Public Speaking for the Rest of Us

Are you a public speaker? No—let’s back up a little. Are you a speaker? Do you talk? To anyone? If so, you are a public speaker! Do you speak to your boss? To your own subordinates? Do you perhaps even present to local community groups? It’s all public speaking.

Now that you know you are a public speaker, would you like to be better at it? More comfortable, more compelling, more confident? That’s what these pages—these blogs—are all about. You’ll learn how to open your talk, how to build your case, and how to leave people wanting to take the next step.

I’m going to use the words “speech,” “talk,” and “presentation” interchangeably. And I define them broadly. When you ask your boss for a raise or a promotion, that is a speech. When you have a meeting with your subordinates or with management to discuss a project, that is a speech. And of course, when you present your pitch to potential customers or clients, that is a speech.

Your Speech Opening

Speeches have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Your opening—the beginning—sets the tone for your speech. Two important things happen during the opening: during the first 7 seconds, your audience decides whether or not they like you, and during the next 30 seconds, they decide whether or not they want to listen to you. That’s it. You’ve got 37 seconds to make a powerful first impression. Once they start fiddling with their phones, it’s over.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. How is everyone tonight? Thank you, Mr Host, for the introduction, and thank you all for being here. I’m Carolyn, and I’m going to share with you some strategies to blah blah blah.”

That’s more-or-less how I used to start my presentations. So wrong. Complete waste of everyone’s time. Don’t do it!

You want to open with a bang, proceed immediately to your big promise, and suggest a roadmap to follow. (For a full treatment of these topics, see my book, 7 Seconds to Connect: 3 Steps to Engage Your Audience with Confidence.)

Notice that I opened this post with you-focused questions to engage my audience (the bang). I proceeded to note that you would be more comfortable, more compelling, and more confident by following my blogs (my big promise). I then noted that you’ll learn how to open your talk, build your case, and leave your audience wanting your solution (the roadmap or outline of the presentation).

Your Speech Body

You build your case in the body of your speech. The body of your talk is the point of speaking. Without a point to make, there is no speech. What is it you want your listeners to come away with? How do you want them to change? What do you want them to do or to feel? Why should they listen to you?

Yogi Berra’s famous quote is relevant here: “If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.” Know where you’re going with your talk.

Okay, so you have a message to deliver. Now what? How do you get from here to there? You want your listeners to buy your widgets or you want this employer to hire you or you want these people to be inspired to follow their dream.

In all these situations, you’re asking your listeners to buy something. Whether it’s a product or you or an idea, you are selling something. It’s therefore critical to remember that “facts tell; stories sell.” Yes, tell a story!

I remember as a new Toastmaster listening to my first Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking. Perhaps you’d have had the same question going in that I had. “What will I be listening to here?” I sort of had it in my head that I’d hear a lot of figures, reports, boring stuff.

What I heard instead were stories! Humorous, serious, uplifting—stories. Just stories.

And I was enthralled! These were all world-class speakers, telling stories. Those stories got their point across in a way no amount of logical explanation could have done. I was enthralled and I was uplifted and I was changed. I bought what they had to give.

Did your widgets save a happy customer time or money or whatever? Tell that story! Did you have an impact with a previous employer or in a school activity? Tell that story! Did you in real life discover how important it is to follow your dream? Tell that story!

Stay tuned for more on the elements of storytelling that will help you take the bare bones of your tale and turn it into an engaging, impactful story.

Your Speech Closing

Your story sets you up for a powerful closing because it leaves your listeners wanting to hear how they can have the same success as the protagonist in your story. It’s the ask. It’s relating how your listeners can have the results they seek.

It’s not in-your-face selling; it’s soft selling; and it’s effective because your audience wants it. My widgets can be bought right here, right now. You can hire me. You can achieve your dream. You’ve been telling a story of results, not reciting facts about features; your listeners want those results and don’t, quite frankly, care about the features.

The speech closing, like the opening, consists of different parts, which I’ll discuss in detail in future blogs.

In the meantime, please share this post with friends and colleagues, and let me know what other topics you’d like to read about in terms of speaking in public, whether to business associates, colleagues, or just people. Simply comment in the space below. I’d love to hear from you!