The Success Center

I had the chance to see Ed Tate, the 2000 World Champion of Public Speaking, present at a Toastmasters conference recently. He said that public speaking is the only form of marketing where you can build an emotional bond with your potential clients. Are you ready and willing to give a speech about what you do and the services you provide?

Preparation and practice are the keys to a poised presentation, but there is much more to giving a speech than just presenting your information. To showcase yourself and your business in the best light, follow these 20 principles to prepare a powerful, polished presentation with poise and purpose.

Purposeful Preparation

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15, NIV)

1. Audience Analysis

DON’T: Give a canned speech without modifications.

DO: Consult the meeting planner/event coordinator to discuss your topic and tailor your presentation to a specific audience. You should consult with her well ahead of time to find out the audience’s needs, problems and concerns instead of just looking at things you can sell to them. Think of it as part of your ministry of service. If a group goes to a park for ministry to the homeless, they are likely to feed them and distribute supplies before talking to them about God, praying with, and reading Scriptures to them. Likewise, you have to meet people where they are, and speak to them on their level before you attempt to discuss any offerings. Once you build a rapport in this way, without a sales pitch, they will be more open to learning about your product or service.

A pre-event questionnaire is a great tool to gather information if you’re speaking to a company or organization. You can give the meeting planner the questionnaire to fill out well in advance. The details you learn from her answers will help you customize a speech, and build trust and credibility with your audience—the emotional bond that Ed Tate mentioned. Review their website, annual reports, newsletters, press releases, and brochures. Then check with the meeting planner to ensure that your stories and ideas are relevant to your points and not offensive. When in doubt, leave it out.

2. Figure Out Where You Fit

DON’T: Prepare your speech in a vacuum.

DO: Find out and consider the logistics of the event where you will be speaking. What is the specific purpose of the gathering? Will you speak from a raised platform, or be at the same level as your audience? How much time do you have to get your message across?

3. Start With a Bang

DON’T: Open your speech with something dull such as, “Hello everyone. Today I’m here to talk to you about…,” a long-winded thanks to numerous people, or an irrelevant story about what happened to you on the way there.

DO: Get your audience’s attention right out of the gate. Use a question, anecdote, startling statistic, paradox, or controversial opinion to draw in your audience and capture their attention. You want them to forget whatever is on their mind and focus on your message. You can also include an icebreaker to loosen up the audience and get them curious about what you will present.

4. Mix It Up

DON’T: Read to your audience or stick to one monotonous format.

DO: Use different elements such as humor, facts, quotes, and anecdotes. You can also engage your audience by:

· Telling stories. You can use a case study, a personal testimony that conveys how your business helped solve a problem or make someone’s life easier.  When you tell stories that involve more than one person you can make the scenes come alive by:

- Using dialogue (don’t speak in third person, speak as if you are each character)

- Using body language and gestures (make faces and relive the story)

- Varying your voice, tone, and pitch (don’t be like the teacher in The Wonder Years)

· Taking an audience survey by show of hands or applause, or use a white board, easel, or overhead transparency to write their responses.

· Doing a partner/small group exercise.

· Doing a skit using one or more audience members.

· Encouraging them to finish some of your sentences or repeat a phrase you use throughout.

· Use props. For example, you could toss an object around the room, and whoever catches it has to answer a question (and possibly gets a prize).

5. Beware of Information Overload

DON’T: Cram too much information into your presentation.

DO: Leave them wanting more. Consider your allotted time purpose when you design the breadth and depth of your speech. Is it a high-level presentation or an in-depth seminar? Do you have 15 minutes or an hour? Craig Valentine, 1999 World Champion of Public Speaking, advises that you discuss no more than one main point for every 10 minutes of your speech. This is one of the rules I’m guilty of breaking. Take it from me—your audience will get frustrated if you try to pack in too much information in the time allowed, or skip over information because you’re running out of time.

If you want extra “insurance,” you can have color-code your speech or mark your notes in a certain way so you know which elements to add or delete as you go along, to fill the needs of your speech. If you find that your time gets cut short, you’ll know which key points to make, and if you gain time, you know you’ve got relevant stories and exercises available to fill it up.

6. PowerPoint is Not a Crutch

DON’T: Read your PowerPoint slides or cram them with too many words.

DO: Create only as many slides as you need to make your points, or scrap the slides altogether. Choose a prop or other visual aids.

7. Leave Them With Something To Remember You By

DON’T: Conclude your speech with a question and answer period.

DO: Prepare an actual closing to your presentation. You want to make a powerful, lasting impact on your listeners, since they won’t remember most of your speech. You can have Q&A, just don’t make it THE ending. Instead use a story to drive home your core message, or just a summary that brings your points together. You could also choose to end with:

· Advice

· An anecdote

· A call to action (signing up for email updates, inviting people to make a donation, visiting your website, buying your product, or supporting a cause)—just don’t make it a pitch

· Asking volunteers to tell what they learned and how they will apply it in their life, or to voice their objections or concerns about carrying out the advice presented.

8. Practice!

DON’T: Skimp on rehearsals.

DO: Rehearse several times, even if you have given the speech before. If this audience has not heard you speak about this topic, and you tailored it for them, you need to incorporate your “tweaks”. Record yourself and/or speak in front of someone if you can so you can check your performance.

Beware of filler words, such as “um”s and “uh”s, which may come about if you don’t practice your transitions and pauses during rehearsal. Pauses allow you time to think about what you will say next, and they give the audience time to think about the last thing they heard, which provides emphasis to it.

