SPEAKING WITH IMPACT
Each week, speech coach and leadership mentor James Rosebush will answer a question on how to improve your public speaking.

Barbara Bellafiore, CEO, Bell Media, asks: “What is the best way to begin or end a speech to an audience with differing levels of technical expertise?”

Dear Barbara,

Great question! The first thing is to make a connection and build a bridge to your audience. You need them to trust you. Start with a little story, perhaps about the use of a technical skill you have, and how you applied it to a situation — and what happened as a result. It might even be about failing in that attempt. This will make you seem human, adaptive, and available to your audience — and a little vulnerable as well.

This is your warm-up — gain their confidence first. Then, explain that you’ll be speaking about some technical terms and apologize in advance for possibly overreaching. Reassure your audience that you’ll be happy to stay around afterward to explain anything to people who want to learn more. You don’t need to dumb down your content, but make sure you use words and communicate in ways that the audience can relate to.

I remember one time, listening to a speech about systems integration by a brilliant and fast-talking woman who impressed me for her intellect, but left me reeling from her vocabulary — which was almost exclusively, new, made-up terms. I was impressed with her intelligence and my lack of it. I don’t think she cared much about relating to her audience. It seemed more about a show of superiority for her. Don’t fall into that trap. Relate to the audience around your perceived knowledge level they possess — and learn as much as you can about them before you craft your remarks. Then you are sure to win them over and educate them at the same time. Good luck!

SPEAKING WITH IMPACT
Each week, speech coach and leadership mentor James Rosebush will answer a question on how to improve your public speaking.

Lynda Webster, CEO of The Webster Group, asks: “I consider myself a decent speaker, but I get a little flustered when people I know, such as my husband or close business colleagues, are in the audience. How do I overcome this? “

Lynda, you are not alone! We all feel this way. Sometimes when my wife is in the audience, I think that she’s the only one I need to impress — because if I don’t do my best, I’ll hear about it all the way home on the plane!
To want to please is a good thing. It helps us stay alert and on our toes, and to be competitive makes us better speakers. Now let’s stop right there because we don’t want our self-consciousness to get in the way of an excellent presentation. Yes, we can certainly feel inhibited when people we know are in the audience.

The best antidote for this problem is to become more immersed in the content of your speech. Try and forget about the physical space you’re standing in. Get yourself lost in what you’re saying and increase your energy and enthusiasm levels around your subject matter. This technique is a “germ-blocker” for the encroaching insecurity you may feel. Try raising the level of your voice, too, and say to yourself (as Margaret Thatcher once told me): “OK, you can do this!”

Have a question you’ve always wanted to ask about public speaking? Email James at JSRosebush@impactspeakercoach.com and your answer may feature here.

SPEAKING WITH IMPACT
Each week, speech coach and leadership mentor James Rosebush will answer a question on how to improve your public speaking.

Bruce Bond, CEO of Common Ground, asks: “How do I approach a skeptical or antagonist audience on a controversial topic?”

Dear Bruce,

What a timely question and one that perplexes many speakers today. As a speaker, you have a dual role, and you must function on both to make your speech work. First, you must thoroughly know and understand your content and material, and you need to know all aspects and points of view related to it. When you create a thesis for your talk, interview yourself, as if a journalist was questioning you and give yourself some tough questions. In this way, you’ll be vetting your material, turning it over, and considering it from different perspectives.

This is critical because there are always many different viewpoints on almost any topic. Don’t assume you only need to know your point of view. That is why there is so much anger in discourse today. We generally only take the time to establish and confirm our points of view and don’t educate ourselves on other ways of seeing the world. If you want to have a successful experience on stage, follow this advice.

The second tip is to know your audience. Get a briefing from your host on who might be in the audience. Do they reflect regional concerns? Do they represent specific age groups or educational levels? You’ll want to adjust your presentation material based on what you know about them. To build a bridge to your audience and to bring down any barrier between you, you must love your audience.

