Here are five best practices of public speaking that speakers don’t always follow, but should resolve to in 2012:

1. Pick up the phone before you pick up the pen.

You can only learn so much from event planners and the demographic information provided by the group you are addressing. It takes actual conversations with expected audience members to get a handle on their interests, needs, and knowledge of your subject.

While e-mail is passable in a pinch, it is far better to pick up the phone and talk to five rank-and-file people who likely will be in your audience. Have a few questions planned, but only use them to keep the conversation going or ask for clarification.

Chris Lu, a senior official at the White House recalled, “When I was drafting my first college commencement speech, I called several graduating seniors to learn about their campus experiences – their triumphs and struggles, favorite professors and hangout places, and common bonding moments. Drawing on these references and vignettes in my remarks, I was also able to make my speech more relevant to the audience. Afterward, several long-time professors said it was the best commencement speech they had heard.”

As Lu successfully did, make sure to listen for stories and examples you can weave into your speech, as well as inside information or jokes you can allude to. This shows your audience that you have done your research and aren’t giving a canned presentation.

2. Have a laser-focused point.

No, not a laser pointer, a laser-focused point.

It may sound obvious, but too many speakers don’t have a succinct main idea. If you can’t explain your speech in a sentence, you certainly won’t explain it in an hour.

Use a short, clear phrase or sentence that summarizes the point of your presentation to tell your audience what to expect. It doesn’t have to be the first thing out of your mouth, but should come during the introduction and set-up of your speech. Then, make sure you relate your main points back to that central idea as your presentation progresses.

3. Rehearse six times for success.

We all know that practice makes perfect, but exactly how much? Rehearse at least six times. That’s right, a minimum of six times.

Why six? There is something special about the sixth rehearsal. It’s the rehearsal when speakers truly master their content, can recover quickly from hiccups in their delivery, and feel significantly more comfortable at the lectern.

A case in point is that of work-life integration coach Carolyn Semedo, a participant in a recent series of small-group coaching classes. During one session, she acknowledged feeling frustrated that she was stumbling over the content of a presentation she was slated to deliver.

She chalked it up to being a mediocre presenter. In response to a question about her method of rehearsing, she said that she had practiced once over the weekend and again on Monday evening as she was driving to class.

Of course Carolyn’s delivery was rocky! Even the most celebrated speakers don’t have their material down on a second run through. On the contrary, speakers who make presenting look easy are those who have practiced their material the most.

Carolyn is by no means a mediocre presenter. Like many speakers, she just needed some coaching on how to rehearse. She said, “I thought that by rehearsing two or three times, I should have it nailed. It was very helpful to learn that more rehearsals were the key to a better speech.”

4. Get feedback – before and after your speech.

You can learn a lot by asking listeners how your speech was effective… and how it was not.

Get a gut check before the curtain goes up; have a trusted colleague and/or a speech coach evaluate the content and delivery of your presentation. This will help prevent a situation where your presentation misses the mark or humor falls flat. It also will help you identify what works, as well as what needs refining. Make sure you ask for specific suggestions on how to improve the speech.

It is just as important to get feedback after the presentation. Written evaluations can be especially easy if the conference or event already is collecting data from listeners. Review the questionnaire ahead of time and ask to see the results. If the questionnaire isn’t thorough or specific enough, ask to add some questions or supplement it with your own form focused on the reception of your speech.

If a formal evaluation isn’t possible or appropriate, interview a few members of the audience after your presentation to see what stood out to them – asking about strengths as well as areas that need improvement. In some settings, like toasts and graduation speeches, it can be difficult to get specific feedback from members of your audience because they’re listening mainly for pleasure. In these instances, it is helpful to talk to a few known and trusted audience members beforehand, asking them to listen to the speech critically and provide an evaluation.

5. Get caught on camera.

Video is an unparalleled learning tool. Though some speakers find it painful to watch themselves on camera, reviewing recordings of rehearsals and presentations will open your eyes to bad speaking habits and other issues.

“Although I was initially apprehensive about watching the video recordings of my practice speeches,” admitted Kristie Patton, who works at the National Council on Aging, “I came to view this exercise as extremely helpful.

“It offered a valuable window into how I was communicating with my audience, both verbally and non-verbally. In addition to observing standard communication errors, like speaking too quickly or using filler words, it was also instructive to note that something as seemingly innocuous as my earrings could serve as a distraction to my audience.”

Furthermore, video is a great way to document progress. Like taking photos before starting a new diet and exercise regime, comparing video provides motivation when you see progress and the payoff for your hard work. And when you get more proficient in speaking and comfortable watching yourself on camera, recordings will become a useful tool for spreading your message well beyond your physical audience – whether you put them on YouTube, your website, social media, or other platforms.

Resolve to follow these best practices in the New Year, and your audience, undoubtedly, will see a dramatic improvement in your presentations.

What are YOUR resolutions for 2012?

In addition to these five best practices, what will you resolve to improve in 2012? Please share your resolutions in the comments.

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Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Christine Clapp is president of Spoken with Authority, providing one-on-one coaching, small-group classes and workshops that develop the voice of experts who want to broaden their impact. She also is a lecturer in the Department of Communication at The George Washington University.

Moses Cherrington asks:

Is there a most common problem associated with public speaking, according to your point of view and experience in public speaking?

There is, sadly, an abundance of common problems which afflict speakers. In this article, we’ll focus on three of the worst which sabotage many speakers.

Problem #1: Lack of Purpose

I frequently have people ask me to review their presentation slides. Naturally, they want to open PowerPoint first, and dive into showing me their slide deck. However, I’ll ask them: “Before we dive in, what’s your message?”