9. Oration is Not Necessary

DON’T: Push yourself to memorize your entire talk.

DO: Familiarize yourself with the speech enough that you don’t have to rely heavily on notes (although it’s a good idea to have them close by in case you lose your place). Rehearsing and practice will help you memorize most of your talk, but you can still flow naturally and not feel pressure to remember your speech word-for-word.

10. Consider Evaluations

DON’T: Underestimate the importance of feedback.

DO: Create speech evaluations that people can fill out anonymously to gauge your effectiveness and make improvements for your next presentation.

Poised and Polished Presentation

“You are the light of the world… In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14a; 16 (NIV)

11. Let Your Light Shine

DON’T: Wear clothing or flashy jewelry that detracts from your presentation, however nice it may look on you. Image and first impressions are important.  Clothes that are wrinkled, too big, or too tight are not right. You don’t need to create any distracting visual barriers for the audience to overcome. And ladies—if you would find it questionable on another woman, then don’t wear it yourself. Modesty is never offensive. You are representing yourself, your business, and Christ.

DO: Dress for success. When you look good, you feel good, and your confidence will help you shine.

12. Stay Alert to Logistical Changes

DON’T: Assume that all your technical requirements will be good to go when you arrive.

DO: Arrive early and bring your own equipment. Stuff happens. Even if you requested specific equipment to be set up for you, arrive with ample time to set up if you are using PowerPoint slides, handouts, or other props, just in case “Murphy” shows up. Chairs may be set up differently than you’d like, or you may have to move to a different room. If logistics change, be flexible, and make do the best you can and work with what you’ve got.

13. Relax

DON’T: Be too serious.

DO: Smile. Regardless of the topic, there will be a time to smile.  Show your personality. If you’re nervous, everyone doesn’t have to know. Sometimes you have to fake it ‘til you make it, and besides, smiling is contagious. Let your light shine!

14. Pace Yourself

DON’T: Talk too fast.

DO: Take your time as you speak. It’s easy to talk too fast if you’re excited about your material or nervous, but try to keep a poised and relaxed or energetic composure—depending on what your topic calls for. If you’re concerned about time, keep a timepiece on the lectern or have someone signal you.

15. Keep Your Composure

DON’T: Get off track or get discouraged if something goes wrong during the presentation.

DO: Recover gracefully (or make a tactful joke) and keep it moving. It’s OK if you mess up or lose your place. The audience is on your side—they really want to see you succeed! They’re giving you their time and attention, hoping to get some important insight and information in return. Don’t let them down!

Powerful Presence

“Let all things be done decently and in order.” (1 Corinthians 14:40)

16. Move Around

DON’T: Stay in one spot or favor one side of the stage for the entire presentation, pace, or turn your back to the audience.

DO: Move naturally from time to time, with purpose, but not from nervousness or an abundance of energy.

17. A “Know-It-All”? Not!

DON’T: “Talk down” to your audience or position yourself as a person who has “made it” without any struggles.

DO: Demonstrate your expertise in a way that engages the audience and answers the question, “What’s in it for me?” Be relatable and show your commonalities. Why do you believe in your product or service? How has it helped others?

18. Take Charge

DON’T: Ignore a heckler or disruptive audience member, or respond with a rude or coarse remark.

DO: Stay in control of the room. Once you start your presentation, you are in charge. Ignoring disruptive audience members is not usually the best way to handle them. Address them tastefully without embarrassing anyone. People will respect you for taking control, and for your calm, cool attitude.

19. Hang Out for a While

DON’T: Do not make a long or pressured sales pitch. Once you turn off the audience, they’ll shut down and there’s no coming back.

DO: Remain accessible and approachable after your speech. Let people know a little about your business and how they can reach you. Give them just enough information to leave them wanting more. You can negotiate with the meeting planner to offer a service such as coaching sessions or back of the room sales for your products after your presentation has concluded. If you educate the audience and provide them with value, you can convince them why they need your services and convert some of them into paying clients.

20. Keep At It

DON’T: Let too much time elapse between speaking engagements.

DO: Continually seek out places to gain more exposure for your business. Get in where you fit in by checking out your local Chamber of Commerce meetings, Rotary clubs, Kiwanis clubs, and other associations and nonprofit groups related to your target audience.

Find Your Rhythm and Put Yourself Out There

As you can see, much of the work that goes into presenting with poise is due to preparation. You have to find a rhythm when presenting information and it helps to start preparing BEFORE you see an opportunity to speak. Experts in their fields are often asked to speak at conferences and special events, but it’s better still to create your own presentations and opportunities as you network.

If you want to get more comfortable with public speaking on a regular basis and build confidence, join a Toastmasters club near you. It’s the most economical professional organization I’ve ever belonged to for the value I’ve received (it’s about $30 for a six-month membership at my club).

Who needs your products and services? I encourage you to share your expertise with them because no one can tell them about it better than you. The more you often speak, the better you will become, and the more personal success and business growth you can realize.

About the Author

Daree Allen

Daree Allen is a technical writer, freelancer, and motivational speaker. She is currently writing a self-help book for teen girls.  You can reach her at her website, “D.elivering A. R.ich, E.mpowering E.xperience” at http://DareeAllen.com, and her personal development blog, “Daree’s Insights” at http://dareesinsights.wordpress.com.