WHAT YOU NEED ARE POWER, POISE & PIZZAZZ
~Shiv Khera
(The Hindu, JUNE 19, 2017 )
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Do you develop cold feet while speaking in public? Here’s what you need to do to become a great speaker.
Persuasion skills are essential for good leadership. These are one of the greatest components of public speaking and have the ability to influence, convince, negotiate, and sell. Who doesn’t need them? I am sure all of us sometime or the other have gone through a situation where we had to say a few words in public but developed cold feet. On then looks for an excuse to escape such a situation.
Some of the greatest public speakers were the greatest disasters when they started. The good news is that we can all learn to be effective public speakers.
The best product or service, if not presented properly, is useless. There are many advantages to being a powerful speaker:~
(1)One of them is that you are perceived as a leader and an expert in your field.
(2)Second, you can leverage your position effectively.
Public Speaking comprises the following three Fs:
(1)Flair,
(2)Flow and
(3Facts.
(1)Flair: When you are on the platform, your presentation must have pizzazz. It ought not to be bland. You are not an entertainer or performer, but your presentation must have flair.
(2)Flow: There must be a structure to your presentation, otherwise people lose track.
(3)Facts: What you say on the platform, goes into public domain. No matter what you say, you must have your facts right to gain credibility.
The following are some steps to being an effective public speaker.
•Clarify expectation in advance:
Ask your hosts what is the ‘end result’ they are looking for upon completion of your presentation. Clarity on the end result would decide your contents.
•Do not make more than three points:
Why?
Less than three is too little, more than three is too much. Don’t question the power of three. Somehow three points stick. It is an odd number; odd numbers stick better than even numbers.
•Use simple language:
Keep your presentation at 6th grade level. Use simple words that can be easily understood. Don’t use jargons, slang or words that are difficult to understand.
The idea is to express and not to impress. The audience being impressed is a natural outcome of a good presentation.
•Be yourself:
Don’t pretend and put on a false mask. Just be honest and sincere. Being yourself does not mean that you become casual. Being casual displays indifference or arrogance. People hate both.
•Go well prepared:
Practice, Practice, Practice. There is no substitute to preparation. Audiences can tell if you have come prepared or not.
An unprepared speaker wastes their audience’s time. They invest their time to listen to you out of trust. When trust is broken, they feel cheated.
•Have a strong opener:
Why? How much time does it take to grab your audience’s attention? About 30 seconds. If you have not got their attention within 30 seconds, you have lost them. Most powerful speakers have very strong openers.
•Have a strong close:
Why are strong openers and closes crucial to a good presentation? Because they leave a lasting impression. Impressions stick in the mind whereas contents are lost. Impressions have a lasting effect.
•Always close with a ‘call to action’:
Every speech must close with a very strong and specific call to action. A call to action makes you a leader, otherwise you are only an information provider. If your speech does not end with a call to action, you are only a loud speaker, not a good public speaker.
These are only a few essentials of a good public speaker. Good public speaking needs a lot of practice.
