Becoming A Confident Speaker - Jeremy Bennett Podcast

Recently I interviewed with Jeremy Bennett for his Insights from Atlantic Canadian Business Leaders podcast. Jeremy asked some excellent questions and the session proceeded very professionally and efficiently.

During the interview, Jeremy requested that I offer some tips for anybody who has an upcoming  presentation. Here are the 3 tips I offered. You can also view the clip at Jeremy’s YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSGrHfLC3Z8

 

3 Tips Should You Have an Upcoming Speech

1. Your Audience is on Your Side

 

Relax and realize the audience wants you do well. You’ve undoubtedly sat through speeches when the presenter struggled badly.  It’s painful, isn’t it? I’ll bet during that presentation you were quietly rooting for the presenter, silently urging him on, maybe even smiling and encouraging him as best as you could.

 

People in an audience want to learn something, be informed, and ideally be amazed and delighted. 99% of the time the audience is rooting for the speaker to do well.

Take comfort in realizing your audience is on your side.

 

2. Arrive Early, Minimize Surprises & Make Acquaintances

 

In my experience, it’s beneficial to arrive very early for a couple of reasons. First, you should scope out the speaking environment. Is there a stage? Is it elevated? Are there distracting lights? Is there a microphone (If there is, use it. The organizers have more experience with the room than you likely do, and they’ve decided a mic is helpful for attendees).

 

Second, I suggest you mingle and make some acquaintances with attendees. A friendly chat or two should relax you, and later you might make eye contact with your new acquaintances in the audience as you speak from the stage.

 

If you’re usually not comfortable initiating a conversation, simply start with something you have in common. My go-to question is “what brings you to the event tonight?” I previously wrote about starting, and ending, casual conversations here;

 

https://gycz.blogspot.com/2024/06/gycz-professionally-ending-networking.html

 

3. Know Precisely What You’ll Speak About, Not Precisely What You’ll Say

I find that many speakers worry about forgetting something they planned to speak about. Don’t worry about that.  If you do forget a section, your audience won’t know. Only you’ll know, and if you remember your omission later during your presentation, you then have the power to share that content or not. You have the power.

Sometimes speakers try to memorize much of their material.  I don’t recommend this. It’s too easy to forget precise words and sentences.  It’s easier to remember the big concepts and the sequence you plan to speak about.   

Regardless, I like to take some notes on stage. This is usually one sheet of paper with large notes, and sometimes simply a 5 x 7 index card. My notes contain my key speaking points, my outline. I don’t need many reminders about my content, but I find it comforting to know I have it, and as I reach conclusion, I like to scan the structure in case I have forgotten some content and do want to address it. 

Don’t worry about precise words and sentences. Plan your structure and approach, and speak to your audience like you would speak to friends.

 

Conclusion

There are many approaches to speech preparation. I hope you find these three tips helpful.