When they respond “What do you mean?” (and they often do), I know we’ve got a problem much larger than poorly designed slides.

Reviewing your slides without having clarity on your core message is like critiquing your bombing technique without knowing why you are at war.

And this problem — failure to have clarity on your core message — is not confined to those who speak with slides. It’s very common among all speakers. If you don’t have clarity on your message, your audience won’t either.

Problem #2: Lack of Passion

The opportunity to speak to an audience is a wonderful gift.  Sometimes getting one person to listen is challenging, so having a full room of listeners is a blessing. But this blessing is completely wasted if the speaker has no passion.

In The Secret of Choosing Successful Speech Topics, we learned that to be successful, you must love your topic, and be passionate about sharing your knowledge.

When you speak without passion, your delivery is guaranteed to be flat. Your energy level, your eyes, and your expressions will all show your own lack of interest. Conversely, possessing great passion for your topic can mask many delivery flaws.

Problem #3: Lack of Preparation

The third common problem with many speakers is a lack of preparation.

I once spoke with a new employee about to give his first corporate presentation: a 30-minute project summary to the department. I asked him how much preparation he had done, and he responded that he “had spent all evening on it.” I reminded him that 25 people were going to be there, all of whom have busy schedules (not to mention salaries higher than his), and they were expecting a useful presentation.

He bombed the presentation. Half the audience walked out half-way through. The others survived long enough to enjoy the cookies and cake being served.

When a speaker fails to prepare adequately:

• Audience analysis is done hastily, or (probably) not at all.
• Research is minimal, and the content is just whatever was easily obtainable.
• Slides, if any, will be thrown together sloppily, and will probably be all text bullets.
• Little editing is performed, meaning the structure is murky and vague.
• The presentation will not be rehearsed, usually leading to haphazard delivery and poor time management.

Ultimately, failing to prepare represents a huge missed opportunity. Not only will the audience not be persuaded by the presentation, but they’ll probably be insulted that their time has been wasted.

The 7 Deadly Sins of Public Speaking

For seven more tragic problems, check out the highly popular 7 Deadly Sins of Public Speaking article featured on Six Minutes a couple years ago.

Your Turn… What’s Your Opinion?

What are the most common problems afflicting public speakers in your opinion?

Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Similar Articles You May Like... How to Dress for Public Speaking Speechwriting Hocus Pocus: Summoning Your Magical Powers 5 Speaking Resolutions to Wow Your Audience in 2012 Bookending Your Speech: A Master Technique How to Ace the Short, Impromptu Speech Why You Must Relish Every Opportunity to Speak

Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.

Suit or sweater?

Pants or a dress?

Does how you dress impact your effectiveness as a speaker? If so, how?

Eric Hudon (@erichudonca) asks this on Twitter:

@6minutes How should a speaker dress and in what circumstance? Casual, Formal, Other? What is to be avoided?

In this article, we examine clothing do’s and don’ts for public speakers.

Dress Like Your Audience is Dressed

Different speaking situations call for different clothing styles, but you are usually pretty safe if you are clean, tidy, and dressed as your audience is dressed. Why?

1. Ethos (your credibility) is one of three pillars of persuasion.
2. To develop ethos, you emphasize your similarity to your audience.
3. One practical way to achieve this is by dressing similarly to them.

So, how do you know how your audience will dress? Do your audience analysis! If the venue is a recurring conference or setting, go with what people wore last time. If you are presenting at a venue which is new to you, ask the event organizer what the usual dress code is. If there is a strong dress code, adhere to it!

This doesn’t mean you have to wear the identical suit or dress that everyone in your audience wears. There’s obviously quite a bit of latitude here. The point is that you don’t want to be significantly over-dressed or significantly under-dressed.

But I’ve heard that I should dress better than my audience?

Conventional wisdom says that you should dress one notch higher than your audience is dressed. Why a notch higher?

• To stand out?
• To earn respect?
• To hint at your success and affluence?

I don’t think any of those are particularly strong reasons for dressing above the level of your audience. Instead, I think the motivation for the “dress one notch higher” advice is that it buys you a little insurance in case your audience analysis was flawed.

• If you dress one notch higher than your predicted audience dress code, and the audience is dressed fancier than you predicted, then you are still safe.
• Of course, if your estimate is wrong the other way, you can show up significantly over-dressed.

I wouldn’t worry too much either way. The key is that you look professional and respectful. Once you start talking, they shouldn’t be noticing what you are wearing anyway.

Public Speaking Clothing Taboos

If a good rule of thumb is to dress at (or just above) the same level as your audience, what would the opposite of that be?

The worst thing you can do is dress in such a manner that makes you stand out… for all the wrong reasons.

In Speak Up! A Woman’s Guide to Presenting Like a Pro, Cyndi Maxey cautions:

Any area you emphasize will be noticed — most often in a distracting way. [...] Do you like the fit of the lower-cut neckline of your new wraparound blouse? You can bet your cleavage will be noticed. Think about what you’re emphasizing as you dress. Consider what you can emphasize that stresses your professionalism and your expertise, not your sexuality.

Another general taboo is shirts with sayings on them, especially if the saying is potentially offensive to any member of your audience. Again, you want the attention to be on the words you speak, not the words on your shirt.

• Exception: If the saying on the shirt is tied to your presentation, this may be appropriate. For example, if you are speaking to raise money for cancer research, then a “I’m a survivor” t-shirt may not only be appropriate, but may cement your authenticity.

As suggested earlier, be sure you show up clean and tidy. Failure to do so may be interpreted as a lack of respect for your audience.

