28th Jun2010

Speaking in a double act

by Rich

I have recently been offered the chance to speak as part of a ‘double act’. Speaking as one half of a partnership throws up all sorts of interesting points that speakers need to be aware of for a successful two-man speech.

I’ve come up with three points below that speakers who are talking as part of a double act in a business setting should consider. Interestingly, they all centre on giving the greatest value to your audience, which should ALWAYS be your primary objective!

Roles – each half of the duo should know what their responsibilities are and why their speech content is important.

It must also be remembered that the audience needs to understand the role of each speaker too – clearly sign post for your audience which areas of the speech or talk each person will cover right from the start.

Handovers – most of us probably have a memory from our early schooling in which a group or class are asked to perform a story or play and each member of the class reads a line aloud each.

This is fine when you are four years old, but it is unlikely to impress anyone in a business presentation or speech. Make sure that each speaker has clear, relevant sections of the speech to avoid confusing your audience with constant chopping and changing of speakers!

When you do handover, state that you are passing the speaking baton back to your partner and sign post for your audience what they are going to talk about using a quick sentence or two.

It’s not a competition – there is nothing more frustrating than being an audience member watching two speakers who are battling to impress over one another. Your objective is to give value to your audience. If you, or your partner, is likely to be trying to get one over on you, be wittier, more entertaining or put you down, then politely back away from the speaking opportunity. It will only do your credibility (and theirs) more harm than good!

Have you had a positive or negative experience as a speaker as part of a double act or group presentation? I’d love to hear about it and what you learnt from it.

Category : Public Speaking Tips
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24th Jun2010

Public speaking for business development

by Rich

In my time working in marketing I actually found that public speaking was one of the most effective tactics for business development.

Speaking and educating others in large groups allows you to position yourself as an expert in your field and ensures that when you ‘tag’ a sales message onto the end of your seminar or workshop, it is often gratefully received by your audience, who are by then thirsty to learn more from you.

Most of us can probably remember all of the educational seminar or workshops we have been to this year and who presented them to us. This kind of positive association leads to a lot of referrals and business from public speaking.

Despite this, so many businesspeople are unwilling or nervous about speaking in public to large groups. Public speaking has generated over £50k of orders for one business I worked with this year, which ran just three events. With businesses with higher average order values this figure could be even higher.

If you or your staff are willing to overcome that fear and stand-up and add value to your potential clients’ lives by running a relevant workshop or seminar, you can reap the benefits. Doing this well sets you apart from the other 80% of businesses who don’t have the skills or confidence to do stand up and speak – what could running relevant workshops and seminars mean for your company’s revenue?

Please do contact me for more information on training your team to speak in public, run workshops, seminars and to generate sales enquiries for your business.

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20th Jun2010

Leave the lectern and improve your speech

by Rich

A lot of public speaking is carried out from behind a lectern, or stood behind a desk. More often than not there is some form of furniture between you and the audience.

This is a great comfort for the nervous speaker, but is hiding behind a desk or lectern reducing the impact of your speech or presentation?

I regularly encourage others to ‘leave the lectern’ or ‘step out’ into their audience.

Moving in this way often makes the speaker feel ‘naked’ or exposed in front of their audience, but such fluidity can actually hide nerves and increase audience interaction.

Next time you do a speech from behind a lectern (perhaps at the end of a day full of similar, text book speeches or lectures) why not step out from behind the lectern, engage with your audience and change the way they see and take in what you are saying?

I know I would much rather listen to and am much more likely to remember a speaker that was prepared to break a few rules and really present something in a unique style – wouldn’t you?

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16th Jun2010

Impromptu speaking tactics (Part 2)

by Rich

The Past, Present, Future method

This method is great for impromptu speaking where you have been asked a question (usually nothing too serious) and you need to fill-out your answer some what. I’ve found it’s also great for one-to-one conversations, if you find you are the person having to do all of the talking!

So, you could be asked: ‘What did you do for your birthday this year?

You would then proceed to tell the questioner what it was that you did this year (the present).

But where to next with this speech? You may find that you still have several minutes to fill.

Why not talk about your favourite birthday to date, or a birthday from your childhood (the past)?

If this birthday was your favourite, or a child’s birthday party with lots of jelly and ice cream and party games played, then you will find you have a lot to talk about!

Still running short of content? Then, you guessed it, lets talk about a future birthday party  – your ideal birthday.

This technique of past, present and future can be applied to lots of questions. In the workplace it can be used strategically. So many businesses base decision on historical data (past), current situation (present) and the desired situation (future) and so applying this technique to answering problems at work on the spot can be extremely useful too!

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06th Jun2010

The basics of a good speech

by Rich

I recently attended a wedding – a great day full of fun, laughter and speeches.

The father of the bride after making his speech proceeded to come to me directly and ask ‘How was that, was it ok?’.

There was so much I could have said. I could have advised on his speech structure, his voice, speed of delivery, stance, content and so much more.

But on such a joyous day, there was only one piece of feedback I needed to give him. I reassured him that he had hit the one point that can make or break a speech. A speech can be lacking in any area, but the one thing that a good speech never lacks is the personality of the speaker.

This isn’t just a personality. This is THE personality of the speaker. Without this in the speech, your audience will realise you don’t believe in what you are saying, you are not comfortable with what you are saying and most importantly, that you are not delivering this speech in a way that is natural to you.

Before advising any one on public speaking I like to learn a little bit about them. Only then can I truly understand if the key foundation of their speech, the speakers’ personality, is present.

So next time you speak, ask yourself; am I comfortable with the way I am delivering this? Am I delivering this in my ‘personal style’?

If you’re not presenting with personality, your audience will never get to know you or the point that you are trying to make.

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01st Jun2010

Impromptu speaking tactics (Part 1)

by Rich

It’s all very well have the strength of character to stand up and talk without warning in front of an audience, but if you have nothing to say, your bravery will be wasted.

So how do you fill-out that two, five or ten minutes that you have been asked to speak for?

There are several tactics that you can use, depending on the situation, and in this first post I will outline one of them. Watch this blog for details of the other tactics. Memorising them all will give you a powerful impromptu speaking arsenal to roll-out at will.

The PREP method

The PREP method for impromptu speaking is the most basic and simple method.

Imagine you are asked: ‘What are your views on fox hunting?’

If you were to apply the PREP method to construct a structured, effective answer, you may respond something like this (with a little more elaboration!):

Point: I am against fox hunting.

Reason: Because fox hunting is a cruel, vicious sport that is a terrible way for foxes to die.

Explanation (elaborate further on your reason here): When I was young, I was playing in garden when a fox hunt passed by the back of our house. At a young age, I had to watch a fox viciously torn apart (describe the scene!).

Point (this restates your viewpoint and acts as a conclusion): I am against fox hunting because of this experience I had as a young child.

Category : Public Speaking Tips
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