Darlene Price
Business coach, author of the popular book “Well Said! Presentations and conversations that produce results.”
At the beginning of your speech, you have only 60 seconds to capture the audience's attention, gain people's trust, orient them to the topic and set them up for further listening. If you waste precious opening minutes with jokes, apologies, useless details, thank yous, or incoherent stuttering, your audience's attention will be lost forever. Get creative with your introduction. This is a difficult task for any speaker, and you will have to rehearse and perfect a catchy opening.
Tell a compelling story
Storytelling is one of the most powerful techniques. Since childhood, people love to listen and learn from stories. Fairy tale heroes, villains from campfire tales or theater characters captivate us with their dialogues, conflicts and destinies. With their help, we gain everyday experience and draw parallels with our own lives. Therefore, this technique easily holds the attention of any person.
Ideally, this should be a personal story that explains why you were puzzled by the topic of the report. Although a story about another person whom the audience might recognize would also work. Alternatively, uncover a fable, fairy tale, wisdom, or historical event.
The point is to captivate those present in 60–90 seconds and convey the key message of the entire subsequent report.
What problems did you (or someone else) encounter regarding the topic of the speech? How were they overcome? Who or what helped or hindered you? What conclusions were drawn? What should your audience get and feel after reading the story?
“Connect” between the audience and the speaker
Greeting at a public speech is one of the key elements that begins to build a connection with the audience. How to create this connection? It is important that the audience takes your side. Start with what brings you and your listeners together. Have you been to this city or lived, do you have children, are you familiar with the problem of the people in the hall? Without this there is no point in performing further. When you win people over, they won’t be so critical of your possible mistakes.
By the way, this is important. Give yourself the right to make mistakes, you are a living person. Surprisingly, this mindset will give you a feeling of freedom and you will be less likely to make mistakes.
Voice the statistics
A bold statement containing statistical data is ideal for persuading the audience to listen to your recommendations and follow them in the future. The main thing is that these numbers are directly related to the main message of your speech.
For example, the vice president of sales for a leading US healthcare company successfully markets hospital software using this method. She begins with dry but impressive numbers: “Medical errors have become the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer. We are talking about 400 thousand cases a year. This is much more than previously thought. We want to create a world without medical errors, and we need your help."
Beginning of the report
The fourth rule: involve listeners in communication.
What to do if the interests of the people in the room are unknown? First: try to find out who should come from those who organize your speech or the conference in general. Second: at the beginning of the report, ask those who came what interests them.
Asking those present at your thesis defense what they are interested in from your work is arrogant. There it is customary to tell what the leader advised. However, at a meeting with colleagues or in front of clients, this is quite natural: for example, in the courses on UNIX, which I have been teaching since 1993, before the start of the course I always ask each student what he (or she) personally expects from course, and how he plans to apply the acquired knowledge.
Whatever the listeners answer, there is no need to change the course or report radically, but taking into account interests and talking about one topic more than another, if asked, is good form. This is not necessary, and you should do this only if you know more about the topic being discussed than you are going to tell. Otherwise, stick to the chosen line in the report and avoid unplanned retreats.
If you are asked questions that you cannot answer, avoid them by telling the facts you know about the topic, and if you cannot avoid the question, try to think out loud, involving your listeners in the process of finding an answer: “is it possible to print from Linux?” on HP LaserJet 1100? Let's think together. Modern GNU/Linux uses CUPS as a printing subsystem, right? If it is CUPS, then to configure the printer you will need a .ppd file, and therefore you need to look for this file on the HP website or simply on the Internet. If the file is found, we will be able to print on the HP LJ 1100 from Linux.”
As a last resort, take the listener’s e-mail and promise to respond as soon as you find out the answer to the question. The speaker is not required to know everything, but showing goodwill and a desire to help is useful.
Use a powerful quote
Bring words of wisdom from a famous person whose name will add weight and approval to your speech. But the quote must be relevant: meaningful and relevant to your audience.
Imagine you are persuading a group of people to reach an agreement or leading a seminar on conflict management. When starting a negotiation, you could quote the words of Mark Twain: “If two people agree on everything, one of them is not needed.” And the next sentence should encourage unity: “Even though not all of us see the way out of the problem in the same way, everyone’s efforts are extremely important in reaching an agreement.”
Basic Concepts
1. Public speaking
It is understood as a speech in front of an audience of more than three people, dedicated to a specific topic.
2. Oratory
This is the ability to speak in public. In other words, convincing people of your ideas eloquently.
