Category: Pathways

There is a fine line between public speaking and performing when you are on the platform. However, if you are performing more than you are speaking when your purpose for being on stage is public speaking, you are on the wrong side of the line.  In some cases, when speakers are not comfortable or too familiar with their message, they may begin to perform. What most audiences want from a speaker is their message, not an act. If you can make a connection with your audience through your message, there is no need to go into acting mode. Even if that act makes your audience laugh or cry, you run the risk of detracting from your message and your acting may become a distraction.

While the focus of speakers and performers is on making a connection with their audience using gestures, eye contact, vocal variety and use of the stage, your message will resonate with audiences when you are perceived to be authentic. When your audience can relate to your and your message you will be accepted as a credible messenger. Whether you are an experienced speaker or not, your focus should be on your message and not on how you are looking on stage. With more and more stage time, as a speaker you come to realize that it is not about you the messenger; it’s all about the message.

By no means am I saying it is inappropriate to inject acting into your presentation, however, as a speaker you should always remember that your primary goal is to communicate your message. While it is okay to get involved in your stories, you should revert to reality and your purpose as quickly as possible without taking your audience off on a tangent. Over time, you too will develop a style which makes your speaking and performing delivery appears seamless. Your ability to straddle that imaginary line that separates speakers from performers will develop as your stage time increases.

Presenting to audiences takes courage, however, if you strive to be who you truly are as a person when you are on the platform, half the battle is won. Stage presence is far more powerful than resorting to acting. Strive to be conversational with your audience. It takes practice and stage time to become an accomplished speaker. Speaking and performing both have lots in common, however, it is the intent that makes them separate. Leave the performing to actors and stay more on the speaking side of that fine line when you are on the platform.

 

Regardless of the occasion, we must have a purpose for speaking?  The 4 Types of speeches are to INFORM – PERSUADE – INSPIRE – ENTERTAIN.

The following are some of the crucial questions you need to ask yourself as you prepare for each occasion?

Is this a speech to PROMOTE a cause – IMPROVE your image or the image of your organization – Is it to SELL products or services – ANSWER questions – INSPIRE others or EXPLAIN a process.

After selecting your topic and deciding on your purpose, here are some more questions to consider as you research and prepare your presentation.

• Do I know this topic very well?
• Am I passionate about this topic?
• What do I want to accomplish with this speech?
• Can I complete this presentation in 5 to 7 without leaving unanswered questions?

What do you want your audience to think, feel or do, in that minute of silence after your presentation?

It takes PREPARATION to speak with Style, Substance, and Clarity.  Prepare every speech to be UNDERSTOOD, REMEMBERED and REPEATED  –  When your speech is understood, it will be repeated. When it is repeated, it will be remembered – Speak to be remembered – However, statistics show:

• 50% of what I tell you even now, will be forgotten in 24 HRS.
• In 24 HRS after that, you will not remember another 50%.
• 24 HRS after that you may even question if you weren’t ever here.

Keep it simple. You must have a hook. The THEME or SCARLET RIBBON must run through the speech or presentation, from beginning to end. You must also have a SPEECH STRATEGY – What is Your Point of Attack? Head the Heart or the PocketBook?

TITLE:  First Impressions are lasting. Don’t give away your entire presentation or speech with the title. Your title is your anchor – Include it in your presentation.

OPENING – Lead with your strongest point. When you begin! Start! First impressions are lasting. In your first minute, you can win over or lose your audience.  Give a hint or some indication where you are taking your audience.

Don’t Tell Them–Show Them-Take Them.

• Be descriptive – Use word pictures to convey your message
• Be concise but clear – Every unanswered question becomes a distraction
• Practice your personal stories and anecdotes so that they don’t sound rehearsed-Keep it real.

HUMOR: Ever tried to buy a piece of equipment from someone who doesn’t know how to operate it? Be factual. Use statistics. Do not overstate your case. You’ll undermine your credibility. Don’t try to be a comedian.

COMMUNICATE CLEARLY AND CONCISELY

Make brevity a part of your style.  Write and then deliver or deliver-then write. Whatever happens, to be your choice – Focus on your choice of words.  Check each sentence to see if fewer words can provide the same message. Great speeches are not written – they are re-written – This is why we write!

DELIVERY

Everyone has a personal manner of speaking.  Be yourself.  Most people can process information only at a moderate rate. Find your voice. Find your rate. Don’t speak too fast or too slowly. Don’t try to sound like someone else.  Use strategic pauses for emphasis. Practice enunciating each word clearly – Work on your Verbal Punctuation.

CONCLUSION

Your conclusion is just as important as your opening. Recall some of the main points of the presentation. Leave enough time to summarize and emphasize your take away message.

