How to Deliver a Knock-Their-Socks-Off Public Speech

by Byron Woodson II

I wrote this post in response to AJ Kumar's post about public speaking. In it he outlines a few reasons why people are terrible at public speaking. That's great. But I'd like to know how to be a great public speaker. That might help if i'm going to be in front of a lot of people networking.

They say that people fear public speaking, more than they fear death. I think that's because most people don't know what they'd like to say in a speech. People's reactions would be different if someone asked "are you scared of public speaking" versus "would you be scared to give a speech on [insert speech topic here] if I helped you gather some materials to talk about and helped you practice once or twice?"

As people, we often get ourselves scared about abstract possibilities (in this case a speech) when we don't have step-by-step or even stage-by-stage instructions to do something about whatever we're scared about.

So then, how do to deliver a knock-their-socks-off public speech?

1. know your stuff
Anyone who fumbles on the important information will be discredited. So an important thing to do is be over-prepared. When at the university, I used to read books in the bibliography of the books I had to read for class (history classes, nothing hard like o-chemistry). So when it came time to write an essay or answer a question in class, I could quote the author's sources. Who impressed the teachers, and was the bane of his classmates?

1. Practice two versions of the speech
One way to further your mastery of the material, is to write two speeches about the same thing, and practice both of them for a little bit. Having two speeches written and practices makes you more comfortable not only in knowing your stuff, but also delivering the goods in different ways. To score consistently, you need to be able to shoot a three-pointer and drive to the bucket, not just one or the other.

1. Never talk to an audience
Audiences can be overwhelming, just like those abstract possibilities that we frighten ourselves with. And just as we beat our fears when we have a plan, we need a plan to deal with the audience. An audience is composed of tens or hundreds of individuals. Don't speak to the tens or hundreds, speak to the individuals.

Even Nascar drivers report having moments during 230mph races where they get flashes of a fan's facial expression frozen in time. If they see an individuals' face at 230mph, you can do it while standing still!

Focus your eyes and your attention on one person at a time. They find that great teachers tend to look their students straight in the eye while they talk. This signals to the student they are talking to, and the other students, that the teacher literally has their eyes and attention on the student(s), while delivering the information.

By making eye contact with a person for two or three sentences, then move to the next person, you are capturing their individual attention, and you are talking to individual humans. A by-product of looking individuals in their eyes keeps your sight and attention off of the crowd. Remember, it's much easier to talk to an individual than a crowd. By focusing your attention and your eyes on individuals, the crowd actually disappears for you.

What's with the fuzzy math?
Well, each of these is as important than the other. Though they happen in stages, for each stage, that stage is the most important thing. Like Roger Merrill said in his book "the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing", and I'm pointing out the main things of each stage.

Don't be a Network Groupie, Be Productive Instead

by Byron Woodson II

I was talking to a friend that dipped her toe in the social networking arena, and didn't like the feel of the water. I'll keep her name under wraps so as not to embarrass her (especially because I'm going to make fun of her here). Let's call her Marie (I know no Marie's).

Marie was talking to me today about how someone in her industry said that print advertising is dead. They said that they stopped all money going into postcards, mailings and the like, and moved all of their money into online advertising and social networking. They even recommended getting into blogging, facebook and linkedin. Sounds a bit novel doesn't it?

Marie was telling me this because I'm in charge of the marketing of her business. I had to have a conversation with her about how that wouldn't really work for her. She's one of the people with a low BS tolerance, and in social networking, there's a lot of BS going around. She said that she attended a few meetings of a prominent networking organization (I don't want to drag them into this mud) and was put off. She wasn't impressed by the caliber of people in that organization.

I told her that social networking isn't just social networking. If you don't want to network socially, then network for a purpose. I told her to go back to that organization and get on a committee. I told Marie that people won't recommend her in her line of business because they haven't heard nor seen evidence of her work or work ethic. What she should do is to go and get back in the organization and join a couple committees, and become a reliable member of those committees. Going to general body meetings and social events is soo early 2000's. Especially today, everyone is a member of an organization. The new distinction isn't if you're a member, it's if you're a productive member (though some organizations care more about dues than anything)!

