Last night I attended Speaking out – public speaking made easy organised by Laura North and Christian Heilmann with David Bell, Katie Streten and Christian speaking. Here are my notes.
David Bell (Merrill Lynch) – Focus on presentation styles and contexts
- Contexts – style and delivery vary according to type of meeting (small, large, conference) and your role within it (pitching ideas, asking questions).
- Preparation – the key to being relaxes is to be prepared, focussing on:
- who your audience is
- message you want to deliver
- materials – appropriate slides
- objective – what is the purpose of the meeting / presentation
- Style – presentation style determined by:
- presenters personality
- audience
- subject
- Summary
- connecting with audience is vital
- preparation is the key to being relaxed
- be selective with your material – think big picture
- your style will develop over time and comes with practice
- presentations are performances – sometimes they go better than others
- everyone gets nervous – you aren’t the only one
Katie Streten (Imagination) – Reasons not to like public speaking, and some suggestions for dealing with them
- Reason 1 – no one will be interested in what I have to say
- they are there
- you have been asked to speak
- think what you can give them
- Reason 2 – I will go blank
- prepare – write script long hand
- read it to people are yourself
- write card notes
- highlight key moments
- don’t practice too much
- Reason 3 – I’m afraid that everyone will find out that I’m a fraud
- you’ve been asked to speak
- everyone thinks this
- Reason 4 – I will look out over the crowd and freeze
- don’t look at the crown, pick 3 spots to look at
- place a friend at the back to smile at you
- they are more interested in the talk than in you
- Reason 5 – I will lose my place and stall
- use card notes
- practice
- audience are on your side
- ‘fess up
- Reason 6 – I will ask something that everyone else understands
- most other people are thinking the same thing
- that’s their problem
- you are helping someone in the audience
- Reason 7 – It feels artificial, it should feel like a conversation
- audience hates it to
- say ‘Hello’
- move your arms at waist height
- don’t have a rigid script
- Powerpoint
- bullet points
- pictures
- Conclusion
- people genuinely want to hear what you have to say
- think about your audience – what can you give them?
- if all else fails.. try and remember the detail of 1 speech you have heard in your life – no-one can
Christian Heilmann (Yahoo!) – How to inspire as a speaker
Chris has written his own post on the event, which includes a link to his slide deck and video of his presentation.
- Have a different point of view
- Find the story that makes the difference
- Audience and information are more important than the speaker
- Knowing what the audience needs is the most important part of the presentation
- Having the right mindset is important – you have nothing to lose
- How do you get this mindset?
- know your subject
- own your talk
- practice
- Practice by:
- loud reading in different character voices
- listening to audio books
- listen to yourself
- Powerpoint Karaoke
- lightning talks
- Get inspired by good examples
- Thinks to avoid
- imitation
- reading your slides
- forgetting the story
- blinging it up