Are you boring your audience to death? 3 things you need to stop doing when speaking in public
How to avoid being the next speaker accused of Death by PowerPoint
You’re about to walk onto the stage. You've prepared your notes, practiced your speech. Your slides alone took you countless hours. After all, you had to find the perfect images and summarize all your info into short paragraphs.
You step onto the stage and look at the audience. You introduce yourself, list your credentials . . .
And you notice a couple of people pick up their phones. No big deal, you think. They're just checking their emails. But as continue your talk, you notice more and more people are getting their laptops.
Then you get to the good part. Your big, beefy slides, filled with all the good stuff. As you read them, you see people lift up their phones, take a picture, and go back to starting at their own screens. From the corner of your eye, you see someone dozing off . . .
Time for the Q&A at the end. No one asks anything. Awkward silence before you thank them and leave the stage.
You're left wondering. Did they even pay attention?
I hate to be the one to break your heart, but it's time for some tough love: no, they didn't.
You'll ask yourself . . .
Where Did I Go Wrong?
First things first: this does not mean your material is bad or your information isn't valuable. It is a sign that your delivery was off.
More than likely, you committed one of three cardinal sins of public speaking (and maybe more than one).
You're not alone.
These sins are so common we don't think about them. We almost see them as a standard part of an average lecture or presentation.
But if you're here, you want to be above average. I'll teach you how to spot them and avoid facing eternal damnation in speaker hell.
1. Opening with "Hi, my name is... and I'll talk about..."
I know what you're thinking. Shouldn't I introduce myself if I'm about to speak? The answer is nuanced.
Are you speaking at a conference, where there is an agenda with your name, bio, and topic on it? Did the master of ceremonies or moderator introduce you? Do you have a slide with the name and title of your presentation up on screen?
If you answered yes to any, no, don't introduce yourself. You're only repeating information people already know. And that is the same as showing a bright, shinning billboard that reads: NO NEED TO PAY ATTENTION.
That's when phones start to come out of pockets.
And we both know well how hard it is to pry someone from their phone—we're also glued to it all the time!
If you are 100% sure you need to give more information about yourself and your expertise, consider:
Asking the master of ceremonies to add the info when introducing you. If there is no MC for the event, ask someone to introduce you: an organizer, a colleague, an employee, an assistant.
Introducing yourself after you open your speech.
The start of your speech is your hook. Your opening needs to grab people by their collars and shout: pay attention!
2. Being a Slide Slave
PowerPoint has become a staple of presentations and speeches. Nothing wrong with that. Visuals can help a presentation stand out.
Your slides, however, are supposed to enhance your talk.
Slides should NOT be a crutch you depend on.
Keep this in mind: who are the stars on stage? You and your message. Your slides are there to help you shine, not to take away attention. They're the Robin to your Batman, if you will. And don't you tell me that you'd rather be the Boy Wonder than the Caped Crusader.
There are different levels of slide-related offenses, in increasing order of severity:
Looking at the slides too often
Looking at them the entire time
Reading directly from them
But the mother of all sins is using busy slides with walls of text. Especially if they are hard to read because they have text over images or a clashing background.
These monsters will bore or overwhelm your audience. They’ll disconnect from the talk. At most, they might take a photo of them. And then they’ll go back to their screens.
If they’re invested in your topic, they’ll make an effort to read it. Problem: they will stop listening to you. Our brains are not good at multitasking. The mind only processes 50 bits of information per second. In other words, if they’re reading, they’re not hearing.
Your slides should be visual aid, not visual distraction.
Do your part to avoid Death by PowerPoint. Keep them clean:
Use short bullet points. And few of them. Two or three per slide.
No background images with text, no excessive images.
Spend less than 2 minutes per slide.
Need to show complex charts, tables, or graphs? Highlight the parts you want to focus on and blur the rest.
And eyes always on the audience. They’re the focus. You’re talking to them, remember?
3. "So... uhm... like, I meant, like... hmmm... "
Your goal when speaking is to establish authority. To share or sell an idea.
If you stutter, stumble, or rant, you'll do the opposite. Filler words, repetitions, and other verbal ticks broadcast insecurity and uncertainty.
Even if you're the world's foremost expert in Penguin Conditioning & Behavioral Theory, these slips of the tongue will chip away at your credibility.
I get it. Speaking in front of an audience can be intimidating. All those eyes on you. People waiting for your next words. What if I forget something?, you wonder.
This is a mental game. You don't need to feel confident, but the audience needs to feel you are. Ever heard of "fake it til you make it"?
A few tips to make it easier:
Practice your speech. Do it in the mirror. Do it pacing your room. Give your presentation to a friend, to a spouse, to your dog, to a rubber duck.
Record yourself. Listen back and find your main verbal ticks and filler words. Focus on eliminating those. Pay attention to any points where you are stumbling.
Need a moment to remember your next point? That's ok. Take a deep breath, and think in silence. No unwanted or unnecessary sounds out of you. Take a less is more approach.
By the way, let go of trying to memorize the exact words. Focus on the message.
Remember, this is your talk. The audience doesn't know which phrasing you used when you wrote it. Who cares if you change a phrase or two? As long as you get your point across, you're doing it right.
Keep It Simple
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication
-Leonardo da Vinci
Above all, keep one thing in mind: you know what you’re talking about.
This is your area of expertise. Your story. Your message. The audience is there to learn from you.
They're curious. You have something to share. It's a match made in heaven.
And people want you to succeed. Most people in the audience are there to walk away with new ideas or more knowledge. They are rooting for you. They want you to do well.
So be brave. Be (or appear) confident. Own the stage. Share your expertise.
Just don't be boring. You got this!