Plan for Clothing Malfunctions and Mishaps

Nobody wants a clothing malfunction to occur to them. A few ways to guard against these negative events include:

• Consider taking a second outfit, particularly if you are travelling or if the presentation is really important. You’ll want that insurance in case something happens (e.g. an untimely spill) before your presentation.
• Be careful with what you eat or drink just before your presentation. Grape juice and spaghetti sauce are probably not wise choices.
• Don’t tempt fate with clothes that are too tight. Speaking is (or should be) a physical activity, and you don’t want to pop a button or rip a seam when you’re moving around. (I’ve seen both happen.)
• Similarly, you may wish to avoid overly loose clothes or accessories which can get caught in odd places, like on a lectern or a flip chart stand.

But what if, despite your best efforts, a clothing malfunction happens anyway?

Roll with it. Fix it discreetly, if you can (e.g. an undone button, or an unzipped zipper). Sometimes, you’ll be the last person in the room to notice. Just laugh it off and get back to providing value for your audience.

When is it Okay to Go Against the Grain?

In certain (rare) situations, it may be appropriate for you to throw out all of the conventional wisdom and use your clothing to capture attention.

In Boring To Bravo (the Six Minutes book review), Kristin Arnold suggests that you might try dressing in (partial) costume which is in some way tied to your theme. The idea is that your clothing (or perhaps an accessory) is purposefully used as a prop.

If you give this a try, I’d suggest doing it in the early part of your presentation. By the time you are bringing the powerful messages, you’ll be dressed “normal” again so the audience can take you seriously.

Other Speaker Clothing Considerations

The clothing you wear can have an impact beyond the way you look standing in front of the room.

• Avoid noisy clothing or accessories. It’s not good if your shirt, pants, or jewellery distract your audience every time you move.
• Comfort is important too. Your energy level and delivery can be negatively impacted if you are wearing really uncomfortable clothing or shoes. This is especially important if you are speaking for a long keynote, or an all-day course. Pyjamas are not appropriate, but there is middle ground.
• Will you be wearing a microphone? If so, consider where it will be pinned.
• What gestures, actions, or props do you have planned? Will they work with what you are wearing?
• Before you get called up to speak, remove any potentially distracting items (e.g. ID badges, cell phones, sunglasses, hats)

In summary, do clothes make the speaker?

In Lend Me Your Ears, Max Atkinson summarizes his section on public speaking attire with words that mirror my own thoughts.

The point here is not that clothes don’t matter at all, but that we should not be drawn into thinking that there is some scientifically based recipe that is guaranteed to enable us to convey a favourable impression to every member of the every audience, regardless of the particular circumstances of the occasion.

Perhaps the best advice I can give on what to wear is simply this: Wear a smile, because that will probably carry more weight than any piece of clothing.

Your Turn: What’s Your Opinion?

Do you have a clothing preference when speaking? Can you share a story about a speaker who was or was not dressed appropriately?

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Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.

Imagine you are scheduled to deliver a speech in two weeks. At first, you are excited about the opportunity. Very soon, however, a feeling of dread overwhelms you — what will your speech topic be?

Conventional wisdom says to talk about what you know, but conventional wisdom is only partially correct.

This article reveals three questions you must ask before choosing your speech topic, and how the answers lead you to great speech topics for you and your audience.

The Secret Three Questions

Before considering a speech topic, ask yourself these three questions:

1. Am I an expert on this topic?
   It isn’t necessary to know everything about a topic, but you do need to know more about the topic than your audience to be seen as a credible speaker. Your knowledge must cover not only what you plan to say, but go beyond that so that you are able to comfortably handle questions afterward.
2. Am I passionate about this topic?
   Passion for spreading your knowledge about a topic is the fuel that will power your speech delivery. Your posture, your gestures, your eyes, your facial expressions, and your energy level are all elevated when you talk about topics you enjoy. Likewise, all of these suffer when you talk about topics that you find mundane.
3. Does my audience care about this topic?
   If your audience doesn’t see value for themselves in your topic, there are two possibilities. Either they don’t show up, or they show up and tune out. In either case, you are wasting your breath. Every successful speech must contain explicit value for your audience.

Imagine you had an encyclopedia full of potential speech topics. (Actually, you do!) Based on the answers to the three questions above, you could sort every one of them into one of eight speech topic zones. Seven of these zones are flawed, but one is golden!

Zone 1: Perfect Speech Topics

Synopsis: You possess both knowledge and passion for the topic, and your audience wants you to share both.

This is the perfect combination, and the smart speaker draws speech topics from this zone all the time. Your knowledge of the topic assures that you’ll be confident. Your love of the topic assures that you’ll be passionate. On top of that, you have an enthusiastic, open audience.

Whether you end up speaking about topics in this zone by strategy or by luck, you’re in a great position to succeed. Speak and change the world!

But, what if you have to give a speech, and your topic isn’t in Zone 1? Does this mean you are destined to fail? Sometimes you are, and sometimes you aren’t. Read on to find what you can do to move topics into Zone 1 before you deliver them.

Zone 2: Content-Rich, but Passion-Free Speech Topics

Pros: Your expertise is solid, and your audience craves your knowledge. That’s a great fit.

Cons: There’s nothing about the topic that excites you. Consequently, speeches in this zone tend to be delivered with a monotone voice and body language which betrays your disinterest. In short, Zone 2 topics are snore-fests.

Can you transform this into a Zone 1 Topic?

Rediscover what motivated you to become an expert in the topic, and find your passion again.

Your audience is coming in with novice eyes, and this topic is full of exciting unknowns. Try to see the topic from their perspective. If you find this difficult, ask potential audience members what interests them about the topic. Their responses should rekindle your passion by reminding you that the topic is full of questions that need to be answered — and you have the answers!