By joining an organization you meet people, you get to know them socially. By taking on responsibilities as part of a committee, either permanent or ad-hoc, you get to know people through their work, and vice versa. If you knew three accountants, and one of them was a solid member of your committee, who would you refer business to? The one who was a solid member of the committee of course!

The basic theme here is to not only join an organization, but to do something productive in it. You know a person by their deeds, not their words.

Do this:
1. Find an organization that you might like, go join one or two of their committees.
2. If you used to be part of an organization already, re-activate your membership.
3. If you are part of an organization, don't just be active by attending events, be productive by producing them.
4. If you're already head of a committee (or three), step down and let someone else hold the reins. In your down-time, join another organization.
5. If you're not into the 'group' thing, fire up tivo an stay by yourself :)

Your Online Professional Brand is Your Book Cover

by Byron Woodson II

Let's face it, people judge books by their covers. This is why we say not to do it! If you are concerned about your professional brand, and how others see you online and in person, you're worried about your cover.

Your Professional Brand Online (the cover)
I remember waay back in about 1998 when people started the weirdest thing, the started "googling" themselves. This was in the day where not a lot of social-networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn broadcast your name across the web. I remember a few athletes I knew finding sports articles from their local papers mentioning their names. I found it fascinating.

1. what are you a part of
Today, you can take a lot of control over what peopel know about you and can find about you, simply by overwhelming them with information. Putting up a profile on Facebook and LinkedIn acts as a first-stop. Little known, if you have a google account, you can even set up a public Google profile from there.

By proactively signing yourself up for these services, you can put your best foot forward in introducing yourself to other people.

A more intense way to control your online presence is to involve yourself in an online community focused on one of your passions. If you're an avid gardner, signing up for a gardening discussion forum may associate your name with gardeneing expertise. Participating in online communities that you are passionate about is a great way to put your best foot forward online, and do something you enjoy at the same time. Some people recommend blogging about what you love, but let me tell you about blogging . . . if you don't love it, it isn't for you. Don't force yourself to blog, only do it if you want to express yourself.

2. what are you not a part of
Almost as important as what you are a part of is what you are not a part of. There are millions of people lurking around trying to not get on facebook and LinkedIn. The fact that you aren't on these sites says something about you. Sometimes it says you prefer to network and interact face-to-face. Other times it says you simply like to do things your way. Still other times it says you are just a party-pooper. The lack of an online presence can spark any one of these thoughts. So, also consider the consequences of not participating online.

3. control what you can, pray for the rest
With the ability to put your best foot forward, someone is bound to tag you on facebook in one of your more candid moments. All you can do then is pray for what ever else is out there.


Your Professional Brand In Person (the book)
This is actually more important than your online presence. Your professional brand in person is actually who you are and how you carry yourself in a conversation. This includes during interviews, your work ethic and when you're joking around the office.

1. how you look
How you look is important. I'm no style guru, but you definitely do not want to either be the bummiest person at your job, nor the most well-dressed. Basically you want to keep your look stylish and well-kept.

2. how you interact
How you interact with a person revolves around how well you pass control of a conversation back and forth. Some people are quiet, and some people try to railroad the conversation. What you want to aim for is to be able to bully conversation bullies so you can get a word in edgewise, and also be able to pull information from shy people without making them uncomfortable. A great way to influence the direction and pace of a conversation is questions. They're only about as effective depending on:

3. how good your questions are
When you ask someone a question about something they just said, they get the feeling that you've been listening to them. People usually like that. Depending on how perceptive your question is, influences how well that person thinks of you. Asking perceptive questions makes people think you're smart and attentive. Continually saying 'uh-huh' or 'is that so' signals to people that you have minimal interest in them, and they're likely to then have limited interest in you.


Wrapping it up
Managing your online brand if you aren't into it takes only about an hour to set up. All you have to do is set up a LinkedIn account and a Facebook account. Post a few things about yourself, job information (FB), favorite food (FB) and you're good to go. If you want to connect with a lot of people instantly, both of these services let you import your address book from most of the major email applications. This lets you connect with hundreds of peopel you know, and thousands of people you don't who were cc'd on emails you recieved.

Do This:
Read this post that helps you assess your professional and personal brand. You can also download a free pdf from Steve Woodruff that will help you build an online opportunity network .