7.4 Public Speaking

When

Public speaking is important in all professions and can be formal or informal. For example, you may deliver a formal presentation on a project at a conference to a group of professionals outside your organization. Or you may run a formal education session to teach a small group of colleagues about a work procedure you have been trained for with but is new to them. You might meet with clients every day and need to teach them about your services or a procedure or product they may need to use. Informally, you might want to bring up an issue in your workplace to the team and your supervisor has asked you to take 10 minutes at the next staff meeting to do so, or you may ask your colleagues to casually meet for 10 minutes at the start of the next work shift. These scenarios can also occur in a variety of environments, from in person at the office to online using a videoconference application such as Zoom to a larger auditorium-style room.

What

The SMART structure strategy from the previous section can be used to assemble the message you wish to deliver to an audience. In this section, we will explore three strategies for delivering your SMART structured content in a public speaking environment. We will discuss three strategies for effective public speaking:

1. 1. Reduce public speaking anxiety
   2. Prepare
   3. Use full body communication

Why

When speaking in public, two issues commonly arise. The first issue is that we deliver our message in the way we perceive to be best without taking our audience into consideration. Doing so results in the audience becoming distracted and the communication being ineffective because the intended message is not received. When speaking in public both formally or informally, you are taking your content and delivering it to an audience through different communication channels, within different environments, and with different noise. Inevitably, you’re going to need to consider your message and your own communication style and combine it with the diversity of communication styles in your audience and the environment.

Considering your audience is essential for effectively delivering your message, and the video below explains the following five reasons why:

1. People learn best in 20-minute chunks. That doesn’t mean your presentation can only last 20 minutes; it means you must take breaks or use different 20-minute activities during the time you have with your audience.
2. Multiple sensory channels compete. The best sense to appeal to when public speaking is visual, followed by auditory. Appealing to both senses can work if they are used in a complementary way, but they can also compete against each other, resulting in your intended message getting lost.
3. What you say is only part of the message. People react to your voice, stance, facial expressions, and hand movements.
4. If you want people to act, you must call them to action. Always conclude your message by being very specific about what you want your audience to do.
5. People imitate your emotions and feel your feelings. Your energy and passion are transferred to the audience. Your audience will match the level of engagement you show when delivering your message.

(Weinschenk, 2012)

The second issue that commonly arises is the fear of public speaking. If you feel fear, anxiety, or discomfort when confronted with the task of speaking in front of an audience, you are not alone. Research and polls consistently show that public speaking is among North Americans’ top fears (Bodie, 2010). Yet, since we all have to engage in some form of public speaking, this is a fear that many people must face regularly. Effectively managing speaking anxiety has many positive effects on your speech. One major area that can improve with less anxiety is delivery. Although speaking anxiety is natural and normal, it can interfere with verbal and nonverbal delivery, which makes a speech less effective.

How

First, let’s explore strategies that will allow you to effectively reduce public speaking anxiety and connect to your audience so that your intended message is effectively delivered.

Strategy 1: Reduce Public Speaking Anxiety

Many factors contribute to speaking anxiety, and there are many ways to address it. The list below offers 10 ways to reduce public speaking anxiety. Although not all the listed strategies are about communicating differently, each strategy can improve how effectively you communicate during a public speaking engagement.

1. Remember that you are not alone. Public speaking anxiety is common, so don’t ignore it—confront it.
2. Remember that you can’t literally “die of embarrassment.” Audiences are forgiving and understanding.
3. Remember that it always feels worse than it looks.
4. Take deep breaths. Deep breathing releases endorphins, which naturally fight the adrenaline that causes anxiety.
5. Look the part. Dress professionally to enhance your confidence.
6. Channel your nervousness into positive energy and motivation.
7. Start your outline and research early. Better information equals higher confidence.
8. Practise and get feedback from a trusted source—don’t just practise in front of your cat.
9. Visualize success through positive thinking.
10. Prepare, prepare, prepare! Practice is a speaker’s best friend.

Now, let’s explore the last two strategies to set yourself up for public speaking success: 2) Prepare and 3) Use Full Body Communication.