Zone 3: Great Speech Topics for a Different Audience

Pros: You are an expert, and you love sharing that expertise with anyone who will listen.

Cons: Unfortunately, your audience does not fall within that group.

Can you transform this into a Zone 1 Topic?

There are two very different approaches you can take:

1. You’ve got to find the value for your audience. A great way to do this is by finding common ground between your speech topic and a subject that the audience does care about. Draw parallels, craft metaphors, and you can make this speech topic interesting to your audience.
2. Save this speech topic for a different audience. Out there, somewhere, there’s an audience that shares your passion and wants to hear what you have to say. You’ve just got to find them.

Zone 4: Fascinating Speech Topics You Know Nothing About

Pros: Both you and your audience are really excited about the lessons waiting to be revealed.

Cons: Unfortunately, you don’t know your stuff well enough to impart wisdom or convey meaning. Indeed, your audience may know as much or more than you!

Can you transform this into a Zone 1 Topic?

With these speech topics, you are standing in extremely fertile ground. Again, there are two approaches you can take:

1. Develop your expertise. It won’t happen overnight, but through hard work you can make it happen. Your passion and an eager audience (which have made this a Zone 4 topic) provide excellent motivation for you to succeed.
2. Admit the limits of your expertise, and ditch the traditional speech format for one where you are facilitating discussion instead. Under your leadership, the discussion can lead the audience to explore issues, brainstorm new ideas, and discover solutions collectively.

Zone 5: Speech Topics Someone Else Should Deliver

Pros: The audience is enthusiastic and receptive.

Cons: These speech topics don’t excite your heart or your intellect.

Can you transform this into a Zone 1 Topic?

Probably not, at least not for a long, long time. You need to develop some expertise, but that’s hard to do without passion for the topic. Cultivating passion is difficult without minimal expertise. You might eventually get there, but you would be more effective digging into other speech topics. Leave this topic for someone else to deliver.

Whatever you do, don’t try to bluff your way through a Zone 5 speech. The audience will sense your lack of knowledge and passion, and your credibility will be shattered.

Zone 6: Speech Topics that Don’t Even Interest You

Pros: You are an expert on the subject.

Cons: Neither you or your audience care.

Can you transform this into a Zone 1 Topic?

It will be very difficult. You’ll either have to kindle your own passion, or find meaning for the audience. If you get either one, that will help you with the other.

But, as with Zone 5, you should probably devote your energy elsewhere.

Zone 7: Personal Hobbies, Not Speech Topics

Pros: You are fascinated by the topic.

Cons: You are not yet an expert, and your audience does not share your fascination.

Can you transform this into a Zone 1 Topic?

Surprisingly, maybe. Having passion for a topic provides great motivation, and can motivate you to develop your own expertise, as well as seek out reasons why the audience should care. Compared to Zone 5 and Zone 6, Zone 7 is most likely to produce useful speech topics for you.

Zone 8: “Like-Watching-Paint-Dry” Topics

Pros: Eight is a nice number. (Er… no pros.)

Cons: You don’t know the material, or care about it much either. Your audience is apathetic too.

Can you transform this into a Zone 1 Topic?

No, you can’t. Don’t waste your time.

Example Scenario

Sadly, talks which fall into this dead zone are quite common. Think of mandatory seminars which employees must attend in the workplace. Perhaps your company purchased a training module, and it’s your job to deliver it to your fellow employees. You don’t know the topic very well, and it doesn’t excite you. Your audience’s attendance is mandatory, but they don’t really want to be there either.

A Multitude of Speech Topics for You

Okay, here’s your homework:

1. Brainstorm a list of topics. Don’t censor yourself. It can be anything that you could possibly talk about, or that you’ve ever heard of someone talking about.
2. Now, take the list and categorize them into one of the zones by asking yourself:
   • Am I an expert on this topic?
   • Am I passionate about this topic?
   • Is my audience interested in this topic?
3. The topics in Zone 1 are your best candidates. If there are none in Zone 1, check Zones 2, 3, and 4, and figure out what you need to do to get them into Zone 1.

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Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.

But take heart! You’re in a very powerful position as a speechmaker, and that’s a good place to be. A well-written speech can drive sales, deepen commitment, motivate hearts and minds, and even change the world. It can be magic.

Now, you may not feel very powerful as a speechwriter, especially if you don’t do it often. But the truth is, you already have some magic speechwriting powers at your disposal, and you don’t need to spend seven years at Hogwarts to learn how to use them.

This isn’t a laundry list of the things you should put in a speech; rather, I hope it will serve as an encouragement of your overall abilities and a reminder of what can be the elegant simplicity of this crazy creative process we call speechwriting.

Your Magic Speechwriting Powers

In addition to the power of the pen (okay, that one was a gimme), you can summon these communication powers the next time you need to write a speech.

The Power of Planning

The best investment you can make in any speech is doing some preliminary research about your audience. Ask some basic questions like:

• Who will you (or your speaker) be addressing?
  Students, lawyers, a trade association, marketing managers, a sales conference?
• Why will that audience be there?
  Have they chosen to attend or is it a mandated event?
• What will they expect to hear?
  A pep rally, a pink slipping, a recap of the year’s accomplishments, a challenge to meet bold new goals?

These are objective questions that should be easy to answer. But it’s shocking how many writers and speakers don’t take the time to do this homework. Trust me. It will make your writing so much easier!

There’s one question every audience member asks at every speech in every venue: “What’s in it for me?” Build your speech around the answer to that question and you’ll be six steps ahead of many writers and speakers.

