Public Speaking Tips

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Practice with Post-it® Notes (April '10)

Part of developing effective eye contact is learning the choreography of looking around the room and holding eye contact for 3-5 seconds. To practice, try this drill. You can do this exercise standing or seated.

Put Post-it® notes on the walls of your office or living room, give yourself an impromptu question and hold your eyes on each note for 3-5 seconds while answering. Try not to follow a pattern. Practice engaging the entire room. Once you've mastered this exercise, it's still helpful to use it when preparing for an upcoming high-stakes presentation.

If you do this exercise while practicing your material, you're much more likely to keep your energy focused outward when the big day arrives.

Train Your Ideas to Come When You Call (March '10)

My 9-month old Labradoodle was a star student in obedience training. In my living room she can sit, stay, come, lie down, take it, leave it and drop it. However, when I take her to the dog park, she becomes so excited by the other dogs that she goes completely deaf. She doesn’t even know her name.

This experience happens to humans, as well. Sitting at our desks, or in the comfort of our personal space, we are experts in our subject matter and can easily articulate the nuances of our field. But, lead us to the boardroom, or the podium, and we can’t manage to form a simple sentence.

My dog trainer will tell me that my dog doesn’t own those skills until she is reliable in all circumstances. I need to train her with distractions.

It’s so easy for us to convince ourselves that we “own” our skills when we can do them so easily under the perfect conditions. Then, we berate ourselves if we under perform when it counts.

Part of being at your best every time, is to raise the bar on your training. You need to be so comfortable, so habitual that even distractions won’t pull you off your game.

Self Confidence and Posture (February '10)

Excerpted from: The Science of Will Power blog

A study in the European Journal of Social Psychology (Brion, Petty, & Wagner 2009) looked at how posture influences self-confidence. Participants were asked to hold one of two postures: slumped sitting or sitting up straight. While holding the posture, they completed a mock job application, listing their own strengths and weaknesses that would be relevant for the job. They then rated the degree to which they believed themselves to be a good candidate for the job market, a good interviewee for a new position, a good performer on-the-job, and a satisfied future employee.

The researchers found that posture had a significant effect on these ratings. Sitting slumped over was associated with lower work-related self-confidence than sitting straight up.

It's an interesting example of how the body can influence the mind.

So the next time you're feeling stressed or need a boost of confidence, consider changing your body to change your mind. And the next time you're at a job interview (or first date), listen to your mother's wisdom, and sit up straight!

Strengthen Your Voice! (January '10)

It’s a brand new year. If you’re like most people, you’ve made a resolution to get a little more exercise. May I suggest that you focus some of that exercise on your diaphragm.

The diaphragm is a muscle that sits right under your lungs. It’s the engine that is responsible for volume and breath support – so, the stronger your diaphragm, the stronger your voice.

To identify what it feels like to engage your diaphragm, say “shuuuuuush.” Now, say it loudly, as if you are trying to get the attention of someone in the next room. If you felt the muscle under your ribcage contract, you just engaged your diaphragm. To give your diaphragm a little exercise, try to sustain the “shuuuuuush” as long as you can. Do this several times a day, trying to increase the duration of the “shush” with each practice session.

Another great exercise is to recite a list, all in one breath. Be sure to emphasize the final word in each list to keep your diaphragm engaged all the way to the end. Try reciting:

The days of the week
The months of the year
1-10 in another language
The alphabet

I went to the store and bought some eggs.
I went to the store and bought some eggs and milk.
I went to the store and bought some eggs, milk and cheese.
I went to the store and bought some eggs, milk, cheese and butter.

Bringing more strength to your voice is one of the easiest ways to increase your appearance of confidence and personal power. Good luck!

PowerPoint at its best! (November '09)

We highly recommend that you check out SlideShare's annual "World's Best Presentation" contest. Our friend Dan Roam won this year's top spot!

There are two common themes that you'll find with all the top winners.
1) They keep the text concise. We suggest that you follow the advice of Albert Einstein: "Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler."
2) They use images. More than 60% of your brain is used for visual processing. Images that support your message are retained. Take advantage of this fact.

For more info on how to use images, check out Dan Roam's book, The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures.

Finding your comfort zone (October '09)

Most people will tell me that they can focus more on their posture, voice, and eye contact when they know their message well. I absolutely agree. However, it is unrealistic to expect to be well-prepared for all of your interactions.

I'd like to turn that thinking around. Imagine if you were so habitual about good posture, strong voice and optimal eye contact that the ONLY thing you had to think about was your message. That's the comfort zone.

