Don’t Undermine Yourself

As the parent of a college-bound high school senior, I have done a fair share of college tours. On this particular fall day,  a young woman rushed to our waiting group and breathlessly began her spiel.  She was an intelligent and likable young woman and despite her tousled appearance (it was, after all only 9:30 on a Saturday morning) she knew her content.  But I noticed that she kept pulling her jacket collar up her neck.  Again and again.  It was distracting.  I stopped listening.  What is the problem here? I moved closer to take a look and – you guessed it – a hickey on her neck.  I felt badly for her. That’s embarrassing.

But honestly, I didn’t care  that much and I was ready to move on.  I wanted her to be present and connected to us, sharing her genuine experience of the college.  But she couldn’t, and so we spent the next hour watching her telegraph her self-consciousness. Happily, it wasn’t high stakes and I hope she learned a valuable lesson (wear a scarf?).

This story is a speaker’s cautionary tale. Ideally, you plan, rehearse, prepare, preview your space and everything goes swimmingly.  You accept that there will always be some imperfect glitch in the most perfect of presentations. If it’s in your control, you fix it. But if you can’t, then let it go and move on.  Since your audience will take their cue from your behavior, acknowledge it (to yourself, or the group, if appropriate) and then ignore it.  Focus on the people you are talking to, the message of your presentation and don’t undermine yourself.

How have you noticed yourself forecasting your concerns to your audience?

– Charlotte Dietz

Everybody Freezes…

One of the reasons that most human beings would rather die than stand up and speak in public is the fear of a brain freeze – that moment when your mind goes blank and your audience is staring at you, and you’re staring back at them and you think, “This is worse than a root canal!”

The truth is, even the most seasoned and skillful speaker experiences a mental speed bump now and then. That’s all it has to be.  You can come out of it with flying colors.  Just a few simple tricks in your toolbox will get you out of the jam and onto your next important point – without the use of Novocain!

Let’s look at a recent example for what to do and what not to do. Arizona Acting Governor Jan Brewer recently had a brain freeze in the first gubernatorial debate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUPKKbmWMZ8

Clearly this was a moment wrought with potential disaster given that the stakes were so high.  And painful as it is to watch (especially the forced smile), she did a few things right.

Be silent for a moment – embrace the pause and use if for effect. Don’t fill it with empty words like “um” and “ah.”

Think of your previous sentence. Was there anything in there you can repeat until your brain snaps to attention?

Start talking. Even though Governor Brewer did not say anything substantive, at least she got the ball rolling again.  Most audiences will forgive you this one blip in an otherwise engaging speech.

And even though this next tip may not have helped in a televised debate, it works beautifully for all other venues:

Involve your audience. One of my coaching clients used this trick in a speech last month. He got stuck on the name of the BP Oil Rig “Deepwater Horizon.”  Instead of just standing there with a blank stare, or looking up at the ceiling as if the name was typed on the ceiling tiles, he asked his audience. They were only too happy to help and he got right back in the dance without missing a step.

So Relax.  Release. Relate.  You’ll be fine.

–  Barbara Roche

Start Simply. Simply Start.

I like speakers who are clear and direct, who look comfortable (so I don’t have to worry about them) and who recognize the need to keep my attention (I can learn while being entertained);  who don’t jam their presentations with convoluted ideas (huh?) and slide shows filled with overloaded bullet points (I can’t even read that!).  Is this too much to ask?

Now, you are probably thinking, “Hello, who DOESN’T agree with that?” But, why then are we consistently forced to listen to dense, jam-packed, poorly delivered and anti-intuitive presentations? After years of working with clients, I do have some thoughts to share:

1)      This is really HARD. Clear communication requires constant distillation to make complex ideas simple, without being simplistic.

2)      We are hardwired to spend 99% of our time thinking about ourselves. It’s not our fault, but it makes organizing a good audience-centric presentation very challenging.

3)      We have been trained to see feedback as negative and therefore avoid it.

Good speakers recognize it takes TIME to distill ideas for optimal impact. It takes CLARITY to find the real message in the ocean of thoughts, and it takes CONFIDENCE to ask for feedback.  My advice: Start. Keep it simple. Get Feedback.

Charlotte Dietz

Your Presentation Coach

Have you ever received practical and insightful feedback that was so well timed and so relevant to your needs that you were able to hear it all and benefit from it?  If you answered yes, you know how valuable constructive feedback can be.  If you answered no, then you are missing out on one of the best ways of enhancing your skills and your confidence.

Welcome to SpeakEasy Partners Blog – a place to find helpful advice, insight, and perhaps inspiration on public speaking and presentation techniques.  We tackle the whole continuum of public speaking – from content preparation to post-game analysis.  We do this for people who don’t have the time or the resources to hire a coach, but who want to learn how to improve their presentation skills.

If you have a big presentation coming up, why gamble?  Call us and we will provide you with a “ruthless sanctuary” to practice your speech, receive constructive and actionable feedback, and refine your delivery skills before the big day.

As French essayist Jean de la Bruyere once said, “There are certain things in which mediocrity is not to be endured, such as poetry, music, and public speaking.”

We look forward to hearing from you.