The Power of Passion

“They may not remember what you said, but they’ll remember how you made them feel”

That’s the golden rule of speechwriting. You may communicate plenty of data, words, and numbers to your audience, but is that the most effective way to connect with them?

Not according to business communication expert John Sturtevant:

“Most people despise data and crave context. Your job as a communicator is to show your [audience] why what you think is so vitally important, is so vitally important to them.”

David Murray, editor of Vital Speeches of the Day, agrees:

“[A great speech is] an authentic attempt by one person to make an audience understand something that’s important to all involved… whether that’s about healthcare, stained-glass, free trade, dog-fighting, or antique Cadillacs.”

Any subject worth getting up and talking about has some kind of passion behind it. Find it – and hang on to it – and you’ve taken the first step toward writing an effective and compelling speech.

The Power of Pretending

You can’t eat dinner before you cook it. You don’t review a book before you read it. Yet when it comes to writing, many of us tend to start editing before we even compose our first sentence.

This is not a healthy habit. Don’t cut your passion off at the pass!

When you start to write, pretend you can say whatever you want. Unleash your imagination in the beginning of the process, where anything goes. This is especially important if you work in a large organization where the legal eagles and compliance vultures will start to circle as soon as you submit your first draft.

I always start by writing down what I’m feeling, not just what I’m thinking – and the less articulate, politically correct, and grammatically pristine, the better. For example, if I’m writing a speech about education reform, the first few sentences I type might read like this:

“Our schools suck. WTF? Lot of great teachers but need to be able to ID them. Tons of research… Shouldn’t be this hard. Old-school thinking won’t create new schools. We HAVE to fix this!”

Of course I’m not going to submit that for anyone’s approval. But it keeps me honest about the passion that needs to drive the speech. I keep those words at the top of the draft until it has enough meat on its bones that I know the spine of the speech can support itself.

Throw down that wad of essence first, in its rawest form, with its bedhead and morning breath and all its burps and farts. Save the clean-up for later.

The Power of Plain

You don’t need $10 words to make a big impression. Clear language communicates best. That generally means short words and short sentences.  Flowery language might read nicely on paper, but it can get tangled up in people’s heads when they hear it out loud.

And while you’re at it, keep the speech short as well. Remember Mark Twain’s observation: “Few sinners are saved after the first 20 minutes of a sermon.”

The Power of Permission

Don’t be shy about asking for what you need, whether it’s research help, access to the person you may be writing for, or basic questions about the venue and logistics.

If you’re worried that you might appear ignorant or incompetent (you won’t, but you might feel that way), try couching your request in terms of its benefit to the other person: “I know you want this speech to be great. So do I. Here’s what I need to make it great.”

Perils Lurking Around Every Corner…

Of course, we must beware the perils that can lurk around every corner, such as:

The Peril of Presumption

In a rush, it’s often tempting to cut corners by making assumptions about what your audience knows or thinks. Don’t. Better to ask a question you think you know the answer to, than to act on an assumption that turns out to be faulty.

The Peril of Proliferation

A speech is not a book report, a grocery list, a thesis, or any kind of document whose purpose is to store and serve data. A speech is meant to inspire. To do that, keep your speech centered around one or two main ideas. Don’t let ancillary topics and tangents multiply like rabbits!

The Peril of Pride

Of course, we all want to be proud of our work. But don’t cloak yourself in so much pride that you can’t let some things go or change them in service of the overall speech. Read your speech out loud to a trusted colleague or friend and listen to their feedback. (The less they know about your topic, the better – that’s a good litmus test of the clarity of your idea.)

Super-Sized? No, Pocket-Sized!

An awful lot to remember? Okay, then for my last trick, I will magically transform all the suggestions above into a pocket-sized piece of advice: Plan, find your passion, think big, keep it clear, ask for what you need.

One last tip: If you are feeling overwhelmed and under-qualified, you are likely biting off too much with your speech. Remember to KISS – keep it simple, speechwriter! That’s the best way to make magic on the page as well as the stage.

Similar Articles You May Like... 3 Common Ways Speakers Sabotage Themselves 5 Speaking Resolutions to Wow Your Audience in 2012 How to Dress for Public Speaking The Secret of Choosing Successful Speech Topics Speaking is a Team Sport: 3 Ways to be Responsive to Your Audience 18 Paths to Pathos: How to Connect with Your Audience

Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Allison Wood owns LetterPerfect, an executive communications consultancy in Chapel Hill, NC. Her writing has been published in Newsweek and Vital Speeches of the Day. Her blog and website can both be found at www.letterperfectspeeches.com.

Giving a presentation however is different from playing Hamlet.  When watching a play, or a dance show, the audience wants to be entertained and emotionally engaged.  When attending a presentation, the audience expects to hear a relevant message and bring home something of value.  They will evaluate the speaker based on whether he or she can convey information that they can understand, digest, remember, and utilize.

If the speaker is also a good entertainer and is well groomed and well prepared, this will make it easier for them to pay attention and enjoy the presentation, but this is by no means sufficient for the presentation to be powerful.

In order to be successful, speakers need to take on a perspective that is intensely audience focused.  Rehearsing your speech and being fully prepared is important, but going along with the flow – “playing” together with the audience and having the flexibility to adjust, fine tune and mould your presentation to the audience’s needs and reaction is just as important.  This is why professional speakers need to learn to see themselves as playing in team with the audience, rather than delivering a solo performance.

So how can you do this in practice?  There are three stages to build a connection with your audience.

