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Now Ye're Talking - to a Public Speaking Coach
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15-05-2017 4:32pm#1
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collie0708 wrote: »I have started a new role in work that involves a fair amount of presenting to senior management, is their any courses you would reccomend that would help me improve my confidence for this part of the role.
The most important thing about deciding the right course for you is finding one that will give you a lot of practice in different areas of public speaking.
You may have to deliver one particular type of business presentation for work, (depending on your industry), but the best courses for getting confidence in presenting them will let you deliver different types of presentations.
For example –
Informative Presenting (Facts and Figures) is different to Persuasive Presenting (Sales and Marketing), but being able to master both of them is important as you want to feel confident in delivering both presentations at different stages of your career.
The same goes for Impromptu/Speaking off the cuff training (which helps when you have to answer questions on the spot by managers during a presentation) and Demonstration Presentations (which helps when you might have to train a new person in).
Realistically, the best course will give you all of the above areas to practice and get comfortable with.
I’m unable to recommend one course over another one as I run these type of courses through my organisation and can’t promote mine on here, for obvious reasons
Just make sure that you find one that gives you a wide range of presenting and practice – and a coach that can help you identify what works best for you to keep developing your skills!
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How do you deal with hecklers in very small situations. eg addressing a panel of four, where one starts trying to pull your pitch apart. Not necessarily talking about them pointing out a valid flaw but when they ask a question and you address it but they keep prying for more or just pick something else. Essentially just asking how to get control back of the situation where you can steer the conversation to safety.
Any tips for ruining somebody else's presentation? (Could serve as a guide for what not to do.. or a guide of how to make sure you get a raise before a coworker)
How do you make sure you don't come across as cocky even if you are very well prepared, are pitching something which is actually very good, have answers to all the questions, yet are coming up against a group of people who aren't yet converted.0 -
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Tell me how wrote: »What do you think of Toastmasters?
Do you think the focus should be about the delivery or the subject being spoken about?
Toastmasters can be good IF you get in to the right chapter. Some are stuffy and full of older retired men who just want to hear the sound of their voice each week (if you want to get much practice in, you won’t).
Other chapters are great, full of individuals who encourage newer, more nervous people to stand up and join in. It really is dependent.
Subject vs Delivery -
While I think the subject and content is important, the delivery is a little more so. If you think back on certain speakers you have listened to before (in a classroom, presentation, or at a wedding etc.), what do you remember about their subject? Only a little, right?
The human brain absorbs about 10% MAXIMUM of what we hear in a typical talk, speech or presentation setting.
(That’s why the order in which you put things is important as well as how you weave them throughout any presentation).
The rest is made up of HOW it is delivered.
You will remember the speaker more than anything – how comfortable were they? Did they seem at ease/interested in what they were talking about? Were they humorous? Were they passionate? Were they merely calm, collect and controlled?
If they are all of the above things, then it won’t matter what the subject is (obviously once it’s relevant to the audience), the audience will automatically relax, listen intently and remember the full 10% of what was said.
If the speaker is fidgeting, rocking back and forth, shuffling a piece of paper in front of them - then that's what the audience will remember and the content may have been the most interesting material ever, but unfortunately, it won't be remembered! Just the bumbling presenter.
Then, there's the very few that get it just right, every single time! Both subject and delivery.
One of my favourite speakers ever is Sir Ken Robinson – He gave a TED Talk back in 2006 on 'How Schools Kill Creativity'.
It could have been just another academic piece on how the structure of schooling leaves a lot to be desired, BUT he designed his talk in such an interesting manner that both the content and his delivery was incredibly well received. He held everyone's attention for the full 20 minutes (not an easy feat for many people)
If you have a spare 20 minutes - or even the slightest bit of interest as much as I do to listen to speakers
.... his link is below.
https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity
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frozenfrozen wrote: »How do you deal with hecklers in very small situations. eg addressing a panel of four, where one starts trying to pull your pitch apart. Not necessarily talking about them pointing out a valid flaw but when they ask a question and you address it but they keep prying for more or just pick something else. Essentially just asking how to get control back of the situation where you can steer the conversation to safety.
Any tips for ruining somebody else's presentation? (Could serve as a guide for what not to do.. or a guide of how to make sure you get a raise before a coworker)
Ah now, you probably know I’m not going to recommend how to ruin somebody else’s presentation – that would just be downright mean.:rolleyes:
With regards to hecklers, I think you have to understand why they are heckling in the first place.
Hecklers that keep going long after is necessary are either ‘wannabe important' people or just bullies.
They need to constantly be heard to sound more intelligent and important than everyone else in the room.
