Whether you need to make a presentation to the board, share your views in a team meeting or deliver a speech at a conference you need to ensure you communicate as effectively as possible to get your point across.
The latest ‘In conversation with’ event discussed tips and tricks on the art of speaking.
Caroline Stockmann, a trained coach, started the session with some useful tips to think about when making a presentation:
- Ground yourself. Whether you are making a presentation ‘in person’ or online you need to sit or stand straight, with both feet on the ground and a straight back so that you can feel your core. This will make you look confident and project your voice clearly. Leaning to one side can make you come across as either empathetic or authoritative – ask others about how you come across so that you know how to use this to your advantage.
- First impressions count. The Ladder of Inference tells us that due to our survival instincts we select data quickly, so first impressions count! Think about what impression you are giving:
- are you dressed to blend-in?
- how do you want to come across when you enter the room?
- do you have lots of bags making you look cluttered?
If you have props or are using a lectern, make sure you set up before your presentation so that you just need to concentrate on your entrance and your speech.
- Voice. Keep your voice at a low level, speak slowly and enunciate. If you are on a phone call, standing while you are talking can make you come across as more authoritative as sitting affects how we breathe and therefore how we come across. Similarly, if you are having a confrontational discussion, speaking at a level/pitch just below the other person can help diffuse the situation and ensure the discussion does not escalate.
- Mannerisms. Know your mannerisms – do you punctuate your speech with ‘hmm’, ‘ahh’, ‘umm’? If you know what mannerisms you use you can then change things so that you don’t use them as frequently – e.g. you can train yourself to pause instead of saying ‘umm’.
- Be remembered for the right thing. Think about how you come across and how you will be remembered. The use of colour can be good here – for example, white clothing signifies simplicity and precision, while a red suit gives a signal of authority.
- Catering for different learning and personality types. Different people react in different ways and it’s important to tailor what you say to match the audience. There are different mechanisms you can use, such as storytelling, charts, statistics etc. and different members of your audience will prefer different styles.
- Authenticity. When you are authentic it comes across in the way you present yourself and in your voice. Make sure you own what you are saying and that the presentation is in your own words. If you are authentic you are more relaxed and you build trust with your audience.
- Balance. There is a fine line between too many nerves and not enough. You need a certain amount of adrenaline to perform well so don’t be frightened about being nervous. If you do feel your nerves will get the better of you it’s good to practice – this will give you confidence and ensure that you know what to do (your brain can re-set to say I know what I need to do now as I have done it before).
- Create a plan around your presentation skills. Think about how you could improve your presentation skills and put together a plan, with milestones, to help you achieve your goal.
Agnes Favillier has been a member of Toastmasters, a body that helps its members practice public speaking, for a number of years. Her tips for preparing for a speech, whether this is just for a team meeting or a public presentation, are:
- Tell a story. Storytelling is a great way to get your message across.
- Rehearse and practice as much as possible. This helps with the flow and will ensure you use the right words. Sometimes words look good on paper but they simply don’t work when we say them out loud. If you find yourself tripping over a word or phrase more than once when practising, remove it and say it in another way. Practicing helps you to ensure you get it right.
- The way we perceive ourselves is often not the way others perceive us. A lot of what we worry about is in our heads and the audience will often not pick up on the things we worry about.
- No one is perfect at public speaking. And those that do come across very well got there by practising
Gretchen Rubin’s book, the Four Tendencies, describes 4 different personality traits - upholders, questioners, obligers, and rebels. The category you are in shapes how you behave, and importantly for presenters it can help us to understand how our audience will react. By using different methods – visual cues, storytelling, facts and figures, and action-based expectations – you can cater to all of these tendencies and ensure you appeal to the widest possible audience dynamic. By using mixed methods you can increase the audiences retention of information from 5-10% to 65-75%.
Final thoughts.
- Don’t be too prescribed/rigid with your talk as you may need to flex it to adapt to your audience. You can do this – breathe in, take stock, and then adapt as needed.
- Don’t be put off by blank faces – it doesn’t mean that people are bored!
- Be relatable to break the ice at the beginning of your talk – maybe say something about the weather or the building you are in. Be careful when using jokes as they can unintentionally offend people.
- Think about what gives you energy – maybe a soundtrack will help you to prepare for the presentation or smiling will put you in a good, confident mood.
- Treasury presentations can be quite dry – the content can be very technical – so it can be difficult to tell a story. You need to be mindful of this, and bring out your personality if you can’t add a story.
- Watch videos/TED talks made by good speakers and learn from them.
- Practice, practice, practice.
An additional blog with answers to the Q&A session following this event can be found here.
Our thanks go to Agnes Favillier and Caroline Stockmann for providing their insights in the art of speaking. Please do listen to the strategic insight podcasts and visit the Career Hub and The Treasurer magazine for additional insight.