#1: Research your audience

No matter how skilled, how prepared, how experienced you are, you need to make sure that your presentation is designed specifically for your audience.  Although your core message might be the same from one presentation to the next, the style, tone, and manner of delivery should be different according to the audience’s DNA.

First of all, you should do due diligence on your audience. This may mean calling the person who hired you and ask them who the attendees are likely to be, what is their background, their interests, what they hope to get out of the presentation.  You should not only be aware of gross differences, such as whether you are talking to a corporate or consumer audience, and which industry (technology, finance, services, products) your audience belongs to, but also more subtle variations, such as the seniority of your audience (are they graduates? Are they mid management? Are they senior executives?) and their experience with the topic you are presenting.

Tailor Your Speech to the Audience

Then you should use this information to tailor your presentation in two ways:

Language
You need to be understood by your audience. You need to speak a language they can relate to.  It is very different to present a financial topic to an audience of bankers than it is to an audience of techie gurus. Or an IT topic to an audience of bankers rather than an audience of techies.  Your language needs to be modified accordingly.

Themes
Within your topic of expertise, you need to fine tune the presentation to the audience’s level of expertise, knowledge and particular issues. It is very different to talk about time management and work life balance to an audience of new hires right out of college or to an audience of executives.  It is different to talk about the challenges of leadership to a mixed audience or to an audience of just men, or just women.

#2: Connect with your audience before your presentation

When you are giving a speech, always make sure you arrive early and take the time to talk to some of the attendees.  Ask them what they would like to get out of your presentation, what their concerns are, what they need to learn the most.

Then when you start your presentation, especially if it is a small audience, you can weave in some of the comments and questions that you have been asked at the onset.  This makes the presentation far more personal and gives the audience the impression that you really are there to address their particular concerns, rather than just deliver a prepared speech.  You need to be on the lookout for your audience’s attention, focus, and interest.

#3: Keep engaged with your audience during your speech

Throughout your presentation, you need to stay tuned in at all times with your audience and connect with them, fine tuning your speech to their reactions and responses.

A few practical ways to do this:

• Encourage people to ask questions.
  This will make the flow of the presentation more personal and will keep the audience engaged.
• Prepare questions to ask the audience.
  They will feel you are speaking directly to and for them.
• Weave in questions from the audience
  Incorporate material from conversations with the attendees you had before starting.
• Acknowledge understanding.
  When they seem particularly interested in what you are saying, you can say something like: “I see this topic really rings a bell” – they will naturally comment on it.
• Look at audience members to see whether they are understanding you and following you.
  Cues to look for are their posture (are they sitting upright, slightly leaning towards you? This means they are fully engaged.  Are they slouching back, looking around, checking their phones? You know what this means..), whether they are nodding their heads, whether they are taking notes.  If they don’t seem to be engaged, acknowledge this and ask them whether you are being clear or if you need to bring in an example or clarify.

Does being so responsive to the audience mean I can skip preparation?

Your question at this point might be: “Does this mean I can go light on preparing my material?” No, actually it’s quite the opposite!

You should prepare and rehearse your speech in advance. You should know your material inside out, know it so well that you can have the flexibility to weave in new things.  Just like when playing a sport, or dancing, or practicing martial arts, it is when you really know your moves, when you have mastered them to a point where they are natural to you, that you can be the most flexible, open to improvisation, and engaged in the moment.

Similar Articles You May Like... 8 Faulty Speaker Assumptions and How to Fix Them Speaking Survey says: Speaker DO’s and DON’Ts 5 Speaking Resolutions to Wow Your Audience in 2012 How to Thrive When Speaking Outside 3 Common Ways Speakers Sabotage Themselves How to Dress for Public Speaking

Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Stefania Lucchetti is an author and professional speaker. She regularly speaks for Fortune 500 companies on time management, leadership, information overload, and making ideas happen. Her book The Principle of Relevance deals with information overload and how to make information a tool of empowerment rather than a form of distraction. See her website at stefanialucchetti.com.

How about you?

In this article, you will learn:

• 8 common faulty assumptions you might be making;
• the subsequent result on your presentations; and
• how to fix your flawed thinking.

8 Faulty Speaker Assumptions

Eight common faulty assumptions that speakers make are:

1. Deep knowledge of a topic alone will enable me to present ideas on it.
2. My audience members are mind readers.
3. I can present information/concepts that took me 3 months to learn in a 20-minute presentation.
4. Everyone in my audience is equal.
5. I don’t need to practice out loud.
6. I’ll have plenty of time to get there.
7. If I get off the platform/stage, I will be closer to audience members.
8. If I speak at my normal speed, everyone will understand me.

Let’s examine each of these a little deeper.

Assumption #1 — Deep knowledge of a topic alone will enable me to present ideas on it

Knowledge of a subject you are going to speak about is critical, but it is only a beginning to have an impact on an audience. You also need to determine:

• What you want to achieve by delivering the message? In other words, what is your purpose? What do you want the audience knowing, doing, and/or feeling as a result of your presentation?
• Who you are speaking to? What are their expectations, level of understanding, and attitudes. Depending on this, you will organize your materials accordingly, and emphasize the information that is most critical to the audience.
• Logistical considerations — How much time do you have? How many people will be in the audience? What types of visuals will work best? You need to understand all of this to determine how much information you will be presenting — and how to present it.

Assumption #2 — My audience members are mind readers

Unfortunately, audience members never know what you want them to take away from your presentation, unless you tell them multiple times.

Despite what you may think, they are not hanging on your every word. The goal is to be clear and concise. Don’t let them guess.

Assumption #3 — I can present information/concepts that took me 3 months to learn in a 20-minute presentation

Frequently, speakers want to look smart — or demonstrate that they have worked very hard — so they do a data dump. They forget that audience members can only absorb so much information at a time.