If you think you’ll meet some hostility or resistance, remember that there is something good in every audience and each individual listening to you. Don’t return hostility with hostility. Your job as the speaker is to represent your material capably, appreciate your audience and the effort they’ve made to come and hear you, and leave it at that.

Have a question you’ve always wanted to ask about public speaking? Email James at JSRosebush@impactspeakercoach.com and your answer may feature here.

SPEAKING WITH IMPACT
Each week, speech coach and leadership mentor James Rosebush will answer a question on how to improve your public speaking.

Preston Beale, CEO of GORP.com, asks: How can I get ready for spontaneous speaking if asked to step up to the microphone unexpectedly?

Dear Preston,

Yes, this is a major fear — to be called to the podium to make  spontaneous remarks for which you are not prepared.  This will happen to all of us at one time or another. There are two answers. 

In one scenario you are called up to make a comment or to reply to a specific situation or issue. When this is the case the solution is: always listen and respond contextually.  That is, your remedy and topic is easily at hand if you have been listening and are attentive to the topic being shared. Your comments would be within the context of the general subject.  

The second solution is what I call the “read the newspaper every day” remedy.  I always train my students to scan their regular newspaper or newsfeed every morning. If you do, you will always have something to say.  You might start by saying “I was thinking about the fascinating story of a Chinese entrepreneur who is fighting for the right to introduce crypto currency in Asia and how this applies to our own economy.” 

This information could be taken right from what you scanned and could prove topical and interesting, and score you points for knowing a little more than your audience. You are giving something to them. It will keep them focused and satisfied.  You’ll be amazed at how many people do not read the news and at how much material you can gain from reading it yourself!

Have a question you’ve always wanted to ask about public speaking? Email James at JSRosebush@impactspeakercoach.com and your answer may feature here.

SPEAKING WITH IMPACT
Each week, speech coach and leadership mentor James Rosebush will answer a question on how to improve your public speaking.

L. Clay Parrill, President and CEO, Electrocube Inc. asks: “How should I change my speaking style and delivery when speaking to different types of audiences, such as employees, peers and customers” 

Dear Clay,

This is a terrific question, and one shared by many CEOs. Since your primary style of communication comes from your authenticity and self-knowledge, a unique way you communicate would not be affected by your audience. After all, you are already steady and consistent in all your personal relationships each day. Developing a degree of honesty and integrity about who you are, relative to those you communicate with, is a crucial element in effective public speaking. Your audience — employees or the general public — can immediately sense whether you are comfortable with yourself, your content or message. There exists a perfect trifecta — speaker, audience and message. All three are interlinked and support the other.

Once you have mastered this essential skill, you can move on to knowing your audience. This can result in changing your strategy for each: inflection, patience with speaking, the degree of teaching or encouragement. These factors may vary depending on your audience. After finding your authenticity you’ll want to understand more about an audience — what they need, who they are, what their concerns might be. This shows you care about them, and if you do, they will care enough about you to respond with respect and thoughtfulness.

An excellent example of how you might change your manner of speaking is to recognize a familiar scenario for many executives. CEOs and people in authority often come home from work and bark orders at their spouse and children! They have forgotten their audience, and it can prove costly at a speaking event as much as it can ruin family life. This example is a poignant reminder of how each audience is unique, and should be treated that way.

Let’s say the subject of your speech is how to safeguard lives against a terrorist threat. Talking to your peers, you might approach this as a shared learning experience, trading helpful suggestions and more than likely being in listening mode. With customers, you might take a more knowing, informative, and favorable disposition when speaking. With employees, you might show your concern for their safety, while conveying preventative actions that should be implemented — your tone will be more direct and clear.

I would love to hear about how other leaders have handled this challenge. Comment below.

Have a question you’ve always wanted to ask about public speaking? Email James at JSRosebush@impactspeakercoach.com and your answer may feature here.