Speaking
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The G.I.F.T.ed Speaker
Here are four steps to becoming a better speaker that anyone can do.
G is for Goal
Know why you are speaking. Some people enjoy giving oral presentations; others hate it,
but knowing why you will present is essential. The three general reasons for public speaking
are to inform, to entertain, or to convince. These goals can be combined in a number of ways;
for example, audiences appreciate being entertained, no matter what the main purpose of the
presentation may be, and a persuasive speech is more convincing if the speaker provides
supporting information.
Start by deciding whether your main purpose is to inform, entertain, or convince. If you don’t
know, write down some "wishes" in a few simple statements: "I’d like the audience to know more
about herpetology," or "I want people to enjoy my encounter with a rattlesnake." This helps
you begin with an overall goal. The purpose of the speech above would be informative, though
the snake incident may have entertainment value as well.
Be aware that the goal shapes a presentation. If you are going to convince people that radishes
are good for you, telling about the severe case of heartburn your uncle got from eating them
should NOT be included. Funny maybe, but it takes away from your purpose. An informative speech
is balanced and may give information on both sides of a topic, but a presentation designed to
convince would focus on only one side of an issue. If it bothers you to be one-sided, include
a disclaimer within a persuasive speech: "Some disagree with the law requiring seat belt use,
but here’s why I feel it is necessary."
When your goal is clear, the points of your presentation should come naturally. If they are
slow to develop, try writing the goal (e.g. "'Don’t download CDs illegally") at the center of
a piece of paper. Now write, scribble, or otherwise jot down everything you can think of that
relates to that topic. This is called brainstorming, a primitive (and slightly more fun)
method of outlining. Order comes in another step. When your brain is exhausted, go get a
drink of water and come back later.
Now you should look for differences in importance in your scribbled notes. Some of the things
you’ve written are major points, strong reasons to buy CDs instead of pirating them. Circle
those reasons. Maybe one of them is "Hurts starting musicians". You may have other notes that
relate to that, or you may think of examples that demonstrate how illegal downloads affected
a newly-popular band’s sales. These will become sub-points, expanding and demonstrating the
larger point. Congratulations! You’ve got one argument under way. Now underline items that
reinforce the circled argument and draw arrows from them to it. Point #1 has crystallized
into a main argument with supporting facts and examples. (Later we’ll decide if it’s really
Point #1.) Another scribble may say "Fines for illegal downloading." Circle that and it
becomes Point #2. You may need to make a note to look up that newspaper article you saw
concerning college students getting fined. Underline your note and make an arrow from it
to Point #2.
Once you’ve found your major points and arrowed the secondary points to them, you’ll see your
presentation taking shape. You may need to do research to cover some points more completely,
but you knew that would happen.
So your goal is set. You have a purpose, you have points to make. If you waited until the
night before your presentation to prepare, you probably should skip to Timing now. Otherwise,
take a minute to consider your audience and their enjoyment.
I is for Interaction
Modern audiences are not good passive listeners. Truthfully, many lose interest within a few
seconds, after they’ve made an initial impression based on the speaker’s voice, looks, and
manner. Once their curiosity fades, you need to do something to maintain interest so you can
inform, convince, or entertain them as planned.
The best way to keep an audience with you is to give them something to do. The problem is that
people are different, and they don’t all want to do the same things. Some are perfectly happy
to sit and listen. Others, however, need additional stimulation to maintain interest, like a
puzzle or a challenge. Others respond to artistic additions such as cartoons, pictures, or
graphics. Music appeals to some, even if it’s in the background. For social types, speaking
to you or to each other maintains interest. On the other hand, some people need time to sort
of go inside themselves and reflect on things. A good presentation will have variety to appeal
to different interests.
Remember that audiences in general respond to humor and movement. These must be well done and
can be overdone, but try to include both. Movement may be as simple as changing your position
from time to time, but you may also involve others with demonstrations, skits, and visual
reinforcements. Humor must be appropriate to the situation and the audience, but most people
enjoy a good laugh.
If it seems impossible to work all that into your presentation, simplify. What can you do to
break up the time when you just talk? Keep in mind that anything you add takes time from your
speech. Because of that, you may not want to play a whole song to demonstrate the plight of
the homeless, but just a short segment. You might flash pictures on a screen as you talk rather
than explaining them one by one. To save time you might allow for questions only at specific
points in the speech, offer to take questions afterward, or keep interaction times to a strict
schedule. ("You have thirty seconds to tell the person on your right what you know about
Tanzania.")
F is for Format
How should the presentation be organized and presented? Sometimes organization is up to the
speaker; other times it is dictated by the topic. If you’re doing a demonstration of some sort,
it wouldn’t make sense to begin with the finished product and then take things away. Other
presentations may not have such an obvious order, but you want ideas to flow logically to
help the audience follow your line of thought. On that scribble sheet you made initially,
number the circled points in the order you think they will come through most clearly. Now,
believe it or not, you have an outline for your presentation. A dedicated person would at
this point transfer the information to a new sheet, making a neat outline of what the speech
will cover. (You decide how dedicated you want to be.)
