Have you ever been to a seminar that you’re really looking forward to, it looked very exciting from the invite, the speaker is a thought leader and exceptionally knowledgeable, only to find that after the first 15 minutes you’re rubbing your eyes and watching the clock?
You might have even begun answering emails on your Blackberry and thinking about what’s for dinner. Worse still you might be getting irritated and stressed about the growing pile of work that you put on hold to attend this seminar.
Or more commonly, you find yourself in a small group meeting where someone is going on and on, and you have got the point 15 minutes ago. Maybe you have been trapped in the corridor by a bore.
Let’s examine the characteristics of a BLAND speaker:
B: Boring or bored tone. This is an immediate audience killer. If you don’t sound interested in your own material then it is a guarantee that your audience won’t get interested in your material. Too many speakers adopt the wrong tone to get people interested. It may be a formal tone, perhaps patronising, or a flat uninspiring way of speaking… yet with friends and family they will show enthusiasm, spontaneity and warmth. Be aware of how you speak in groups. Ask someone to give you feedback.
L: Long-winded… on and on and on and on. Don’t make it difficult for your audience to absorb your message. If you take five minutes to say something that can and should be said in five words then you’ll lose your audience. If you are going to expand and extrapolate then it needs to be in a way that creates more interest for your audience. Not less. Has anyone ever told you that you are boring? Have you noticed people don’t like listening to you? Why?
A: Avoids engagement. Most people have at least some fear when public speaking. Some (too many) go into an absolute panic while others suffer nothing more than a slightly increased heart rate. While some enjoy the adrenaline rush and know how to manage themselves, others find their fear can ruin a performance or at the least make it more difficult! If you engage with your audience – ask questions, make eye contact, create some audience participation – then the audience becomes less like an ominous storm cloud and more like a roomful of people that want to hear what you have to say. So ask clever questions – get a show of hands. Don’t avoid engagement, because that is when you have your greatest chance of influence.
N: Neutral body language. Body language is one of the most important ways to create impact, yet something most speakers pay little attention to. When you remain stony-faced, formal, make no eye contact, don’t smile – you do not impress. One study has estimated that 55% of your impact will be from body language!
Don’t play with your notes. Put them down on the table or lectern. Or hold small cards. Holding paper when you are nervous can give focus to the tremor running through your body that no one would have otherwise have noticed. Try to be natural and feel natural. Build up to it slowly. Don’t be too strict with rules on body language. Some speakers like to stroll backwards and forwards across the front of the stage with hands in their pockets, others like to stay stationed behind the lectern and deliver from there. Both can be effective, but being natural is most important.
D: Disregards audience cues. The audience are people too. Public speaking is too often seen as a one-way conversation because in terms of the spoken word it usually is. But the audience is constantly giving you cues. You need to pay attention. Whether they realise it or not, the audience is sitting there telling you want they want. Are you listening? Are you seeing the eyelids getting heavy? Are you able to switch tracks when the path you are on is not being received well?
It has been found that tone of voice may contribute 38% of the impact. So if 55% is the body language impact, and 38% the tone of voice, that leaves a surprisingly small 7% for your actual words! Sure this is one study, and an old one at that… but think about it. Most of a person’s preparation for a talk is about the WORDS, and maybe the SLIDES.
Focus on your passion for the topic. What do you love about the work, the talk, the people you are talking to? And if all of these make you feel uninspired – why do you do the work you do? If you are not engaged – you can safely predict your audience won’t be either.
Now if you do love your job, the content of your work, the topic or service about which you will speak then ask yourself – are you a bland speaker? And if so, what are you going to do about it?
Eve Ash has a wide range of resources to help you perform better at this essential business skill – Presentation Effectiveness 360 Degree Feedback tools, DVDs on presentation skills and she also runs in-house and public workshops on How to make presentations that influence. All available through Seven Dimensions.
Smart Company is the leading online publication in Australia for free news, information and resources catering to Australia’s entrepreneurs, small and medium business owners and business managers.
