to relax and hear what I have to say.
In many of our careers as leaders and managers, we have to speak on a regular basis. But even if you don’t have to deliver speeches regularly as part of you career, speaking in front of people is something that most people have to do in their lifetime. From a toast at a colleague’s birthday party to a keynote address at a national convention in Orlando, speeches are all better when you remember what not to do during them.
What is your best tip for speaking in front of a group?
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Colin Shaw is founder & CEO of Beyond Philosophy, one of the world’s first organizations devoted to customer experience. Colin has been recognized by LinkedIn as one of the top 150 Business Influencers in the world. He is an international author of four best-selling books on Customer Experience. Colin’s company, Beyond Philosophy provide consulting, specialised research & training from our Global Headquarters in Tampa, Florida, USA. Follow Colin Shaw on Twitter: @ColinShaw_CX |
