Jimmy Wales speaking at the Wikimania Conference
As you hang up the telephone, the icy fingertips of panic grip your
stomach; your heart races. Your most recent project was delivered
on time, within budget, and is approaching payback one year ahead
of schedule. As a result, your Industry Association wants you to
address their annual convention.
Relax! They believe you have something to offer. Here
are some steps to ease your palpitations.
- Remember that all great speeches, and even some not so great,
require shape. The old saying is hard to beat: "Tell them what you
will tell them; tell them; then tell them what you told them."
- "Shake hands with the audience." You have something worthy of
being said. Former Ambassador Robert Strauss used to begin his
addresses like this: "Before I begin this speech, I have something
to say." This passage was always composed in a style that enabled
him to reclaim a powerful tone for the instructive portion of his
remarks. Put on your smile; calm your nerves, then get to work. You
may want to start with a smashing one-liner or an anecdote.
- Rise to the occasion. In other words, feel passionately about
your topic. Recall old Uncle Ned's tear jerking toast at the
wedding? Even ordinary folks can deliver great moments of oratory
if they rise to the occasion. Make sure the audience feels how
important the topic is to you, so that they begin to think about
why they should care.
- Build clear and sensible transitions (segues) from one thought
to the next. The biggest mistake speakers and writers make is to
assume people will follow their leaps of logic. Spell out to the
audience when you are taking a turn in your thoughts with phrases
like: "As an example of this" or "This brings us to the larger
problem of," and so forth.
- Focus. A "great" speech does not need to
start out great and stay great to the finish. It engages the
listeners. It makes allowances for a dip in interest in the middle.
Then, it gathers anticipation for its key moment. John Stuart Mill,
the political economist, defined the orator's art this way:
"Everything important to his purpose was said at the exact moment
when he had brought the minds of his audience into the state most
fitted to receive it."
- Add purpose. A speech should be made for a good reason. To
inspire, to instruct, to rally, and to lead are noble purposes. To
sound off, to feed a speaker's ego, to flatter, or to intimidate
are not.
- Know your theme. If you cannot answer the question "what do you
want to say?" in a single, declarative sentence, do yourself and
the audience a favor: decline the invitation.
- Write with one particular person in mind, someone you actually
know. This helps you to keep the message real and personable. This
helps you anticipate reactions and keep your language down to
earth.
- Deliver the goods. Delivery is the essence of eloquence. It
requires practice, discipline, drill, and timing. You can be your
own trainer. As you develop self-confidence, you put the audience
at ease, or make them sit up. Your eye is in contact with the
people, not the page. If looking at people makes you nervous, look
between them, at the clock on the back wall, over somebody's
shoulder - as long as it seems you're making eye-contact. Your
professional passion is contagious. Use gestures to emphasize
points, and make sure your tone of voice and facial expressions are
appropriate for the topic.
- Give your audience a sense of completion. Bring them back to
the beginning, but with a louder spirit. This can be done by
starting the last paragraph with a quiet, declarative sentence; it
should build in a series of semicolons; it should employ the
puissance of parallelism; it should reach to the farthest rafter
and reverberate with the action and passion of our time, and,
forgetting all else, it should connect with, no, grab each listener
by his or her lapels and shout to their hearts and souls to say,
"This is the end of the best speech you will ever have the good
fortune to experience!"
- You may experience instant, sustained applause punctuated by
the occasional "Bravo" and the ever-present pundit punk who
wrinkles his brow and wonders aloud, "But what was really
said?"
- Each person in the audience experiences your speech as an
individual. Speak to them as individuals, by using words like "you"
and "your" instead of "all of you" or "everybody here"; it is more
direct and compelling, and will engage each member of your
audience, whether it be five or five thousand.
- Focus your attention on one individual at a time, just as you
would in normal, everyday conversation. This will help to relax
you, and mitigate the fear of speaking to very large crowds. Shift
your focus around the room, to different sections of your audience.
By including every area, even when you might not be able see them
individually, each person will feel as if you are speaking directly
to them, not at them.
- Most speakers deal with the eye contact issue by twisting their
body from side to side. They look from side to side as if watching
a tennis match. Don't make this mistake. Make eye contact using
comfortable, natural body and head movements with purposeful
glances at different areas.
- Smile from time to time but refrain from grinning like an
idiot.
- Consider your audience's frame of reference. A simple way to do
it is to think about: Who's in the audience? Why are they here? And
after hearing your speech what's the first thing you would like
them to do or say to someone else perhaps?
- Don't read your speech. Speak it from memory. You may miss a
couple minor points (and even a major one), but if you can't
remember it long enough to say it, why would anyone else remember
long enough to act on it?
- If you are not a seasoned speaker, it is fine to read your
speech as long as your delivery isn't stilted and amateurish like a
kid reading from a textbook. You may not have time for
memorization. If not, don't be embarrassed to read your speech.
