For most 10-20 minute business presentations, you don’t have much time, so every moment counts. But at some point in your career, you may be asked to lead a seminar that is three hours in length or even longer. You can not prepare the same way as you do a normal speech. It’s not that giving a three hour seminar is 9 times harder than giving a 20 minute speech. Each type of presentation is a different beast.
There aren�t many big problems in life that can be solved by doing nothing, but fortunately, that is the solution for many speaker woes.
Do you find yourself saying too many uhs, ums, ers and you knows when you are giving a presentation? The solution is to do nothing, i.e., pause. By pausing throughout your presentation, you will correct many of your problems.
“Don’t make the almost universal mistake of trying to cover too much ground in a brief talk.”
“Above all else, don’t make your talk abstract.”
“While preparing, study your audience. Think of their wants, their wishes.”
“Don’t read, and don’t attempt to memorize your talk word for word.”
“The ideal thing would be not only to see and hear the thing to be remembered, but also to touch it, and smell it and taste it. Above all else, we are visual minded.”
“Stop leaning against the table. Stand tall. Don’t rock back and forth.”
It may be cute our funny to curse around family, friends, or colleagues. It may even be necessary. At times a choice expletive may be the perfect way of conveying the importance you attach to a certain action or inaction. But cursing while giving a public presentation or media interview doesn’t work, in my estimation.
Some people curse to be funny; others to seem ‘real’ or ‘hip.’ Some curse to differentiate themselves from stuffed shirts or other pompous figures. These are, perhaps, all admirable motives.
Members of the media have become increasingly demanding toward the subjects they cover. Members of the mainstream media seemingly take great delight in exposing a big shot’s inability to manipulate the media.
Case in point, look at this story on the front page section of the January 9, 2006 New York Times sports page on New York Jets general manager, Terry Bradway. If you think that just because you are not a politician or the CEO of a big public company that the media will somehow take it easy on you, just read below and you will be disabused of that notion.
The headline in the New York Times said three day after Pope John Paul II died, “Cardinals Want Next Pope To Be Strong Communicator.â€
Regardless of your views on the Pope John Paul II’s politics, he was a skilled communicator who routinely dominated the headlines, broadcasts and airwaves around the world—even when he wasn’t traveling to a foreign country. The Catholic Church, as an institution, realizes the importance of a strong communicator in the head position. Whether it is giving a sermon (which is really just another name for a speech or presentation) or appearing at a press conference, Pope’s must communicate strong and forceful messages (that’s what Popes do).
You may not like public speaking. In fact, if you are a normal human being, you may down right hate it. But if you want to be considered an expert in your field, sooner or later, you must speak at either a professional conference, your own company’s meeting, an industry trade meeting or at your city hall.
It might not be fair, but human beings as audience members assume that someone asked to speak either has authority or is an expert. If it’s not your own boss speaking to you, then often times you assume the speaker in front of you is an expert. Of course, expertise is a relative thing, in the land of the blind, the one eye-ed man…and all that.
Every once in awhile, you come across a media interview with a celebrity or high profile business executive and you think “wow, it couldn’t be worse than that. This person’s reputation is destroyed!â€
The following are quotes and excerpts from a front page story in the business section of the May 16th, 2005 New York Times, above the fold, on Russell Simmons, a music and fashion entrepreneur.
The quotes from Simmons and the story surrounding them are such a disaster that they need no commentary from me. So sit back and brace yourself for the train wreck that follows.
For anyone who works in a publicly-traded company or is a Wall Street trader of publicly-traded companies, there must be an awareness that the spotlight is always on. If you are a CEO, then every speech, pronouncement, webcast and conference call is caught on tape and part of your permanent record. If you are a trader, there is an audio recording of every dirty joke you ever uttered to your colleague on the phone in another office.
Here is one of the all-time classic move scenes featuring Jack Nicholson as “Bobby†in “5 Easy Pieces.†He is trying to get his food ordered in a certain way and he’s not having much luck. Here is the script:
INT. ROADSIDE CAFE – DAY
All four are seated at a booth. The women have
given their orders and a WAITRESS stands above
Bobby, waiting for his:
BOBBY
(looking at his menu)
I’ll have an omelette, no potatoes.
Give me tomatoes instead, and wheat
toast instead of rolls.
The waitress indicates something on the menu with
the butt of her pencil.