There are so many business professionals who freeze up when they have to merely speak up in a meeting, much less present to an entire room full of people.
I found these tips from Frank Davis, written in an article in Smart Business, and posted in a newsletter by my colleague, Jerry Houston:
If you want to succeed in business you must link up with other people. You must speak to them in a way that establishes a bond - in daily meetings, discussion groups, and convention speeches, says Lee Glickstein of Woodacre, CA, founder of Speaking Circles International and author of Be Heard Now! Tap Into Your Inner Speaker and Communicate With Ease.
"It's critical," Glickstein says. "There are moments of truth in your day, interface moments when trust is established."
Many people don't move ahead because they are awkward and uncertain about speaking in public. Some do succeed because of other strengths, but still find it torture to get up before an audience, says Janet Esposito of Roxbury, CT, President of In the Spotlight, a company devoted to helping people overcome their fear of public speaking. Many prominent people experience heart palpitations, sweaty palms, a shaky voice, even weird out-of-body experiences. It happens to attorneys, sales managers, physicians, and presidents of companies.
"Your mind is racing with anxious thoughts about what could go wrong," Esposito says.
Fortunately, there are strategies to deal with anxiety and ineffectiveness as a public speaker, experts say. Some strategies involve harnessing your emotions. Others focus on practical methods for connecting with your audience. All will make you more confident and more effective in your job and help you become the kind of speaker audiences want to hear.
Strategies for Better Speaking
1. It's not a big deal
You may feel you're going through hell as you try to stammer out what you've got to say, but the fact is, nothing huge is happening. One shaky performance won't ruin your life. So relax. Stop worrying. Esposito, author of In the Spotlight: Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking and Performing, says it's good to tell yourself, "I know I'm anxious, but I'm just going to do the best I can." That takes the pressure off.
2. Focus on others, not on yourself
Don't get all caught up in yourself and your sense of ego. Don't think about competing with other speakers or controlling your listeners. It really isn't about you, remember. You are speaking to help the people in your audience. Think about their needs, their problems. "Let trust be established," Glickstein says. "Back off and be with the person."
3. Think, vocal, visual, verbal
Your checklist for practice speaking should focus on how you sound, how you look, and the words you are using, Brady says. Are you pausing at the right moments, using gestures appropriately, avoiding words that are difficult to say and tough to understand?
"One of the best tricks of the trade is not using a lot of jargon," Brady says. "You lose them if you do. Keep your language nice and simple." A terrific technique, he says, is to practice your speech, and everywhere you find yourself saying "um," "oh," or "you know," think of that point as a comma or a period and just pause for a moment. "That takes many speakers from being unpolished to being polished."
4. Using good eye contact
Don't talk down at your notes or the lectern, Brady says. Instead, smile (an easy, comfortable smile, not a goofy grin) and make eye contact with the people in your audience. You can't speak at people, Glickstein says. That's where speakers go wrong. They assume the listening is there instead of establishing it.
How do you do this? Not by flicking your eyes from one person to another in the audience, Glickstein says, or by sweeping the audience with your gaze. That's distracting. Instead, do business with just one person at a time, not the whole group at once. The whole group will respond well if you treat them as individuals. "You've got to establish a channel with them," Glickstein says. "You need to establish a listening relationship."
5. Breathe
When you are upset about speaking, breathing becomes erratic and shallow. Sometimes you even hold your breath. This makes your voice shaky and increases your panic. To deal with this, practice deep breathing. "This will slow the body down, slow the mind down," says Esposito. "The body no longer feels it's in danger."
6. Don't apologize
If you flub something, just keep moving with your speech. Don't call attention to the glitch. Brady once worked with an executive who, whenever he stumbled in a discussion, would apologize profusely that he'd lost his place or said something he hadn't intended. This just broke the audience's attention even more. You are far more sensitive to your flubs than the audience is. If you keep rolling, they hardly even notice. "Go with the flow," Brady suggests. "Don't worry about being technically perfect."
7. Tell a story
Typically in your speech you'll be delivering a lot of facts. Abstract facts are hard to absorb. Tell a personal story to illustrate your main point and to humanize yourself. The story can be about sports, a hobby you have, about anything for which you have a passion. Even better, tell a story about an experience you and your audience members shared. "Look into yourself and your experience and show why your topic is important for you and why it is important for the audience," Brady says. This dramatizes your message and makes it understandable and compelling.
8. Keep it short
If you drag on too long, you will bore your listeners no matter how much they were pulling for you when you got up to speak. So don't yammer on and on. Keep an eye out to make sure your audience is still with you. When it no longer is, go to your wrap up -- fast. Make no more than three points in your speech, and make sure that you emphasize one overriding principle. Then sit down. Your listeners will realize you have been considerate, and applaud you for it. "They will remember you for not wasting their time," Brady says.
Finally, look for the best in your listeners, Glickstein says. Give them the benefit of the doubt, even if they appear to be inattentive, ill-informed in their questions, or argumentative. Speak to the positive, and you will be an enthralling speaker.
"The good leader looks for the positive -- the great leader sees it, no matter what," Glickstein says. "The great leader knows everybody is on board at some level."