They are attention-seeking in order to be noticed amongst their peers or superiors.
I am always amazed that this type of heckler still exists among senior management/board members. Even at that level, they still need to outshine everyone else with inane, probing questions to just show off.
As you said, I’m not talking about those that pick out something of interest that they genuinely want more information on – I’m talking about those that keep at you, over and over.
I genuinely pity them every time I spot them in an audience.
(Bear this in mind the next time it happens to you - it's not, it's them! )
Now, how do you deal with them?
Well, like most situations it’s dependent. You’re hardly going to reply back like Jimmy Carr if you’re in a business meeting presenting to managers or supervisors.
Let the others in the group help you out:
Let's say a manager is hell bent on asking more and more questions. Generally, the others in that small group are on tight time schedules and won’t want to stay any longer on your presentation than you do; however they do need to probe and ask further questions, with quick answers.
When you get one who is constantly at you, you have to take the lead with the group, RATHER than with them.
When asked another question by that particular heckler, you turn your head to the rest of the group and mention words like ‘As I said previously..’ to draw their attention to the fact that you are going over the same ground.
It is important that you steer away from the heckler and focus your eyes on the rest of the group only - do not interact with the heckler if at all possible, they just want to keep you there, on the spot.
One of the group usually gets it and they will vocalise on your behalf to move things along.
Remember, you have to be very comfortable in doing this and NOT address the heckler directly. (The attention is off them then).
Time
You can also allude to time if it’s in the middle of the presentation. When answering a question,
‘So, let me briefly explain this point to you, as I know I want to have enough time to get through everything else here in this presentation’.
Again, the rest of the group are generally thankful that you are NOT time wasting, trying to be concise and make your point clearly without stretching it out.
If you call out the time issue, the heckler usually doesn't want to be the 'baddie' taking up everyone's time.
It is all in how you handle the rest of the group sometimes rather than the person in question.
Get them on your side and they will help steer the other person on from you.0 -
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i hate making small talk...
All my life ive struggled making chat with people i dont really know. Its those uncomfortable silences, i feel it , im aware of them, but i CANT fill them.....
But if im in a group of 2 or 3 others , i can usually contribute a bit to a conversation.
But one on one , Im lost.
Any hints?
"Bright lights and Thunder .................... "
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Tell me how wrote: »Why do you think it is that so many people struggle with public speaking?
Do you think it's a fear of rejection by their peers or a lack of confidence in their ability to appear knowledgeable on the subject matter?
There are a number of different reasons why people struggle so much with public speaking. I’m going to take Ireland as an example here, because it’s important to note the differences between this type of culture and others with public speaking (such as the U.S. where it doesn’t appear to be as big of an issue).
Let me give you some background on me and that might explain my reasoning for Irish/European’s struggles in this area.
I grew up in the U.S. from the age of 10 (originally from Dublin). We had speech delivery class 3 times a week, the same as if you were going to History, Maths, Geography etc. It was part of the norm with the curriculum, so from a young age, everyone had to do it.
When you go through years of doing it in front of your peers, particularly in your teens, you become accustomed to standing up and delivering a variety of different speeches and talks in personal, professional, academic situations.
I also have to say that we had an excellent speech coach at our school who arranged a number of different initiatives and programs around public speaking.
In Ireland and a lot of European countries, it is not part of the education system, not even in 3rd level or college, where presentations are now fact becoming integrated with end of term exams and marked accordingly. (But without proper coaching or training given in the build up to them, surprisingly).
So, because individuals don’t have the practice in before reaching the ‘working world’, it feels unnatural and scary to do it at an older age.
I beat my head against the wall for nearly 3 years trying to get public speaking part of the education system and curriculum here in Ireland – I ended up giving up, unfortunately as I was getting nowhere. I firmly believe that if it was consistently done with people from a young age, that there would be no fear of it.
Culturally, I also think that it is in us to not ‘be outspoken or a show off’, yet confident public speaking is neither of those things.
Our frame of mind around having competence in communicating outside of social settings needs to change also. I do believe this should come from our education system (which thankfully is beginning to change), but needs more consistent teaching in this area.
I think all students should have the ability to deliver presentations persuasively, informatively, demonstratively, personally and so on in order to compete with others who have no fear of it.
I also think that we talk a lot about the ‘fear’ of public speaking to the point that if anyone actually says that they don’t mind it, they are looked at as if they are abnormal (or weird as Jawgap put it yesterday).
We have basically told ourselves that it is such a horrible experience and we have made such a big deal about it, that we now only associate it with negative, rather than something we just all should be able to do comfortably.0 -
I recently joined toastmasters (well last September) and so far I have given 3 speeches. I know this was referred to in one of the earlier posts but I am a member of a very good club who are very helpful. I wish to ask your opinion on the following parts of a speech, preparation for a speech and good and bad habits to have when giving a speech.