Strategy 2: Prepare

The following five steps are part of preparing for a successful public speaking experience:

1) Choose right setup in the right room

• People are sensitive to how full a room is. If you can, choose a venue that accommodates the expected number of guests without much room left over. Empty space can makes your turnout look lame and drains energy from your presentation.
• If you can’t change the space, remove extra chairs and pull the remaining ones into a semi-circle. In a space with lots of extra chairs, people will naturally sit near the back or far apart from each other, so don’t give them the option. Squeezing people into fewer chairs gets them talking to each other and increases the anticipation level in the room.
• Regardless of the size of the room, try to arrive early so you can shake hands and meet a few people. Thank them for being there. Ask them what they want to get out of the presentation. Don’t let your nerves or your desire to pre-test the audio system prevent you from making a few friends before you start.
• If your audience is joining you virtually, you can set up your online environment just as easily, using the LAMBS strategy in Table 7.5 below.

Table 7.5. LAMBS Strategy

(Neff, 2023)

2) Check your tech

Technology is both a blessing and a curse in presentations. To help reduce the stress and increase your success, use the following technology checklist:

• If you are relying on slides or a microphone, arrive early enough to practise a bit and meet a few audience members before your speech.
• Bring extra cords and connectors, and/or test your Bluetooth.
• Bring a printed copy of your notes and slides just in case.
• Check the volume on the microphone and know how to change it.
• Test the house-provided remote control or bring your own.
• Have a backup plan in case your tech fails you completely; for example, prepare additional stories, participative exercises, or an artifact you need for a simple object lesson.

3) Push the podium aside

A podium is a good place to keep your water bottle, but don’t hide behind it. People trust you more when they can see your whole body, and you’ll be able to use the floor space to keep your audience’s attention and make your points clear. Similarly, don’t just stand beside the screen. Your slides and visual aids are there to support you, not the other way around.

4) Practise, practise, practise!

Three times—that’s the magic number for confidence and success. Don’t write your presentation word for word and try to memorize it—that approach uses a different part of your brain that’s not as nimble. If you try to deliver a memorized speech and lose concentration or forget a word, your confidence will disappear in the middle of your delivery, and you’ll have to go back to your notes and regroup.

If you have good notes and practise your whole talk three times in front of a co-worker (or even your smartphone’s camera), your brain will have a solid but flexible framework. Practice also gives you an innate sense of timing, helping you know where to stretch or cut your content if needed.

5) Pay attention to your clothing and grooming

Arrive fresh, clean, and dressed one step above the audience average. Depending on the importance of the event and your own fashion awareness, asking for dress advice can be useful. Wrinkles, baggy knees, uneven hems, and stains are all distracting and reduce audience confidence.

For virtual presentations, you should still dress professionally—even if the audience cannot see your basketball shorts. Dressing professionally makes you feel professional, which will boost your confidence.

Strategy 3: Use Full Body Communication

When public speaking, how you use your body impacts how your message is heard and understood. To best connect to your audience in person or online, think about delivering your message in the same way you have a conversation and transfer those behaviours to the public speaking environment. Having a conversation with your audience feels much more connected and engaging than delivering information.

Consider these five tips for improving communication delivery and engaging your audience with your message.

1) Modulate your speaking rate, pitch, and volume

Your voice is a signature part of you, like your fingerprint, according to Dr. Wendy LeBorgne, a researcher and elite vocal coach. Strengthen your vocal signature by ensuring that your voice has good volume, pace, and clarity. Don’t shy away from injecting feeling and expressiveness into your voice. Get feedback from peers on these features because what you hear inside your head isn’t what your listeners hear.

Another option is to record a video of yourself to check your voice. Just as you need to keep your face and body mobile, keep your voice mobile, too. Vary the speed, volume, and intensity to match your message.

(TEDx Talks, 2018)

2) Avoid eye tricks

Your eyes are a crucial way to connect with your audience—to see and be seen by them. The problem is that when we’re nervous, we tend to focus inward and become self-conscious. We look down at the floor or at the wall.

Remind yourself that the people in the audience generally want you to succeed. In the spirit of making your presentation a conversation, try to hold short mini-conversations with individual audience members. Look an audience member in the eyes, speak to them for three seconds, then repeat the same thing with someone in another part of the room, thus spreading your attention throughout the audience.

