Much has been said about rehearsing your talk till you get it right. But what if you're rehearsing the wrong things with the wrong voice inside your head? And what are the right things? And how do you rehearse them? This insightful article explains it all so when the time comes, you'll step forward with confidence as a speaker in control, eager to share your ideas with your listeners.
Get to the heart of the matter: When planning a talk we often waste a lot of precious time and energy worrying about how we are going to start it, when what we should be doing first is establishing a very clear idea of where we want our listeners to end up. So we've got to spend a little time formulating what I call a 'focus sentence', a statement that embodies the essence of our message and conclusion. For example not long back I gave a talk entitled "How to beat the nerves in a business presentation" and the first thing I did as part of my planning was write out my 'focus sentence' along the lines: I want to show these people how to replace their fear of speaking before groups with the firm belief that they now know What to say and How to say it with Confidence! I now had a clear beacon that showed the way to where I wanted to take my listeners and what examples to use in the body of my talk to lead them there. And when we arrived at our destination all I had to do was echo the sentiments embodied in my 'focus sentence' for an ending that was crisp, deliberate and meant something.
Relax in your favourite chair: Whenever I speak in front of an audience or conduct a workshop I make sure I run through my entire talk 'live' a few times beforehand. I actually trick my mind into believing I've been with this audience before so that when I step onto the platform I've created a comfort zone within myself and the situation no longer frightens me. Here's how I go about it. I wait until I'm completely alone with no distractions. Then when I'm nice and relaxed in my favourite chair, I mentally take myself to the venue - with my eyes open. I imagine myself sitting among the audience, a little keyed-up sure... yet I feel good about where I've been, who I am, why I'm there and what I'm about to say. I see a room full of friendly people enjoying themselves over dinner and can sense an atmosphere of excited expectancy. Most of all I remind myself that these people are my friends and have gone out of their way to learn from what I've got to say... No one is there to do me any harm.
Talk to key ideas: With all this in mind, I read through my first draft a few times, not to memorise it by heart, but to feel at home with my audience, my main ideas, those all-important bridging thoughts from one main idea to the next, and some key terms and phrases. This phase usually takes a couple of sittings of twenty minutes or so. When I'm comfortable with this, I reduce this original draft down to a few key mental joggers. From this point onwards I'll rehearse to these key points (not my first draft), although I still keep my written draft handy to refer to and make ongoing adjustments. Remember that your talk is never static. It's a dynamic living thing. Now I'm ready to rehearse to my key ideas 'live'.
Keep your speech simple. Public speaking can be very difficult when you have lots of ideas, many things you would like to "hit on," but in all reality, most people's attention spans are pushed to their limits while watching television. So, make it simple. Talk about two to three key points and write in a style of language targeted for the group.
A young playwright once said to Leonard Bernstein. "I have a fantastic idea for a stage play." Bernstein replied: "I would love to hear it - write it down on the back of your business card and give it to me." Astonished the young man said, "I can't possibly put the whole idea on the back of a business card." Bernstein replied: "Then you don't have a valuable concept." Your 'focus sentence' is exactly the same. So spend time reflecting on who your audience are, why they are there, their possible frame of mind and the precise message you want to get across to them. Now you're ready to reduce this message down to your single 'focus sentence'. This single operation will cut heaps off your preparation time, for with this one stroke you will have formulated both your conclusion and the destination of where you want to take your listeners. And as Robert discovered, all you have to do at the end of your talk is echo the central idea of your 'focus sentence' for it encapsulates the heart of what you want to say. You'll now have a crisp, clear, deliberate ending that ads impact to your presentation and ties it all together. Makes sense doesn't it.
Don't try and be Perfect: And the same goes for using a mirror or video camera to meticulously polish the technical aspects of your talk. At the end of a coaching session on public speaking with one of Australia's leading acrobats she said to me: "This is fantastic! I'm now going to rehearse in front of a video camera until I have it perfect". I cautioned against it. "This is not a circus performance where each movement has to be painstakingly rehearsed for many months because of a life-and-death necessity. This is all about creating intuitive rapport with people and relating to them on a human level. Your rehearsal should anticipate - actually visualize - some spontaneous interaction and asides". I got her to understand that speaking before groups is not about being a technically perfect performance... yet it can still infect people with her enthusiasm and fire them with her passion! What was said earlier in this article is worth repeating: Your listeners are looking for connection not perfection! There's one more important thing. On the way to the venue I go over my opening words one final time to make sure I've got them off pat. For what was rehearsed yesterday has a tendency to go cold over night. My list of key mental joggers will remind me of what example to use and keep me on track throughout my talk, but what I say first always needs some last minute refinement to ensure I'm comfortable with my opening ideas. After all, they're the words that will not only grab my listeners' attention and get them interested... they share the pressure around and get me safely through that initial adrenalin barrier to enjoy the rest of my talk. Implement all these tried-and-proven tips and you can do the same.
