Category Archives: Public speaking tips

Public speaking tips

WHAT MAKES A GOOD SPEAKER?

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Just got back from three wonderful weeks in British Columbia. While there, I was invited to speak at the Rotary Club of Trail, BC.

My subject was the art and science of public speaking. As most Rotary Clubs invite speakers on a regular basis, I figured that their members would all have their own views, so I phrased my title as a question: “What makes a good speaker?”

I included two of my favourite quotes on the topic:

On the importance of having a passion (or at least some enthusiasm!) for your subject: “Most people will forget what you say and even what you do. But they will not forget how you made them feel.”

On the importance of being clear why you are making the presentation: “When Aeschylus speaks, we say: ‘how well he speaks.’ But when Demosthenes speaks, we say: ‘let us march against Philip.'”

I enjoyed it greatly. More importantly, as far as I could tell nobody fell asleep.

It was also a useful dry-run for a talk I’m giving on the same subject next month, at the Rotary Club of Bristol Bridge (UK). Looking forward to that!

THINKING ON YOUR FEET: #2

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“Previously, on this subject …”

About thirty years ago, I was lucky enough to get some great advice about public speaking, which has stayed with me ever since.

I was at an industry conference in the States, where most of the presentations were on technical or business subjects; but I’d discovered previously that US conferences often have a motivational speaker of some kind too. This one was no exception; it had a football coach, who was renowned as a motivator; but it also had a man who was a million miles from being a football coach, as you will read, but was a motivator extraordinaire. His name was Kenneth Wydro …

Now read on …

In my last post I mentioned some of the tips Ken Wydro gave for terrified (and even experienced) speakers. His talk was so powerful it kick-started me on a 30-year career as a speaker, so it’s clear to me that some more of his wisdom is worthy of recycling here.

“All those eyes”

Ken has trained and consulted at many large corporations in the States. He tells the story of a senior executive who said: “I was perfectly composed … before I took the platform. I was confident, prepared … until I saw all those eyes. Then the lights went out. I went blank … embarrassed myself terribly. I was cold and sweating at the same time. My mouth was dry.” Ken’s experience has told him what a challenge this is for so many people; I venture to say that’s it’s sometimes even worse presenting to six colleagues or a small board than to hundreds of conference delegates.

Last week, at a UK meeting, the head-hunter and personal branding guru John Purkiss used a very dramatic comparison when talking briefly about this particular challenge. He said: “many people are more afraid of public speaking than they are of dying.”

So Ken Wydro, John Purkiss and scores of other experts know what a problem this is. How can we minimise the potentially scary effect of “all those eyes”?

 Push your own buttons: learning to relax

Ken Wydro says that if we are to push our own buttons, we must learn techniques for relaxing ahead of any stressful event, especially public speaking. His book contains some good tips on this and I recommend it.

You may already know that meditation, affirmations, visualisation, NLP (neurolinguistic programming) techniques, hypnotherapy, all have a place. I have known speakers who successfully used Valium to counter the pre-speech nerves. It’s a question of finding what works for you; what reduces the butterflies yet still leaves you with enough of nature’s fight-or-flight adrenaline to give you an energy boost and let your brain be a few words ahead of your tongue, which is the way I think of the beneficial effect of adrenaline.

On this blog I will be discussing a variety of techniques to handle the “all those eyes” problem; because unless we can do that it’s pointless talking about the other important aspects of public speaking, including the more practical aspects of preparation; structure; delivery, etc. You may or may not know that Muhammad Ali is not only the most famous boxer in history but was also a great exponent of using visualisations and affirmations to manage his subconscious mind before a big event. Yes, the events were boxing matches, but the principle is the same.

I shall also be inviting some successful speakers to share their thoughts as guest bloggers or as interviewees.

Watch this space!

 

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

To get up-to-date info on US author Kenneth Wydro, click here.

For info on his book “Think on Your Feet”, click here.

To find out more about my talks; or to book me to speak to your club, group or business, click here.

 

Speaking

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I’m a speaker with 35 years’ experience and I’m also a confidence coach for speakers, musicians and actors. I’m also a professional voice actor and a presenter on community radio.

During those 35 years I’ve spoken at dozens of business conferences and corporate events of all kinds during a long career and I’ve run my own training company.

‘Back in the day’, I was the founder of a conference and exhibition at the Renaissance Hotel, Heathrow, which used to attract up to 400 delegates annually. I was the host and keynote speaker at that conference every year from 1979 to 1990.

In the last few years I’ve spoken at dozens of venues in the West of England, where I live nowadays.

For how long do you speak?

“If you want me to speak for twenty minutes, I need two weeks’ notice. But if you want me to speak for two hours, I can begin now.” (Winston Churchill)

As long (or short) as you like, is the answer.

What topics do you cover?

I cover a wide range of subjects and am adding to the list all the time.

  • “Confidence in action”: how do high-profile musicians, actors and speakers prepare themselves for their performance?
  • “Age cannot wither, nor custom stale …”: inspirational stories of ‘oldies’ who defy ageism and stereotyping.
  •  “The self-publishing revolution”: how you too can become a published author of both e-books and paperbacks.
  • “Thrift is fashionable now”: a finance coach’s approach to making budgeting fun.
  • “When I’m sixty-four”: planning for and adjusting to retirement. Or, as I prefer to call it, reinvention.
  • “Brunel’s legacy”: triumphs and tragedies of public transport in the twenty-first century.

I am also happy to speak to your brief, if given adequate time to research the topic. (Preferably two weeks, as Churchill suggested.)

 

How can we book you?

I am available for public speaking engagements; I also coach speakers, musicians and actors. Please do get in contact so we can discuss your needs.

 

Testimonials for Michael’s Speaking

 

Michael gave us a great talk on the skills for preparing for and delivering public speaking effectively. He is an engaging, interesting and highly relevant speaker. He took the time to meet us first and find out about his audience and our requirements for his talk. He certainly practises what he preaches!

… a well planned and executed talk that was engaging and interesting.

Thank you once again for your meticulous preparation of your speech and for the professionalism with which it was delivered. … very pleased with the evening and have only heard words of praise from those who went … your contribution to the success of the event was immense.

…so positive… attitude that shines through and inspires the audience. A great voice and lots of it… he doesn’t really need a PA system. He’s what I’d call verbally creative…loves interacting with an audience.

…an effervescent personality… sparkling and spontaneous wit…ability to ad-lib. Plus the ability to put people at their ease…to tailor his material to the audience. His natural optimism… bubbles over into speech. Always seems relaxed when speaking and that relaxes the audience…a most engaging personality, which many possess but few can project when they speak in public.