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Improve Your Public Speaking Skills

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In consulting, public speaking is a required competence that will make the difference between success and failure.

December 15, 2003

What do people fear most? Is it illness, death, or financial ruin? According to a survey of 3,000 Americans, it's none of those things: Their number-one fear is public speaking.

"Approximately 70% of the population has moderate or high anxiety about public speaking, and nearly 20% are literally 'scared speechless'," says Carol Zak-Dance, a University of Denver human communications professor. In addition, 50% of Americans consider themselves chronically shy, according to the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University. To compound the problem, it's an axiom that many technically proficient individuals are not strong in communication skills.

In the consulting business, where presenting solutions, persuading clients, motivating project teams, and influencing stakeholders are critical elements of success, public speaking is not optional; it is a required competence that will make the difference between success and failure. So how do we bridge this gap? What are the tips, tricks, and practices that consultants and technical experts can use to overcome fear and shyness and make presentation proficiency a strength rather than a limitation?

First, let me make a personal confession. I'm a professional presenter today, making speeches, training project teams, and facilitating business meetings for clients. Yet I began as a nervous, shy, and uncomfortable presenter. I clearly remember early days in my career when I would choke up in front of audiences, go silent, or ramble unconnectedly, and walk off the podium knowing I had blown an opportunity to influence a client or motivate a team. I determined to master the skill of presenting, and did so through research, practice, and experience. I was able to do it, and so can you.

I started by reading stacks of books on presenting. While I found many of value, one that I recommend to all my clients is "Wooing and Winning Business " by Spring Asher and Wicke Chambers. Their company, Chambers& Asher Speechworks , helps business professionals develop presentation skills by using a methodology known as the "Speechworks Formula." I'll use some of their ideas as the basis for this discussion.

There's an old cliche in the presentation business: "tell 'em what you'll tell 'em, tell 'em, and then tell 'em what you told 'em." This basic guidance advises presenters to first prepare the audience by giving them an overview of what's to come, then to present the content, and then to summarize that content so audience members retain the key points. While all presentation coaches agree this is good basic advice, the Speechworks Formula revises it slightly by adding an important element: the self-interest of the audience.

By highlighting the audience's self-interest, we remind ourselves to frame our material with empathy, always keeping in mind the needs and viewpoints of our listeners.

Rather than simply preparing the audience for the material to come, Speechworks recommends that presenters emphasize "whats in it for them." Why should the audience care about your presentation? And what's the payoff for them if they take your advice or believe your pitch? This advice reminds us that every presentation is delivered for a reason. We either want to persuade the audience to take some action, to understand a concept, or to change their attitude. By highlighting the audience's self-interest, we remind ourselves to frame our material with empathy, always keeping in mind the needs and viewpoints of our listeners.

The Speechworks Formula leads a presenter through the preparation of a presentation by following a clear set of steps, as follows:

• What is your goal? Presenters need to think about the objective of the presentation. Are you trying to sell a product, teach a skill, persuade and influence? Each goal needs to be approached differently.
• Who are you talking to? Understanding the audience is a critical element of presentation planning, especially for technicians. An audience of techies may be comfortable with jargon and acronyms that would confound a business audience.
• What is the benefit to the listener? Listeners need to be persuaded to pay attention and persuaded to act. The best route to persuasion is the call to the audience's self-interest.
• What's the message objective? This is expressed by the template "By accepting my premise, you will gain these benefits." For example, "By consolidating your servers, you will save money and get more reliable services."
• Develop three main points. Presentations are best at conveying simple, concise messages. The best presenters condense their message into a few main points and present them clearly to the audience.
• Prepare your evidence. It's not enough to merely assert your content—you need to prove it. Develop your 'proof points," the elements of evidence you will present to support your three main points.
• Recap. Summarize what you told the audience and distill the presentation to a convincing conclusion.
• Call to action. Remind the audience what you're asking them to do, and use your best persuasive line or story to convince them.

I chatted with Joey Asher, the current president of Speechworks, about the special challenges that face technical presenters. Asher is the author of "Even a Geek Can Speak ," which presents the Speechworks presentation philosophy especially for technicians and engineers. According to Asher, "Technical presenters start with a problem—they've been so busy building the drill that they've forgotten about the hole! They become so focused on the technical aspects of the solution that they lose sight of the audience and what it is interested in."

Asher reminds technical presenters that "every presentation is composed of two key elements, content and style. In terms of content, stand-up presentation is not well-suited for conveying large amounts of data. Technicians should focus on a few main points. Many technical presenters are so focused on their area of technical expertise that they may believe that style is unimportant as long as the content is solid. Presentation is a forum for conveying stylistic elements such as mastery, confidence, and trustworthiness just as much as it's a medium for conveying content."

By following the presentation format described in the Speechworks Formula, and remembering Joey Asher's advice, technicians can be on their way to mastering the critical skill of presentation.