1. Start of with a strong statement or a question
2. Rule of 3: Tell listeners what you are going to tell them, tell them, remind them what you have told them.
3. If making points in a speech try to use combinations of 3's wherever possible (optimum number of items for maximum retention of information by listeners)
4. Make sure speeches are light hearted and not always serious where possible.
5. At the end of a speech after you conclude try not to keep speaking make that the ending.
Delighted to hear that you are in a very interactive Toastmasters.
With that said, 3 speeches from September, in my opinion, Is not a huge amount, perhaps though that is the way the chapter works. I generally have the smaller groups I work with presenting every single week to get them in the flow of it (even up to 5 minutes after 3 weeks of a course).
With regard to your 5 points – I agree with all of them and would also add to
1.) Strong statement or question in the beginning – I also encourage people to tell an anecdote or story or even paint a picture or a scenario of what they are going to talk about. There are two reasons for this:
A) If a speaker is nervous and tells a story or anecdote to illustrate their point, it can feel less formal and breaks the ice where they feel as though they are speaking WITH their audience instead of AT them (like being in a more relaxed environment and getting a reaction)
Audiences LOVE to be told stories or hear the words ‘For Example’ as it means they can create an image or picture of what they are being told and can absorb it better.
If any of you had a chance to watch Ken Robinson’s talk (even the first 3-4 minutes), he does this beautifully throughout and it works!
2.) Rule of 3 – 100% agree and you’ll find most coaches in this area would be the same. It helps both audience and speaker break it down.
Imagine you are part of an audience and the speaker says something such as, “So, I really only want to go through 3 main points with you.” Immediately, it tells the audience that the speaker has nicely broken down their presentation in bite size format for them to absorb (and won’t stretch it out unnecessarily) and also that the speaker is confident in their direction and has a grasp on what they are saying. This builds confidence in the speaker from the very start with the audience.
For the speaker, they get to mentally break down a lengthy list of what they have to get through.
Making it easier to stay within one part and just focus on that before moving on to the next one. It’s a psychological thing of breaking it into manageable parts for the brain to process.
3.) Points of 3 – as above
4.) Agreed that you can weave in lighthearted pieces to certain speeches (not so much on a Monday morning presentation on the company financial situation to a board of senior managers).
Again, I go back to Ken Robinson’s talk on schools and how he could have made it more serious with statistics on the worst outcomes for schools not embracing creativity within certain children.
Instead, his examples and weaving of stories throughout had the same impact and his objective was achieved in getting his audience to rethink the current education system.
5.) Conclusion – I always encourage speakers to use their conclusion with statements such as,
‘So, I just want to wrap up now and leave you with one final piece of information…..’
‘If you only take two things away with you, let it be these…’
‘Let me finish now on this point…..’
Then leave it there! If the speaker continues on (most times it’s just waffle), they only end up irritating the audience who thought they were finishing up.
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Delighted to hear that you are in a very interactive Toastmasters.
With that said, 3 speeches from September, in my opinion, Is not a huge amount, perhaps though that is the way the chapter works. I generally have the smaller groups I work with presenting every single week to get them in the flow of it (even up to 5 minutes after 3 weeks of a course).
With regard to your 5 points – I agree with all of them and would also add to
1.) Strong statement or question in the beginning – I also encourage people to tell an anecdote or story or even paint a picture or a scenario of what they are going to talk about. There are two reasons for this:
A) If a speaker is nervous and tells a story or anecdote to illustrate their point, it can feel less formal and breaks the ice where they feel as though they are speaking WITH their audience instead of AT them (like being in a more relaxed environment and getting a reaction)
Audiences LOVE to be told stories or hear the words ‘For Example’ as it means they can create an image or picture of what they are being told and can absorb it better.
If any of you had a chance to watch Ken Robinson’s talk (even the first 3-4 minutes), he does this beautifully throughout and it works!
2.) Rule of 3 – 100% agree and you’ll find most coaches in this area would be the same. It helps both audience and speaker break it down.
Imagine you are part of an audience and the speaker says something such as, “So, I really only want to go through 3 main points with you.” Immediately, it tells the audience that the speaker has nicely broken down their presentation in bite size format for them to absorb (and won’t stretch it out unnecessarily) and also that the speaker is confident in their direction and has a grasp on what they are saying. This builds confidence in the speaker from the very start with the audience.
For the speaker, they get to mentally break down a lengthy list of what they have to get through.