Getting your message out counts the most. Look up and smile from
time to time to let the audience know you haven't forgotten
them.
- Almost everyone can remember an early experience when they were
obsessed with memorization and suddenly drew a blank. It can derail
a speech. Be comfortable with your subject and have the bullet
points on a few 3x5 cards. Relax and don't be anal about flawless
delivery; people probably won't hold it against you.
- Use a dramatic pause to emphasize an important point. Stop
talking for a second and look as if you are pondering your next
words.
- Vary the speed of delivery and the loudness of your voice. Talk
faster and louder when moving on to a new thought. Speak slowly and
lower your voice for emphasis.
- Act as if you lived for this one speech your whole life and
give it your all
- You can fight off stage fright and fear of failure by knowing
your subject. Having a commanding knowledge of your topic will show
in you, just like not knowing your topic will show-even more
so.
- Practice your speech with someone else if possible, and ask
him/her for input.
- People say "Thank you" to signal that, yes, the speech is over.
It is a very weak ending to a speech. You really shouldn't thank
the audience, any more than they should thank you. You have given
the audience a significant experience and they have given you their
polite (or enthusiastic) attention. Call it even.
- Let the final, forceful sentence be the natural ending of your
speech. Signal the end simply by smiling and stepping away from the
lectern or podium. If you didn't use a lectern (always a good
idea), smile and wave, take a bow, or move to shake hands with
someone to signal the end of your dazzling performance. The speech
itself might have been a snore fest but at least you'll have a
polished exit.
- If the speech is followed by questions/answers, it's OK to come
BACK to the podium or front of the room when the applause dies
down. You don't have to stay up there.
- If you are delivering a eulogy or some other solemn address,
ditch the smile. Keep your voice and expression solemn and serious
at all times. Just emulate a newscaster when they are bringing sad
news.
- Legendary Actor Anthony Quinn used this technique to give him
confidence before an audience:
Imagine a ray of energy emanating from deep in the earth and
radiating up through your heels, up your spine, and then throughout
your body. Keep this image in the back of your mind as you deliver
your lines (er, speech).
- If you have a lot of time to practice, you can develop some
gestures. Gestures are better than keeping your hands in your
pockets or folded with the fingers laced. However, if your gestures
are awkward and distracting, keep your hands in your pockets.
- Watch JFK's inaugural address for pointers on gestures. JFK
invented stabbing your closed hand forward while touching your
thumb with your curved forefinger. Every major politician now uses
that gesture.
- Think hard before incorporating flip charts or a dry-erase
board into your presentation. For one thing, you don't want to
poison the air with the dreadful fumes emitted by dry-erase
markers. Eventually you will find yourself talking to your flip
chart and not the audience. The audience will be distracted by your
scribblings or watching you fumble with your exhibits.
Insecure speakers like stage props because they take the focus off
them. Whatever best suits you.
- Who better to write your introduction than you? Before your
speech, contact the person who will be introducing you and give
them your introduction. Unless they are a total creepazoid, they
will be thankful that you saved them the chore of drafting your
introduction.
- Be conscious of ummms and ahhhs. Speakers use these as filler
for pauses, to let people know they haven't finished their thought.
They make you sound hesitant and unsure, however. Too many ummms
and ahhhs get to be annoying.
It's OK to let silence intrude on your sentence. When you wean
yourself of ummms, ahhhs, and y'knows you will be taking a big step
toward effective public speaking.
- Avoid a sing-song delivery, especially the mannerism known as
"uptalk." Uptalk is ending sentences and phrases with a question
mark? Not only is it annoying? It makes you sound immature? And
very unsure of yourself? No one will be able to stand to listen to
you?
- Start writing as if you are creating an essay or informative
article. When you are comfortable with your draft, read it aloud.
Listen to a recording. The style should be different than a typical
essay or article. You can't have paragraphs that drone on. Rather
than pack your talk with boring facts and figures, give them a
handout (AFTER your talk). It's OK to repeat or revisit important
points for emphasis.
- The type of event you attend will determine the length of your
speech. Consider that the average speaker speaks 100 to 135 words
per minute. Below are sample speech lengths:
- Standard keynote speaker: 18 - 22 minutes (est. 1800 to 2970
words)
- Motivator: 12 - 15 minutes (est. 1200 to 2025 words)
- Ceremonial speaker: 5 - 7 minutes (est. 500 to 945 words)
- News conference: 2 - 3 minutes (est. 200 to 405 words)
- Wedding toast: 2 - 3 minutes (est. 200 to 405 words)
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Warnings
- Don't be a windbag. Time your speech in a few practice runs. If
it goes more than five minutes you had better be a spellbinding
speaker. The typical amateur speaker will have the audience
checking their watches after about three minutes. Remember, Abe
Lincoln only needed a minute or two for the Gettysburg
Address.
[edit]
Sources and Citations
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