When you are on the speaking platform, have you ever found your mind twisting and turning, groping for words or at a loss for your next thought? Do you then turn to the most commonly used filler words like “Ahs,” “Ums” and the dreaded “You know”? How do you silence your “Ah” counter?

How do you turn those negatives into positive sounds, even when your choice is silence? Studies have shown subject matter, and breadth of your vocabulary determines the use of filler words more than habit or anxiety. Some may ask why filler words or phrases are needed at all. What motivates a speaker to fill every moment of silence with sound? For some speakers, it is the fear of dead space when speaking while for others, it may be because of the careless speaking habits perfected over time. Great speakers rarely use unnecessary words, interjections or distracting sounds. Great speakers do not wing it. Great speakers prepare their presentations. Listen carefully to their delivery, and you will find it is not that they avoid pauses, interjections or fillers altogether; instead, they replace their “Ums” “Ahs” and “You know” with filler words that sound natural, intentional and conversational.

The cure for filler words without a doubt is preparation. Speakers can reduce nervousness by pre-determining the way they would like to express their ideas through preparation and practice. By no means, should you avoid silence, however, when pauses are overused, it can be an indication the speaker is unprepared. That style of delivery is distracting to listeners. One proven method of avoiding distracting sounds is by replacing your “Ums” “Ahs” and dead silence with stronger filler words like “Now,” “However” or “You See.” with enthusiasm and confidence. With a little practice, you will soon find your filler words sounding much more powerful and intentional, just like the great speakers.

We all experience senior moments when we are on the platform. A useful ploy to avoid pregnant pauses when you have lost your trend of thought is to repeat your very last sentence with a change of tone and emphasis, as you collect your thoughts. Interjections also come in handy in those moments. An interjection is a word or collection of words that express feelings. For example, “Gee,” “Wow!”- “Oh my!”. I have learned from experience to embrace the use of words like – Yikes, Ouch, and Oops in speeches and to keep them handy for unplanned moments. One notable characteristic of interjections is they have little or no logical connection with the words or sentences that follow. You can safely use them to distract your audience as you collect your thoughts. Turn your negatives into positives. Start using your filler words and interjections with confidence. Make them a part of your conversation with your audience. Practice them until they become permanent, and they will add style and color to your speaking.

Do you know the sound of your voice? What you sound like. Have you ever been told you speak too fast, too slow; too loud too soft or you lack vocal variety. Perhaps when speaking privately, you have never received that type of feedback. It may be accepted as part of your personality. But what is your response if you receive this feedback when speaking in public. Whether we speak publicly or privately, the objectives are to be heard, understood and to be repeated. Your volume, rate, pitch, tone, and prosody determine how your message is interpreted. Your vocal variety, your voice inflection, and nuances determine how your message is understood. Often, it is not only what you say. It is how what you said was heard and received. Take a moment, record yourself to listen to the sound of you. If you do, you may be in for a huge surprise.

Even after listening to yourself, you may still be in denial. If you use the rule of three, you may be more inclined to address how you choose to adjust your delivery. Begin by acknowledging the issue when speaking privately. If you do, you may find it will improve over time when speaking publicly. The rule of three is simple. If you receive the same feedback, on three different occasions, from three different evaluators or three different sources, you have an issue you must address. First, you should recognize the problem as one that is important for your success as a speaker. Once you validate the feedback, test your adjustment and practice your modification in your private conversations until it becomes permanent.

Every element of vocal variety is essential. Volume is critical. When making a powerful statement. After you have made that statement, silence sends the message. Without that moment of silence, your message loses its effect. Rate and pace can be used to build tension and excitement in your speech. The resolution of that tension can be a twist or you can use rate to bring the segment to a climax by slowing down to almost a crawl. Whenever I think of pitch and tone as it relates to public speaking, I think of the great singers who color the music of their songs with the clarity of each word they enunciate. Listen to the phrasing of some of the great singers of yesteryear and you will get a better understanding of the art of phrasing which can be used when speaking publicly or privately.

One manner of delivery, which is common but gets little attention is prosody, defined as the rhythm and pattern of the sounds of language when speaking. I have also heard it described as “up talking.” Often we begging a statement at one pitch and end the sentence by dropping the voice, while some speakers raise their voice at the end of every sentence. Raising your voice at the end of sentences has the effect of sounding as if every statement is asking a question. It is a style of speaking which you can correct. Begin by focusing on the meaning you wish to convey aided by your vocal variety. Although your focus may be to improve your public speaking, if you begin to practice these tips in your private conversations your public speaking and speaking for all occasions will improve. What you practice privately will always find its way into our delivery when speaking publicly. Your voice is the voice of you.