In psychology, two types of oratory are distinguished.
- Natural eloquence is an innate gift - the talent to speak beautifully, convincingly and with inspiration to any audience of listeners, regardless of age, religion and gender.
- Artificial eloquence is a skill acquired in the process and during training.
“No one listens to a lecture until the professor makes a mistake.”
Weil's Law
There is also a section of literature - rhetoric. She studies oratory and all the properties and possibilities of oratory.
How to learn to speak in public: video
Show a powerful photo
A picture is worth a thousand words. And maybe more. So whenever possible, use pictures instead of text. A high-quality photo will make it easier to understand, capture the imagination of the audience and make the report more memorable.
For example, the president of an electrical equipment sales company skillfully inspired his managers to cut costs. Instead of showing them the usual charts, graphs and tables, he opened the meeting with a rather strange question: “Why did the Titanic sink?”
Everyone responded in unison about hitting an iceberg. Then the head of the company displayed an image of an iceberg on the general screen: its tip was visible above the water, but a much larger part was hidden under the surface. “The same thing awaits our company. Hidden costs are the very underwater danger that will drag us to the bottom.” This visual metaphor inspired managers, and their savings proposals ultimately saved millions of dollars.
How to prepare for a public speaking?
Believe me, the more thoroughly you prepare, the more confident you will feel in public, and the more pleasant it will be for the audience to listen to you. Don’t be lazy and answer the questions below not mentally, but out loud.
What do you want to say with your performance?
In other words, your goal. Ask yourself questions: why am I speaking and what do I want from the audience? A speaker never shares information just like that; he needs to get certain actions or emotions from the audience.
Who are you performing for?
Study your audience so you can speak the same language with them. What is their age, gender, profession? What are they interested in? What do they like, and for what statements can they throw rotten tomatoes at them?
What plan will you use to speak?
Remember, this should be just a plan, and not a huge number of sheets covered in small print. Why? When you write a speech and memorize it word for word, 90% of the time you will forget the next word at some point. And further along the chain: loss of thought, a blank sheet before the eyes, panic and failure. That's why rely on improvisation and create not a story, but a plan for a successful public speech.
How to rehearse a speech?
There are several important points here:
- Rehearse your speech out loud, not silently. Everyone mentally utters beautiful phrases, but as soon as you open your mouth, problems begin, and the inner genius turns out to be not a genius at all. Run your speech according to plan once and look at yourself from the outside by filming your public speech on camera. This way you will notice the shortcomings and roughness of speech. Rehearse at least 3 more times and film each of them.
- Record yourself on video, not on a voice recorder. This way you will see how your gestures look and how best to change them in public.
- Don't rehearse your speech in front of a mirror. You will not be able to concentrate and will be split in two, both from the outside view and from the stream of words. As a result, both one and the other will “float”.
- On the day of the performance, it is better not to rehearse, otherwise you will “borrow” your speech and will not experience the drive in public.
Add visibility
To do this, use some thematic props. It grabs the audience's attention and helps emphasize your points.
For example, the head of a large insurance company, an avid tennis fan, wanted to start the annual meeting with a bang and did it with a spectacular racket swing. In this way, he expressed his determination, “won a point against his competitors,” rallied the team and ultimately “won the Grand Slam.” Over the following years, all speakers were compared to him and his ability to deliver a motivational speech.
Think about how you could use a wall clock, a colorful bag, a bunch of carrots, ball juggling, or card manipulation to engage your audience, add humor, and get your point across.
Give the participants a task
The format of the task can also seem bullshit - it immediately seems that you are asking listeners to stand up and start exchanging business cards or hugs. In fact, the task is soft and does not require active action from the listeners. For example, show a picture and ask to guess what it is. Or offer a choice between two options.
Memory champion Joshua Faure began his presentation with a simple task: close his eyes and imagine everything he was saying. Faure offered unexpected and absurd images: for example, Britney Spears dancing on your coffee table. In the middle of the speech, the speaker returned to this exercise - the audience remembered the strange images just as vividly 15 minutes later.
Play a short video
Imagine: you start your presentation to the production department with a video in which satisfied customers give a positive review of your product. Or you open a fundraising event for endangered species with a mini-film about the Amur leopard and its offspring.
The video evokes an emotional response. Unlike words and slides, a short film engages the audience more easily, adds drama and quickly conveys the essence of what is happening.
What techniques do you use? Share in the comments.
Start with an affirmation
The technique of starting a speech with the main idea of the speech is rare in Russia. Instead of greeting, try to immediately start with the essence - a capacious statement that you will further expand on.