Eye contact during virtual presentations is a different matter. If you try to look at different individuals on your screen, no one will feel like you’re looking at them. You need to keep your eyes on the camera. Attach a picture of smiling people right at camera level to remind you where to focus your gaze.

Unless you’re delivering bad news or talking about a sombre topic, make sure your smile reaches your eyes. A twinkle in the eye will make your audience inclined to smile back and feel more positive about both your presentation and you.

3) Display congruent facial gestures

An authentic smile is one of a speaker’s best resources. It doesn’t have to be a big, toothy grin, but unless you’re announcing a tragedy, try to look happy. A wry smile is fine if you’re a dry-humour person.

Animate your face. A stiff, immobile expression is off-putting—even disturbing—to watch. The larger your audience, the more you need to exaggerate your expressions and move your eyes, eyebrows, and mouth with more emphasis than you might in a personal conversation.

Eyebrows may seem like an odd communication tool, but they’re the first thing from the top of your head down that you can move to show expression. Raise them to show surprise or delight, draw them up together to emphasize a question, or furrow them to show concern or concentration. Whatever you do, remember that your eyebrows are frames for your eyes to draw people’s attention.

4) Use purposeful hand gestures

Your hands are remarkably useful storytellers. They can nonverbally emphasize a trend by moving from the audience’s lower left to upper right (“The quality of services has increased”). Spread them wide to demonstrate a concept (“We’ll be spreading the task load more evenly among the teams”). Your hands can count out three points, put an end to an ineffective policy, or raise people to their feet for a stretch. The key is to use them purposefully to accompany the words coming out of your mouth.

When you’re in a large space, go big or go home. Keep arm motions above your waist and away from your body. Don’t flap your forearms near your body like you have tiny T-rex arms. Use large arm gestures, too.

5) Develop lower-body stillness

Great posture conveys confidence, so roll your shoulders back and allow your limbs to hang from that strong framework. Straighten your spine to pull your head up, too, which will make managing your arms and legs easier. Posture changes the hormones in your body, replacing stress with confidence.

When you’ve got some floor space, move deliberately within it to emphasize your points. For example, if you’re talking about change over time, move from the audience’s left to the right as you introduce the benefits of the change.

Avoid moving just to be moving. Walking back and forth on a single line with no reference to your content makes you look fidgety and unsure of yourself.

Practise a calm, neutral stance for those times in your presentation when you’re not gesturing or moving purposefully—while you listen to a question or show a visual, for instance. When nervous, people exhibit repeated behaviours like pacing, flipping their hair back, or pulling a ring on and off. These subconscious tics are distracting to the audience.

A comfortable neutral stance consists of feet at shoulder width or a little narrower, with your hands hanging comfortably at your sides. Such a position will feel awkward at first, but keep practising. If your hands hang loosely at your sides, they will not distract the audience.

In the video below, Julian Treasure, author of the book How to Be Heard, offers guidance about how to use verbal and nonverbal communication to speak so that people want to listen.

(TED, 2014)

Table 7.6. Julian Treasure’s Key Points

These public speaking strategies are just three, but there are many more. These ones were chosen because they apply to the wide variety of public speaking situations you may face professionally. You may wish to do further research to see if there are strategies for specific environments and interactions that are unique to your profession.

References

Bodie, G. D. (2009). A racing heart, rattling knees, and ruminative thoughts: Defining, explaining, and treating public speaking anxiety. Communication Education, 59(1), 70–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/03634520903443849

Neff, D. (2023). Step up to your virtual setup. Duarte. https://www.duarte.com/resources/webinars-videos/step-up-your-virtual-setup/

Stanford Graduate School of Business. (2014, May 14). Make body language your superpower [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/cFLjudWTuGQ

TED. (2014, June 27). How to speak so that people want to listen | Julian Treasure [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/eIho2S0ZahI

TEDx Talks. (2018, May 22). Vocal branding: How your voice shapes your communication image | Wendy LeBorgne | TEDxUCincinnati [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/p_ylzGfHKOs

Weinschenk, S. (2012, June 18). 5 things every presenter needs to know about people [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJUblvGfW6w&t=3s&ab_channel=SusanWeinschenk