Tips on public speaking
7th Jun 2010
"Chief Executives regularly speak publicly at press conferences, business events and political conferences. But even the most successful business leaders need support.
In coaching our clients on public speaking, we have found that at the heart of improving public speaking is technique, practice, and humility.
Good public speaking techniques involve realising that speaking is not the same as talking in a conversation or smaller meeting. You need to slow down and punctuate your sentences more than you would in conversation. You need to think up creative ways of sustaining audience interest, by using anecdote and analogy. And you need to think about rhetorical techniques that will keep people listening (asking questions, giving answers; three part lists; and repetition of certain keywords).
The best speakers always practice. Winston Churchill would spend days on his major speeches. Tony Blair would re-write and re-write his lines. And behind the smooth oratorical skills of Barack Obama is years of knowledge about what works and what doesn't when speaking.
Humility, though, is key. Too many Chief Executives - especially the most confident - fail to realise that their skills in speaking to meetings do not translate into skills in speaking to much larger audiences. Many also think that preparation is beneath them. Never being complacent is the key to making sure you'll always perform at your best.
Useful link: www.americanrhetoric.com