For example, Mikhail Kazinik began his TED talk with the phrase “Listen, school is dead. And if the new school is not revived, then you can prepare for the third world war.” Two techniques work in parallel here: the speaker immerses listeners in the context and differentiates himself from other speakers.
Speech by Mikhail Kazinik at TEDxSadovoeRing
So, you've been introduced. What's next?
There is a lot that needs to happen between the end of the formal introduction and the time you begin your presentation. Therefore, remember the following five points and make sure that when you go on stage, you will make a favorable impression on the audience and set the right tone for communication with them.
Walk with confidence
When your formal introduction is made, go on stage and shake hands with the presenter. You can even give him a little hug if you think such a gesture is appropriate. Let him leave the stage and then turn to the audience.
Start with a pause to give your listeners time to calm down and focus. Smile and slowly look around the room for a few seconds, as if you are really happy to be here, among all these people.
While you stand on stage and pause, smiling, the audience will quickly calm down, become silent and direct all their attention to you, anticipating the start of the performance. After everyone has quieted down and the anticipation has set in, deliver a strong, clear, friendly, interesting, immediately captivating introduction that draws the audience into the presentation and resonates with your closing remarks.
Look the part
When it comes to appearance, there is one ironclad rule: nothing in your clothing, accessories, hair or makeup should distract attention from you and your message. People make decisions about what to expect from you within the first thirty seconds of you appearing on stage. Therefore, everything about your appearance is of great importance.
By your appearance you tell the audience what you think about yourself and how you feel. Appearance expresses your idea of yourself, your image. But that’s not all: your appearance also reveals your attitude towards the audience. There is only one rule here: what doesn’t help is a hindrance.
Many speakers make the mistake of thinking that if they walk out to the audience dressed casually, like they've just finished tending to their garden, they'll look cool. In fact, such an appearance tells the audience something else: that you do not respect either them or yourself. If your listeners get this impression, no matter what you say next, your words will not have the value they carry.
My clients typically hold their annual meetings in beautiful resort locations in the south and west of the country. They usually say that everyone will be dressed casually and that I can come in casual clothes too. I never accept such offers. Good manners require dressing as well as or better than your audience. Remember: you should always look like a professional.
I have a friend who is a good aspiring speaker. But he grew up in a poor family. Therefore, he is not very well versed in matters of clothing style and accessories. Someone gave him a massive gold ring for Christmas. He wore it on his little finger even during performances, because he thought the ring was beautiful.
This lasted until, after the next seminar, the organizer of the event took him aside to say: “You are a good person and your performance was good. But when a man wears a ring like that on his little finger, he looks like a pimp.”
It never occurred to the guy that he was making such an impression. Of course, he immediately took off the ring and never put it on again.
Create Positive Expectations
Setting expectations is your first priority. You want your audience to feel happy that they had the opportunity to attend your presentation. It is important for you that she dreams of listening to you, listening to every word.
Don't forget that everyone here wishes you success. They are already on your side and sincerely want the performance to be good. Your first words should strengthen their belief that this will happen.
It is very important that listeners like you from the very beginning. The more attractive you appear to people, the more openly they will accept your message and the less they will resist your proposals, which may contradict their ideas and beliefs.
Take control immediately
When you take the stage to perform, you become a leader. The people sitting in the room want you to control the course of events. They want you to take control of the hall into your own hands. Act as if the room belongs to you and everyone present is working for you. They will follow your commands.
After you are formally introduced, immediately proceed to the location from which you are going to speak. Walk with your shoulders back, a smile on your face, eyes wide open and mouth closed. Move cheerfully, confidently, energetically and decisively.
When you start speaking, focus on one single person in the audience, as if you were having a warm, relaxed conversation with them in person. And then smoothly move your gaze to another listener, then to another, and another. This direct eye contact will slow you down, help calm your nerves and establish a connection with the people sitting in the room.
Be sincere and humble
The best way to please your audience is to be yourself and speak sincerely and modestly. To demonstrate your sincerity, be open and be yourself. You can show that you are a little confused and excited by the close attention and interest from the audience. Smile warmly and widely and look around the room.
How to show modesty? You just don’t have to assume the appearance of a know-it-all or a person who is somehow superior to his listeners. Sometimes, if the presenter, introducing me, turns out to be especially generous with compliments, in response I tell him something like: “Thank you! You read everything my wife wrote about me, word for word. But to be honest, I still can’t get my kids to go to bed on time.”
