Four Keys to Public Speaking Success!

People say “Fake it ‘til you make it,” that “You’ll get better at presenting by presenting,” to “Picture everyone in the audience naked, or look over their heads, to calm your nerves,” and “When you practice, it sounds scripted, so just shoot from the hip to sound real,” and yet these untruths are part of what makes the idea of public speaking the no. 1 fear for Americans.

Public speaking is not the problem. It’s not the issue. How public speaking is perceived and how it is incorrectly “taught” are a couple of the challenges with people being successful presenting ideas, products, and even themselves.

In the face of all this presentation confusion, how do we increase our presentation prowess? It’s by overcoming all that ill-advised counsel with truths and practical, useful tips that are readily implementable. The four keys to presenting beyond public speaking fears and misperceptions are:

1)  Be an expert on the topic, and don’t be concerned if other experts are there too. It’s a presentation, not a competition.

2) Put the audience first by setting a goal for them, about them.

3) Get out of your own way by being present and not being concerned about how you look, sound, or the day you had before presenting, or what you have going on after presenting.

4) Come from a place of gratitude, with thoughts and comments of “I get to present today at 1:00 p.m. on our first quarter 2019 outlook” rather than “I have to speak on the 2019 number later today.”

About those lies…here are the truths:

Specifically, resist “faking it ‘til you make it” by focusing on making it about what you are doing until you make it to the next step, and onto the next step, and ultimately to the subsequent results. Make it about sharing and learning, and then you don’t have to fake your interest or your effort.

Let go of the notion that you’ll get better at speaking by speaking. Sadly, you will simply get used to being average, at best, if you do not change how you are speaking. You will get comfortable speaking, and yet average and comfortable are not likely huge draws for audiences. How you improve speaking is by engaging the audience, keeping your ego out of your efforts and off the stage. When you have that all set, you can let your personality shine and your persuasiveness connect.

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