Effective Public Speaking in Business Presentations

Effective Public Speaking in Business Presentations
by Doug Staneart

Right or wrong, people form a perception about how competent you are by how you present yourself when you stand and speak. They also form perceptions about the company you represent based on your performance. In fact, public speaking is an easy way to set yourself apart from your competition, because when you stand up and say what you want to say, they way that you want to say it, you are doing what 95% of the people in the audience wish they could do. A person who is confident in front of a group gives off an air of competence, whereas a person who fumbles might leave a negative impression.

When I was in college, I had an internship with a major oil company, and at the end of the summer, I had to present a summary of my internship to a group of department managers and vice-presidents. I was the youngest person in the room, just 20. Many of the other interns were graduate students who were much more comfortable in front of a group. When I spoke, I could feel the sweat beads on my forehead, and I could see my hands shaking. The butterflies in my stomach were uncontrollable. After the presentation, I asked myself, “If I were the decision-maker in that room, and I only had one permanent position to offer, would I choose me?” I had to answer “no.” Over the next few years, I trained with some of the most successful public speaking coaches in the country. Since then, I have spoken before thousands of people, and coached hundreds of managers, executives, and other leaders on how to present more effectively to groups. Below are some of the key public speaking tips that I have found that really work.

1) Realize 90% of nervousness doesn’t even show. The audience usually can’t see the butterflies, or shaky hands, or sweaty palms. The problem occurs when we start thinking about these symptoms rather than focusing on the audience and our topic. By human nature, most people are focused on themselves not on you. Focus on them and two things will happen: 1) they will like you more, and 2) much of the nervousness that you feel will go away.

2) Add some enthusiasm to your talk. Your audience will never be more excited about your talk than you are, so give them some energy, and they will give it back to you. Walk about a half step faster. Smile. Let your gestures and voice emphasis come naturally. Don’t over do it, but give more energy than what you normally would.

3) Limit your talk to a few key points. Narrow down your topic to either one key point for a short talk, or thee key point for a longer talk (a talk longer than 30-minutes.) Ask yourself, “If my audience only remembered one thing from my talk, what would be most important thing for them to remember?” The reason this is so important is that the human mind likes to think of only one thing at a time. For instance, think of the Statue of Liberty. What do you see? You probably see a picture in your mind of the statue. Now think of a pink elephant. Again, you probably see a picture in your mind, but the important question is…where did the statue go? Your mind can only truly focus on one thing at a time. As you add additional points, each previous point will become diluted. The more points your presentation has, the less focus the audience will have on each individual point.

4) Tell stories. Don’t tell little white lies, but do tell anecdotes and personal experiences. Stories build rapport with your audience, and they give you more credibility. Your audience will remember your stories a lot longer than they will remember your talking points. I heard Les Brown, a famous motivational speaker, years ago, and he told a story about how a man in his hometown went around the town square holding two baby dolls and squawking like a chicken. Kids in town made fun of him, but Les found out that this man’s house had caught on fire, and his two baby girls died in the blaze. The man attempted to go in and save them many times, but the heat was too great. When his brother-in-law showed up, he verbally assaulted the man calling him a chicken for not going in to save his girls. Ever since then, the man has not spoken a word -- instead he just clucks like a chicken. I heard this story years ago, and I can’t remember the specific point Les Brown was making on stage. I do remember the “chicken-man,” though, and I frequently think about how I should get all the facts before passing judgment on people. Les Brown’s stories have longevity, and your stories will have that type of impact as well.

5) When in doubt, speak from the heart. Let your audience see the real you, and you will have a great speaking performance.

Five steps can help in reducing presentation preparation time
(by Allan Urlis)
Executives in my company's speech coaching seminars often ask "How long should it take me to prepare properly?" and "How many times should I practice my presentation?"

Preparation and practice are the two areas over which the professional has the most direct control.

Speakers should begin by defining the business objectives of their presentation. What do you hope to achieve?

In other words, what do you want your target audience to know? To feel? To do? Now consider the audience: not simply who they are, but what they are concerned about and what emotions are connected to those concerns?

A short but focused amount of time answering these vital questions will speed the message portion of preparation. It will also ensure that your message connects with your audience.

Once these questions are answered, consider the following five-step model. It is an efficient and effective method for developing a presentation that centers on the audience and drives business results.

1. Common ground. Here's where you signal to the audience that you know who they are and what is on their mind. "Before coming here today I spent some time considering the impact of my presentation on you. As I prepared, I became aware that many of you here today are concerned about ..." Building common ground gets your audience to tune in for your talk.

