Public Shaking - Overcoming fear of public speaking

I just got back from doing a two and a half hour presentation to a few dozen new computer users. It was fun for me; I hope it was fun for the attendees. I thought I'd share a few thoughts with you about public speaking.

I know that many people have a great fear of public speaking. That's why I titled this Public Shaking.

The first time I had to speak to a crowd of people it was thrust upon me unexpectedly. I had gone to make a sales all, expecting to make a pitch to one person. Instead, he ushered me into an auditorium where several dozen people were waiting. I had to do a half hour, straight off the cuff presentation. I didn't even get a chance to think about whether or not I was scared; it just happened too quickly.

I don't recall speaking to a group for a long time after that. I do remember standing up and speaking my mind at Town Meeting once or twice, but again, it just happened: I hadn't gone with the expectation of speaking, I just found I had something to say once I was there. No fear again because I hadn't thought about it ahead of time.

A few years ago, I agreed to speak to approximately 4,000 voters at a meeting to decide a hotly contested ballot issue. I watched as other speakers were subjected to cat calls and booing. I was third or fourth to speak, and my remarks had been prepared long in advance, so I had plenty of time to think about what I was about to do.

I wasn't scared, but I definitely felt nervousness and discomfort. Fully half the crowd (well, 40% as the ballot count later proved) hated the position I was taking. Passions were very high, people were screaming at each other in the crowd.

There was little pretense of politeness, both sides were loud and angry. The battle lines were drawn and we poor speakers had to stand in front of that maelstrom of angry voters and make our pitches. We alternated, an Aye proponent first, then a Nay and so on. Only five from each side would get to speak as otherwise there would have been no chance of ever getting to the vote. Both sides had agreed to this unusual censorship, but it did make some even more angry.

Perhaps you have heard the oft repeated advice to imagine the crowd naked? All I could imagine was them coming at me with pitchforks and boiling oil.

I got through that. The microphones had been arranged so that we were facing a small group of people on a stage rather than the thousands behind me. I knew they were there, I could hear the jeering, but I just spoke my piece and sat down. It was over. Short, quick, and not very pleasant.

Speaking to today's group was certainly easier. I had several weeks to prepare, so I used the iPad Keynote application to organize my thoughts into a series of slides. I had very little detail on the slides, just an appropriate picture or graphic and one to three bullet points.

Off the cuff, sort of

I prefer to speak off the cuff. I glance at the slide and talk about the subject it presents. If you know your subject well, I think winging it (constrained by the prepared slides, of course) makes a more natural presentation than trying to read from text. I think detailed notes are even worse; you get so worried that you might miss something that you are constantly glancing at the notes and you will stumble over your words.

You may neglect to mention something. If it's really important, you'll either be reminded of it by a later slide and you can work it in naturally, or it comes up in follow up questions. If neither of those happens, it probably was not important, so don't worry about it.

To do this well, you need to have good time sense or keep your eyes on the clock. You know how many slides you have and you know your allotted time; that tells you approximately how long to talk about each slide.

I know that to some people this sounds like a recipe for disaster. However, remember that you are constrained by your prepared slides. The slides will keep you on track and will keep you coherent. You will sound natural and relaxed because you will be natural and relaxed, not stumbling along trying to read out loud.

Practice, don't over practice

Yes, you need to have a good idea if what you are going to say for each slide. But if you practice too much, you lose spontaneity.

If you feel you must practice excessively, do the slides randomly, not in the order you will actually present them. That help avoid getting into monotony.

Humor

With most presentations, a little humor goes a long way toward relaxing the crowd and getting them to like you. I don't mean jokes unless you are just a humorless person. If that's the only way you can be funny, tell your joke, but don't read it, just tell it.

But why can't you be funny? I don't mean professional comedian funny, just mildly amusing. Just half a grin funny. If you come across as a natural person, if the audience senses that you like them and are happy to be there, they want to like you. They want to laugh if you say something funny. They will meet you more than half way.

I had some problems that I turned into mild amusement. We had trouble getting the computer hooked up to the screen display; I joked about the nerve of my giving a lecture on computers when I couldn't get the display working. The air conditioning was turned up too high; I had them open all the doors, joking that the with the fees we pay to live here, the owners can afford to air condition the outdoors too. Obviously not anything for a comedy club, but enough to loosen up the crowd.

Remember, people want to enjoy your talk. They are mentally prepared to like you and enjoy themselves. You don't have to do much to make them happy.

Don't overdo the funny stuff, though. Less is more.

Interruptions

If you are a person who can't handle being interrupted, just set the rules early. Hold your questions, please. However, if you are comfortable with your subject and are speaking off the cuff, you should be able to take questions relevant to the slide without getting flustered. If the question is unrelated, will be covered later or is too complex to answer now, just say so. It won't upset your audience and when you can address their question now, that helps them enjoy the presentation even more.

Dress like your audience - or not

If your audience wears suits and ties, that's usually what you need to wear. However, if you are telling executives how to relax, you want to be informal even though they are not. But if you are giving investment advice, you need a suit even if everyone else is in shorts.

That's obvious, right?

Slow down

Nervous equals fast talking, slow calms you down. If you feel nervous, deliberately slow your speech.

Look at people

Yet another reason to avoid detailed notes. You want to be engaging your audience, not some papers in your sweaty palms. I like to have talked to people before the speech because then I can sometimes bring them right into it: "Lillian there had a great comment just before we started today.."

It's ok to screw up

So you made a mistake. You misspoke, tripped up the stairs, dropped the mike. So what? If it can be made funny, let it be funny. Or just acknowledge it and keep going.

Equipment problems

Pack power adapters because your battery will go dead. Bring a power strip because you might need it, bring an extra long monitor cable because you will need it. Bring two computers if this speech is really important. Bring everything you can ever imagine needing. Stuff breaks, be prepared.

Relax

If you are comfortable, your audience will be comfortable. If you are nervous, they'll be nervous. That's why I really suggest speaking off the cuff if you possibly can. Very few of us can read a speech without stumbling, sounding boring, or both. There are people who can do that, but most of us cannot. If you can just speak from your knowledge and personal experience, you'll do fine.

It's only a speech. It's not life and death. If you entertain and inform, you have succeeded. If you screw up, you'll do better next time. It's only a speech.

Some Other Great Tips

These are from one of my favorite folks here at HubPages: 

10 Tips for Good Public Speaking by relache

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