April 12th, 2008
Some advice on public speaking
I don't claim to be a professional on the lecturing circuit, but through the years I have learned a thing or two that has lead me to be a pretty good public speaker. The following are some of the rules I try to follow. This list is not in a specific order, and of course the conditions vary from event to event depending on the topic, the audience size, the customer, the venue, etc.
Instead of a top 10, this list goes to 11...
1. Know your topic. Don't speak on something you're not an expert on. Nothing is worse than trying to fool an audience. I can't tell you how many times I've seen executives do this, and it always makes me cringe.
2. Share your knowledge, have a conversation, even entertain, but don't "lecture". Lectures are for teaching or instructing, leave that for the classroom.
3. Use examples and stories to get your points across, don't rely on slides. (Don't even use them if you can avoid it, but if you have to make sure they are ODP!)
4. Be confident, yet humble. Act like an expert, but don't be condescending. I hate arrogance. When I hear someone speak to me like I'm below them, the last thing I'm going to do is give them my attention.
5. Provide the audience with the information you want them to know, steer them towards the path you want them on, but let them come to their own conclusions. Think of it like a closing argument in a legal case. You are providing the information to the jury (customer), but they are the ones making the decision.
6. Always prepare and be ready, but accept the fact that things go wrong. When they do, don't panic. Be calm, work through it, the audience understands. (Perhaps this should be a blog post of its own, where we all recap our funniest stories!)
7. Remember, you're there for the audience's benefit. If they want to change topics, or ask side questions, let them. That said, keep in the back of your mind a way to stay on course. Also this leads to the next item...
8. If you don't know something, accept that you'd don't know it. Don't lie. Instead offer to follow-up later once you have found the information or another subject matter expert that can help them.
9. Keep it simple. If you have too much content to squeeze into the available time, don't try! Cover less topics, but cover them well. (Similarly, I prefer 10 min podcasts, short blog postings, and strait to the point emails!)
10. Repeat key items, and bring the entire story back together at the end to tie things up. Ever notice how the best books, movies, or even comedy acts circle back to information they provided you earlier? Think of the ending of The Usual Suspects!
11. And the most important... slow down. No really, slow down!!! You already know what your talking about, the audience is hearing it for the first time and has to process your words and images to comprehend it all. Pause after key points, and let them sink in.
This list does not include core presentation techniques such as voice projection, body positioning, hand gestures, what to wear, etc.