2. Premise statement. This is a short and declarative sentence that is the central message of your presentation. It's the bottom line. Your premise statement contains the fraction of your words that you want your audience to recall days and weeks later. "If you don't get anything else out of my remarks today, I hope you walk away with the following ..."

3. Key supports. Here's where you insert the facts, figures and real examples that provide the evidence to back up your premise statement. This is the evidence that supports your premise statement in unmistakable terms. For most presenters finding 34 key supports for their point of view is no problem; limiting it to three or four is harder.

4. Anecdotes. Anecdotes, illustrations and personal stories make your presentation more memorable. They breathe life and credibility into your message. Great communicators are great storytellers. As you develop the stories that will illustrate your message refer back to your audience analysis for guidance. Find stories that connect to the concerns and emotions of your audience.

5. Call to action. Tell the audience in specific detail what you want them to do with the information you've just shared. Outline next steps, suggest a course of action, ask for the order.

How long this process takes varies depending upon the nature of the presentation.

However, this disciplined approach streamlines the thought process and ultimately saves time.

Okay. The presentation is written. You're feeling confident. Why? Because you've already connected with the audience's needs. You're prepared.

Now the rehearsal, and that means standing up in the privacy of your office, home, hotel room or site of your presentation and actually delivering it from start to finish.

You've practiced your introduction. You've practiced pausing. The timing of your rhetorical questions is well thought out. Are you still a little anxious? Be honest. Of course you are, at least a little bit.

That's good for a couple of reasons. One, it's natural to have some adrenaline before delivering your message. Two, you haven't over-practiced. If you practice too much, you run the risk of becoming bored with your material. If you're bored with it, imagine how the audience feels. That's why we suggest no more than six run-throughs beginning to end, half of these accompanied by any audiovisual materials or slides.

If the presentation is worth your time, then it's worth doing well. Be good to yourself. Block out time for preparation and practice. Really block out time so you can focus. Close your door. Stop taking calls. If it's an emergency, you'll know. Respond to that e-mail? Don't do it. It can wait for a couple of hours. You'll be glad you're protected and controlled.

The Power of Language
The words you select will dramatically impact your audiences reaction -- to both your ideas and your effectiveness as a presenter.

Your word processor has a thesaurus -- learn to use it -- effectively. Use "power" and "command" words to get your audiences attention and to give the impression of confidence and competence.
A few examples: Instead of "I think you will agree" try "I am certain you will agree"
I hope you will consider vs. I recommend you to consider.
Address your audience in second person. "You" is a very powerful word, generally audiences react much better to being addressed as "you" than in the third person as they. "As a participant, you will benefit" vs. Participants will benefit.
Not only should you put a thesaurus to work to find "better" words with more impact, but also to prevent excessive use of the same word over and over again. (Throughout this web site we have suffered from excessive use of the words need, requirement, and solution, even with the thesaurus, we enjoyed little relief, but still we probably reduced the use of "need" be 50%. Other than that, "requirement" and "requisite" make a more powerful impact.

Humor
The right amount of humor - used judiciously, can go a long way to build rapport with your audience, and keep your audience interested and attentive.
As a rule, don't tell jokes for their own sake, drop in your humor where it fits, relating to a point, or a break between sections. Small amounts of humor or a irreverent comment from time to time can go a long way to liven a presentation. Remember, a sleeping audience remembers little.
Don't push your luck! Rehearsing your presentation in front of real people is a great way to test the "acceptability" of your humor.

Quotations
Appropriate quotations can make a noticeable impact on your audience. It's not always possible to find quotes that are directly relevant to your presentation, but it is often easy to find a series of quotes that complement or promote concepts that are part of your presentation.
One presenter I know, in the Multi-level marketing business, likes to put a series of quotes from computer "visionaries" including Thomas Watson (IBM), Ken Olson (DEC), Bill Gates (Microsoft)...in his presentations.

These quotes go back many years:

Thomas Watson (former Chairman of IBM, didn't think computers would ever be popular.
Ken Olson (founder and former president o DEC) couldn't figure out why anyone would want a computer at home.
Bill Gates thought that 640K of memory would be enough for everyone.
With the less than stellar credibility much of multi-level marketing is perceived to have, these quotes which are all "way off the mark" provide a cautionary tale that tells you that perceptions are not always right.
Better still, after the first couple of quotes, the audience is "looking" for more -- they are having an impact on the audience.
Bottom line: Make your Quotations relevant -- and interesting!