Publicly Speaking

I had the honour of judging a public speaking contest at the weekend (not Toastmasters).

The speakers were professional adults; the standard variable. Without a doubt, the stand-out speakers were the storytellers. Yet, many of them made a basic error. This error, in my opinion, reveals the speaker to be inexperienced, unconfident and unaware of the audience's needs.



Too many of the speakers signposted parts of their speeches:

"Before we start, let me ask you two questions".
"Today, I'd like to share a personal story".
"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen".
"I have a story I'd like to tell you".
"Before starting this story, I'd like to share some facts with you."

Let's look at these one by one:

"Before we start, let me ask you two questions".

But you've already started!! Just ask the questions! It will have much more impact... And, remember Craig Valentine's tip:
"Have you ever...?" rather than "How many of you have ever..."? Subtle difference; significant impact.

"Today, I'd like to share a personal story".
Just tell me the story. It'll be obvious that it's a story and a personal story if you tell it right.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen".
Just dive straight in. Ask your questions or tell your story. If you absolutely feel the need to address the audience, do it near the beginning but not at the beginning. Start strong. You have about 15 seconds to grab the attention of the audience. Don't waste valuable seconds on niceties.

"Before starting this story, I'd like to share some facts with you."
Facts, schmacts. Who cares? Audiences are persuaded by emotion, not logic. Relate your facts to something the audience understands or weave them into a story but don't lead with facts.

Having listened to some thirty speakers on Saturday afternoon, this unnecessary signposting was one of the issues that struck me the strongest. I'll write about others in later posts.

If there's one thing a mediocre speaker can do to become a good speaker is: have the confidence to launch into your material without the hedging. You will appear more confident and more respectful of the audience's needs.