Step back and determine what they must know. Leave the rest out, or save it for the Q & A.

Assumption #4 — Everyone in my audience is equal

Typically, there are audiences within an audience. There may be a hierarchy or politics involved. Analyze the audience, and determine which members are the decision makers, and who are the influencers (sometimes they can be the same), and then plan accordingly.

If everyone is equal in rank, play to the masses.

Do your homework. Learn exactly who is in the audience.

Assumption #5 — I don’t need to practice out loud

Thinking through a presentation is very different than speaking it out loud, in a simulated environment, using your notes and/or slides.

Actors, musicians, and athletes all practice. Why should speakers be any different?

Practice helps with fluidity, timing and comfort level. Each time, say it differently, so it doesn’t become rote.

Peter Drucker said, “Spontaneity is an infinite number of rehearsed possibilities.”

Assumption #6 — I’ll have plenty of time to get there

Although the unexpected can happen, speakers should do everything possible to arrive at a speaking event/meeting well in advance.

If you don’t do your due diligence in leaving with ample time, or getting directions, you will likely arrive at the last minute — harried and looking unprofessional.

If other speakers are before you, sit in to get a sense of the tone of the meeting, and how the audience is responding.

By arriving early, you can talk to audience members, and further customize your presentation. And, of course, this allows you time to check your appearance, do some breathing exercises, check your equipment, and to be there to welcome the audience members as they arrive.

Assumption #7 — If I get off the platform/stage, I will be closer to audience members

Many speakers wrongly believe getting off a platform or stage will help them better connect with audience members. But, in fact, the majority of the audience won’t be able to see them when on the same level.

Getting into the audience can work effectively only if …

• It’s a small audience
• The room is set up for this
• You are tall enough to be seen.

Most of the time, the speaker’s need to get closer to the audience can be an annoyance to audience members when they don’t know where to look.

Stay on the platform or stage, and connect with large audiences in better ways, like using questions to get participants to raise hands, and interactive exercises in subgroups.

In a larger venue, try to have the room arranged with several aisles. That way, if you do walk into the audience, you will have a place to go.

Assumption #8 — If I speak at my normal speed, everyone will understand me.

The standard rate of speech in the United States is 120 or 160 words per minute. This varies in different parts of the country.

Speakers need to adapt their rate regionally, as well as when the information is technical and people need time to absorb it, and also when English isn’t a first language. If they don’t adapt, participants may not understood what they’re saying, or key concepts may be missed.

How to Fix Your Faulty Assumptions

Now that you’ve identified these faulty assumptions, how do you fix them?

What do you think?

What faulty assumptions have you made, only to learn the hard way?

Please share your lessons in the comments.

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Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Marjorie Brody is a Hall of Fame speaker, coach to Fortune 500 executives and author of more than 18 books, including Speaking is an Audience-Centered Sport. She is CEO of BRODY Professional Development, a business communication and presentation skills company located in the Philadelphia suburbs that offers tailored training programs, workshops, keynote presentations, and executive coaching. To contact Marjorie, visit www.BrodyPro.com.

Other speaking sins are so grave that when you commit them, your speech or presentation is certain to fail. This article reveals the seven deadly sins of public speaking.

Deadly Sin #1: Sloth

Sloth, or laziness, is committed by speakers who fail to prepare.

Speaking in public, whether formally or informally, is an essential activity that requires effort. Yet, the majority of people expend no effort to improve their effectiveness as a speaker. Tragically, they are content to drift from one frustrating presentation to the next.

You can avoid sloth in a number of ways:

• Enroll in a public speaking course
• Read public speaking books
• Read public speaking blogs
• Join Toastmasters or another local speaking club
• Study great speakers
• Hire a speaking coach

(By reading this article, you’re making the effort to improve. Sloth has no claim on you!)

Failing to prepare for life by improving your speaking skills leads to a chain of excuses, characterized by…

Deadly Sin #2: Envy

Envy is characterized by a false belief that great speakers are simply lucky to have been born with natural speaking skills.

You’ve heard the excuses from your colleagues, haven’t you?

• “She’s so lucky! She’s a natural speaker!”
• “Hmph! It’s so easy for him to speak in front of people.”
• “No, I couldn’t deliver the proposal. I’m not a speaker.”

People who are envious of the “natural” skills of others are more likely to apply misguided solutions when confronted by an unavoidable speaking situation:

• They steal stories and anecdotes from others rather than creating original ones
• They copy PowerPoint slides from others even if they don’t quite apply
• They mimic the oratorical style of others and lack authenticity

Because of bad habits like this, speakers suffer from lack of confidence. They know the stories, the slides, and the words are not their own. Nervousness results because they fear being exposed, and this nervousness leads to crazy behaviors like…

Deadly Sin #3: Lust

The lustful speaker attempts to calm their nerves by applying the common (yet terrible) advice to picture the audience naked!

Please don’t picture the audience naked, especially if I am in your audience.

In theory, picturing your audience naked makes them seem as vulnerable as you feel. It may provide a brief lighthearted moment to feed your teenaged appetite, but it won’t help you speak better.

More likely, it will cause an additional distraction and impede your efforts to connect with your audience. Consider this: how easy is it for you to communicate something meaningful to a room full of naked people? Can you inspire them? Impossible.

Nervous speakers who avoid this lustful deadly sin are, unfortunately, still prone to committing another deadly sin…

Deadly Sin #4: Gluttony

Gluttony is exhibited by speakers who believe that more is always better.

More slides, more bullets, more examples, more facts, more numbers, more details, more words — more of everything.