Your message may change in every conversation. However, if you put in the practice time, your optimal speaking skills will become habits your can rely upon in every interaction.

3 Steps for organizing your ideas quickly (September '09)

Surprise! You’ve been elected to give a presentation on your area of expertise, but you have very little time to prepare. Here are three quick steps for organizing your ideas when time is short.

1) Identify your core message. Come up with a 15-second sound-bite that defines your key point. It’s vital that you start with your bottom line.

2) Brainstorm the questions on their minds. Rather than brainstorming what you want to tell them, ask yourself, “what do they want to know?” This will keep you from needlessly giving background that no one cares about, or missing a crucial point that’s obvious to you but new to them.

3) Organize the above questions into a logical progression. Most people find it easier to answer a series of questions than to launch into a speech. If you are short on time, just organize the questions. Trust yourself, you know the answers.

Don't get stranded behind the podium (August '09)

Whenever possible get out from behind the podium. The podium distances you from your audience by restricting your body language signals and holding you in one static spot. Feel free to leave your notes on the podium, but step to the side to answer questions and wear a wireless lavaliere mic so that you can move about the stage. If there's simply no way to avoid the podium, here are some best practices.

Step back a few inches from the podium. Even though it sounds counter intuitive, stepping back keeps you from holding onto the sides of the podium or leaning in toward the microphone. You will look more comfortable if you have a little bubble of space in front of you.

Engage your gestures. The minute your mouth begins talking, your body language needs to start talking, too.

Speak up. Even though you are likely to have a microphone, do not let it do all of the work. Your expression, animation and energy will also be more engaging if you are putting more effort into your volume.

Use networking events as practice sessions (July '09)

Every time I attend a networking meeting, we mingle for 20 minutes or so before the meeting gets rolling. What a great place to practice my elevator pitch! At some of the meetings, we take turns standing up and introducing ourselves to the rest of the group. It’s the perfect low-risk public speaking opportunity.

Whether you are working on specific skills (eye contact, optimal volume, being more expressive) or trying to find the perfect words to describe what you do, you’ll have plenty of chances to practice at a networking event. You may even find a new client!

Drill of the month: Eliminating Fillers (May '09)

The first step to getting the "uh" and "ums" out of your conversation is to become aware of when they pop up. Then, train yourself to leave a pause instead of interjecting the filler sound. One of the most effective drills for this is "The Flag Game."

Working with a practice partner, take turns talking for 2 minutes each. The listener should listen intently for “uhs” and “ums” and flag them by raising his or her hand. As the speaker, try not to react to the flag. Just notice it in the back of your mind and keep going. The immediate feedback of your partner’s flag will keep you dedicated to eliminating the “uhs” and “ums” in the next sentence. When you can easily get through 2 minutes without a single flag, you have enough awareness to practice on your own.

The Star Key (April '09)

Most corporate voicemail systems will allow you to play back your message and, if necessary, re-record it by hitting the star key. The next time you leave a voicemail message, play it back to evaluate the strength of your voice, your pace and articulation. Is your message concise and free of filler words? Is this a message that represents you well? This is a great way to get immediate feedback on your skills and correct a voicemail that may not be up to par.

The One-word Mantra (March '09)

When your moment in the spotlight comes (high-stakes proposal, important interview, big presentation) it's important to be intentional about using your best communication skills. But over-thinking it can cause self-consciousness and brainfreeze. What's the happy medium? The One-Word Mantra. Instead of giving yourself a list of things to concentrate on, choose a single word that sums up what you want to accomplish ("Relax" "Connect" "Energize").

The February/March 2009 issue of Scientific American Mind, quotes studies that show that athletes who give themselves detailed instructions ("keep ski tips high" and "keep body streamlined" for a ski jumper, for example) are more likely to choke under pressure than those athletes who rely on a single word (such as "smooth").

So, while it's a mistake to give NO attention to your communication style, don't burden yourself with too many instructions. "Simplify."

No time to practice? Use your lunch hour! (February '09)

Choose one of the 3 fundamentals - strong posture, strong voice, or strong eye contact - and give it some intentional focus during your lunch break. When you are standing in line to order your sandwich, balance your weight and elongate your spine. When you speak to the cashier, use optimal volume. When you are sitting at the table chatting with friends and colleagues, focus on the duration of your eye contact.

It doesn't matter if the setting is formal or informal, improvement happens when you practice on purpose!

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