Get to the heart of the matter: When planning a talk we often waste a lot of precious time and energy worrying about how we are going to start it, when what we should be doing first is establishing a very clear idea of where we want our listeners to end up. So we've got to spend a little time formulating what I call a 'focus sentence', a statement that embodies the essence of our message and conclusion. For example not long back I gave a talk entitled "How to beat the nerves in a business presentation" and the first thing I did as part of my planning was write out my 'focus sentence' along the lines: I want to show these people how to replace their fear of speaking before groups with the firm belief that they now know What to say and How to say it with Confidence! I now had a clear beacon that showed the way to where I wanted to take my listeners and what examples to use in the body of my talk to lead them there. And when we arrived at our destination all I had to do was echo the sentiments embodied in my 'focus sentence' for an ending that was crisp, deliberate and meant something.
Relax in your favourite chair: Whenever I speak in front of an audience or conduct a workshop I make sure I run through my entire talk 'live' a few times beforehand. I actually trick my mind into believing I've been with this audience before so that when I step onto the platform I've created a comfort zone within myself and the situation no longer frightens me. Here's how I go about it. I wait until I'm completely alone with no distractions. Then when I'm nice and relaxed in my favourite chair, I mentally take myself to the venue - with my eyes open. I imagine myself sitting among the audience, a little keyed-up sure... yet I feel good about where I've been, who I am, why I'm there and what I'm about to say. I see a room full of friendly people enjoying themselves over dinner and can sense an atmosphere of excited expectancy. Most of all I remind myself that these people are my friends and have gone out of their way to learn from what I've got to say... No one is there to do me any harm.
Talk to key ideas: With all this in mind, I read through my first draft a few times, not to memorise it by heart, but to feel at home with my audience, my main ideas, those all-important bridging thoughts from one main idea to the next, and some key terms and phrases. This phase usually takes a couple of sittings of twenty minutes or so. When I'm comfortable with this, I reduce this original draft down to a few key mental joggers. From this point onwards I'll rehearse to these key points (not my first draft), although I still keep my written draft handy to refer to and make ongoing adjustments. Remember that your talk is never static. It's a dynamic living thing. Now I'm ready to rehearse to my key ideas 'live'.
Keep your speech simple. Public speaking can be very difficult when you have lots of ideas, many things you would like to "hit on," but in all reality, most people's attention spans are pushed to their limits while watching television. So, make it simple. Talk about two to three key points and write in a style of language targeted for the group.
A young playwright once said to Leonard Bernstein. "I have a fantastic idea for a stage play." Bernstein replied: "I would love to hear it - write it down on the back of your business card and give it to me." Astonished the young man said, "I can't possibly put the whole idea on the back of a business card." Bernstein replied: "Then you don't have a valuable concept." Your 'focus sentence' is exactly the same. So spend time reflecting on who your audience are, why they are there, their possible frame of mind and the precise message you want to get across to them. Now you're ready to reduce this message down to your single 'focus sentence'. This single operation will cut heaps off your preparation time, for with this one stroke you will have formulated both your conclusion and the destination of where you want to take your listeners. And as Robert discovered, all you have to do at the end of your talk is echo the central idea of your 'focus sentence' for it encapsulates the heart of what you want to say. You'll now have a crisp, clear, deliberate ending that ads impact to your presentation and ties it all together. Makes sense doesn't it.
Don't try and be Perfect: And the same goes for using a mirror or video camera to meticulously polish the technical aspects of your talk. At the end of a coaching session on public speaking with one of Australia's leading acrobats she said to me: "This is fantastic! I'm now going to rehearse in front of a video camera until I have it perfect". I cautioned against it. "This is not a circus performance where each movement has to be painstakingly rehearsed for many months because of a life-and-death necessity. This is all about creating intuitive rapport with people and relating to them on a human level. Your rehearsal should anticipate - actually visualize - some spontaneous interaction and asides". I got her to understand that speaking before groups is not about being a technically perfect performance... yet it can still infect people with her enthusiasm and fire them with her passion! What was said earlier in this article is worth repeating: Your listeners are looking for connection not perfection! There's one more important thing. On the way to the venue I go over my opening words one final time to make sure I've got them off pat. For what was rehearsed yesterday has a tendency to go cold over night. My list of key mental joggers will remind me of what example to use and keep me on track throughout my talk, but what I say first always needs some last minute refinement to ensure I'm comfortable with my opening ideas. After all, they're the words that will not only grab my listeners' attention and get them interested... they share the pressure around and get me safely through that initial adrenalin barrier to enjoy the rest of my talk. Implement all these tried-and-proven tips and you can do the same.
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