Making it easier to stay within one part and just focus on that before moving on to the next one. It’s a psychological thing of breaking it into manageable parts for the brain to process.
3.) Points of 3 – as above
4.) Agreed that you can weave in lighthearted pieces to certain speeches (not so much on a Monday morning presentation on the company financial situation to a board of senior managers).
Again, I go back to Ken Robinson’s talk on schools and how he could have made it more serious with statistics on the worst outcomes for schools not embracing creativity within certain children.
Instead, his examples and weaving of stories throughout had the same impact and his objective was achieved in getting his audience to rethink the current education system.
5.) Conclusion – I always encourage speakers to use their conclusion with statements such as,
‘So, I just want to wrap up now and leave you with one final piece of information…..’
‘If you only take two things away with you, let it be these…’
‘Let me finish now on this point…..’
Then leave it there! If the speaker continues on (most times it’s just waffle), they only end up irritating the audience who thought they were finishing up.
Many thanks for your response. I shall now respond from the top for some clarification
Yes I agree 3 speeches since September is not a huge amount. We meet twice a month (once in December) and I have missed 2 meetings. I have also spent time on developing leadership skills through taking on meeting roles such as Failte Officer, Topicsmaster and indeed Toastmaster. I have planned to give my 4th speech on June 14th. I have also visited 2 other clubs and plan to visit these again later this year and an additional 2 more and perhaps give speeches and some or all of these in addition to my own club.
I have used the time to observe my colleagues and the speeches with the most impact start off with a strong statement or a question. The rule of 3 and point of 3 are a fantastic addition to any speech and make speeches easier to listen to.
With regard to my upcoming speech (not June 14th a different one on June 22nd) how would you advise I go about giving a speech with a lot of qoutes and definitions (6 in ten minutes)?0 -
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I’m really glad you asked this question – it’s one that doesn’t come up that often (in fact, rarely, as clients will tell me that they are usually fine one on one, but it’s when the numbers get bigger that they panic or struggle).
Whenever I have dealt with individuals who describe the same situation as you just have, it usually goes back to somewhere in childhood either with school or a social setting where they were forced to engage/interact with an adult in conversation, but they felt intimidated by them.
There may have been someone who made them feel as though they couldn’t make eye contact with them, relax in their company or talk to them without feeling pressure inside that has stuck with them.
(Please know that I’m not diagnosing here, trying to put you in a category or even suggesting that it is some deep seated psychological issue).
I am just explaining what I have witnessed as a coach in this area and perhaps looking at a possibility of why you find it so hard to speak about light topics one on one.
I am sure that you probably feel relaxed when the pressure is off you, because if there are 2-3 other individuals to chip in to conversation then the person’s focus is not entirely on you (and you can blend in without all of the attention on you).
Now, how do you deal with it.
Here's how I start to work with clients in this area:
I usually have them sit in front of a mirror, speaking to themselves making eye contact to start off with.
I place a plain black cloth in the background so that there is no distraction. I ask the client to speak to their mirrored reflection for one solid minute without breaking contact with their own eye contact.
I then ask them to turn and speak directly to me without breaking eye contact. (This is a little bit more difficult, but sometimes ends up where the client is laughing – like a nervous laughter as it can feel silly and unnatural).
Over the course of a session, I start to take away the plain black cloth and open windows/turn on the TV projector (for added visual and audio distraction) and ask the client to keep making eye contact with me while I ask random questions.
The point of the exercise is to get them focused solely on one on one contact with impromptu conversation and also to tune out distractions.
I would recommend that you practice in front of a mirror (in the ways I mentioned above), while visualising others in front of you and in conversation. Let that be your starting point.
Once you start to break down your own barriers with staring into your own eyes and speaking to yourself (sorry, I realise that sounds a little odd), then you can work on your pauses and silences.
After that, I strongly recommend group practice sessions to help you get up and practice how to speak off-the-cuff. When you are in an environment like that and are asked random topics to speak about, the more times you do it, the more you will find that your brain slows down before you begin speaking and you thoroughly think through what you are going to say.
That's when you will get comfortable with silences and 'gaps' as you put it.
There is absolutely no need to fill every second with words.
I actually love it when I come across an individual who has the confidence to hold their silence, keep eye contact and not fill the gaps too quickly, just for the sake of not talking. This shows a quiet confidence in themselves.
When you master that, you actually can hold more attention than those who speak constantly just to keep noise happening!
Jeez , you nearly described me totally there !!!
I do find it hard to make eye contact!! with nearly every/anyone i talk to....
When they are talking to me, i would notice myself looking any where but their eyes..... I hate it but, i cant not do it ! .....
Great tips, thank you !
"Bright lights and Thunder .................... "
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