Information should flow logically from one section to the next, so think about how you will
segue from point to point. Visual aids or other breaks within the message should reinforce
major ideas, demonstrate points made, and refocus attention on the goal. ("This picture
shows what I looked like after winning the mud bog. You can’t tell which one is me, but you
can see that everyone had a great time.")
AFTER your speech is outlined completely, consider your introduction and conclusion. You know
the goal; you know what you will say. It should be no problem to create an introduction and a
conclusion that fit the topic well and complement each other. A good introduction introduces
the subject (Surprise!) AND captures audience attention. A good conclusion summarizes your
presentation, leaves a vivid image of its message, and lets the audience know you are done
speaking (otherwise you scuttle away like a cockroach).
Bad idea for an introduction: "My speech is about..." This is a hard habit to break. You can
reveal the topic right away, but be clever about it. Tell a short story, give an interesting
fact, ask an intriguing question, or pose an unusual "what if." For the topic of frogs, for
example, tell briefly about your first encounter with a frog, or ask the audience how many of
them have actually eaten frog legs. The introduction must be memorized so you can look at the
audience as you begin. (Yes, you have to!)
Bad idea for a conclusion: "And I guess that’s it." Maybe the time’s run out; maybe you’ve come
to the end of your notes. It’s time to pull it all together. Your conclusion should also be
memorized or at the very least written out word for word and well-practiced. (Even if the
speech was awful, you’ll at least get points for leaving in a classy way.) Except for
presentations meant only to entertain, the best conclusions touch briefly on the main points
then state (or restate) the goal of the whole presentation. "Doctors Without Borders is a
unique organization that helps without consideration for politics. Now that you know more about
this group, you may want send money or even volunteer. Either way, you’ll be helping to save
lives."
T is for Timing
Pre-speech time, long-term: To give a decent presentation a person has to spend much more time
preparing than in actually delivering the speech. Research, outlining, and practicing are all
parts of that. The good news is that preparation makes you not only ready for the time at hand,
but for subsequent speeches as well. You get better as time goes on and will not need to do as
much preparation for each presentation.
To eliminate wandering and stammering, put notes for your speech on little cards, but do NOT
use a full text. Yes, the President reads from a teleprompter, but you must practice to the
point that you only need to glance down once in a while to be sure you’re on track.
Speaking of practice, do it every way you can think of. Practice before a mirror to train
yourself to look up, to control fidgeting, and to see if your expression is pleasant or at
least not a glare. (We tend to frown when we concentrate.) Practice with a tape recorder to
assure variety in tone, pitch, and speed. The hardest speeches to tolerate are given in a
monotone, usually resulting from too much reading and not enough speaking. (They don’t call
it a read!) Finally, practice in front of other people so you get feedback. They may tell
you it’s fine, but watch their expressions. Do they gaze into space at certain points? That’s
where you need to spice it up. Do they smile, nod, and lean forward? Those are signs of interest.
You know how long your presentation should be. (If you don’t, ask!) Plan a ball-park time for
each section so you don’t get bogged down on Point 2 and never reach the last three points.
Pre-speech time, just prior: Sometimes people don’t give a lot of thought to the hour before
the speech. They just plan to shake in their boots. However, if you can get to the venue and
take control of the room, it serves two purposes: to relieve some of your stress (having
something to do is good) and it prevents problems, at least those we can foresee.
Check out the room. Are there places where people won’t be able to see you? You’ll need to
move around so that they don’t lose interest. (I once saw a man give a two-hour address standing
on a chair because there were so many people it was the only way he could be seen by everyone.)
Is the room too hot? Too cold? Noisy? These things can be addressed if you’re early, but if
you walk in at the last minute, you’re probably stuck with sweaty armpits and that lawnmower
coming and going right outside the window.
Check out your equipment. Murphy’s Law is quadrupled for technologically-enhanced presentations,
and I can’t tell you how many I’ve seen maimed by a PowerPoint that won’t go or a slide
projector that is loaded upside down. The ideal solution is to have someone else in charge of
technology. Then if it doesn’t work, you can begin your talk while your helper struggles to
make the machines work. Keep things moving, even without slides, and listeners will appreciate
not having to wait for you to begin.
Check your note cards one more time. It’s bad when you discover halfway through the speech
that they aren’t in the right order.
Check out your looks. About ten minutes before you speak, it’s a good idea to visit the rest
room, check out your teeth for broccoli, and take a final look at yourself, your zipper, etc.
so you don’t get up there and think, "Did I...?"
When you are introduced, walk confidently to the place where you will begin speaking. You will
probably be nervous, but take in the deepest breath you can, hold it for a second or two, and
then let it all out. This relaxes your chest, throat, and face muscles, giving you a more
natural look and your voice its usual sound.
Now it’s time to smile. You’ve prepared, you’ve considered all the possibilities, and you’ve
optimized your chances of success. Be aware that in general, audiences want a speaker to succeed.
Who wouldn’t choose to be informed, convinced, or entertained over being bored out of their
minds? To enjoy your presentation as much as possible, remember this final secret: Most people
believe in a speaker’s expertise if he or she seems confident and vibrant. That means if you
look like you’re having fun, the audience will go along, and you’ll all enjoy the experience!