Packing all possible material into your presentation and then speeding through it is flawed, despite your best intentions to provide maximum value. More is (usually) not better. Cognitive research shows that people have a limited capacity to absorb information (see Kosslyn’s Clear and to the Point and Mayer’s Multimedia Learning). Overloading that capacity will reduce their ability to absorb anything at all! Quantity is no substitute for quality.

It is better to focus your presentation on your core message, select only the very best support material (facts, slides, anecdotes), and speak at a reasonable pace. Supplementary material, if necessary, belongs in a handout.

All of this gluttony — too many slides, too many stories, too many details — leads the speaker down a dark and dirty path towards…

Deadly Sin #5: Greed

Greed is the deadly sin of excess, and is committed by a speaker who goes over time.

Does this sound familiar?

• “Oh, is that clock correct? I’m only halfway through…”
• “I haven’t gotten to the good part yet…”
• “Are there any objections to cutting our lunch break in half so I can finish this?”

Speaking for more than your allotted time violates the contract you have with your audience, and that’s never good. People are busy and do not appreciate having their time wasted. Nobody will complain if you finish a few minutes early.

If you go over time, negative emotions begin to fill the room, making you more susceptible to experience…

Deadly Sin #6: Wrath

Wrath, or uncontrolled anger, is committed by a speaker who handles problems in the worst possible way.

As a speaker, you should always remain in control. No matter how bad your presentation is going, keep calm. Don’t let these frustrations provoke you:

• When you make a mistake (even a big one), resist the urge to draw more attention to it by cursing yourself in an attempt to draw pity.
• When an audience member is disrupting the room, resist the urge to “solve” it with sarcasm.
• When the room or venue logistics fail, don’t start blaming the organizers or anyone else. Instead, roll with in and move on.
• When an audience member is heckling you, do not take the bait.

Getting angry — whether at yourself, someone in the audience, or some other factor — is one of the worst things you can do. Your audience will feel uncomfortable and your credibility will be diminished considerably.

Finally, the first six speaker sins are all symptoms of the deadliest speaking sin of them all…

Deadly Sin #7: Pride

Pride is committed by a speaker who believes that public speaking is about them.

It’s not.

• It’s never about you.
• It’s never about your impressive accolades in your introduction.
• It’s never about your dazzling delivery where you channel Churchill.
• It’s never about your sumptuous slides which prominently feature your company logo beside dazzling 3-D pie charts.

Public speaking is always about the audience and the message you want to convey. Failing to put the audience first will kill any presentation. You need to perform audience analysis to discover how best to structure your presentation and deliver the message.

Avoid this sin by starting to analyze your presentation from the audience’s perspective. Amazingly, most of the other speaking sins will go away.

• You’ll recognize that you need to prepare. (Sloth)
• You will realize that you are uniquely capable of delivering your message to this audience. (Envy)
• You will trim all of the fluff to deliver a message which is focused and easy-to-understand. (Gluttony)
• You will respect the time your audience has given you. (Greed)
• You won’t saddle your audience with your problems. (Wrath)

As for Lust when speaking, well… that’s just silly.

The Seven Deadly Sins of Public Speaking

1. Sloth: failing to prepare for your speech or presentation
2. Envy: believing that great speakers are born with their skills
3. Lust: quelling your nerves by picturing the audience naked
4. Gluttony: believing that more words/slides/facts/numbers is always better
5. Greed: speaking over your allotted time
6. Wrath: rigidly reacting to problems and losing your cool
7. Pride: placing yourself ahead of the audience

How many of these speaking sins are committed in presentations you attend?

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Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.

“Loved it! Well DONE.”

“Great speech – hilarious!”

“Mate, that was awesome.”

A great Best Man Speech is the highlight of any wedding banquet.

But exactly what makes a great Best Man Speech?

A Great Best Man Speech is…?

We all know the signs: first the chuckles, then the roar, knowing nods and glances, spontaneous applause, perhaps even the occasional hanky.

But is the reality of the Best Man Speech always this rosy?

Chances are, you will at some point have sat through a Best Man Speech and cringed.

I know I have.

A Lousy Best Man Speech is…?

• The lousy speech that’s more like a reading;
• The stale internet gag;
• References to girlfriends past;
• Clever jibes that fall flat; and
• An ending with a toast that brings more relief than joy.

So, how can Best Men give themselves the best possible chance of being a hit?

Well, let’s start by recognising that preparing and delivering a Best Man Speech is nerve-wracking.

Trust me, I’ve been there.

I worried about whether the jokes would work. I worried about whether I had enough material on the Groom. I worried… I worried… and I worried some more.

But that’s OK. It’s natural. More to the point, it’s important. It shows you’re serious about wanting to do a good job.

But there is pressure. It stems from the received wisdom about what constitutes a “strong” Best Man Speech:

1. The speech should humiliate the Groom.
2. The speech should be hilarious.

Striking the right balance, however, is tricky.

No Best Man ever gave a great speech by making the Groom’s friends cheer and the Bride’s parents cry.

So, what to do?

Well as with any speech, the key is to be absolutely clear on your answer to one critically important question:

Who are you writing the Best Man Speech for?

A wedding audience is a complex beast:

• young and old,
• rich and poor,
• aunts and uncles,
• grandparents and 2 year old grand children,
• close friends and distant friends,
• traditional and “not-so-traditional”

Yet so many Best Man Speeches are written and delivered for the friends of the Groom.

Only the friends of the Groom.

I’m not saying the Groom isn’t fair game on his Wedding Day — of course he is.

But not if it risks alienating a whole bunch of other people who “weren’t-there-on-the-Stag-Do-when-Fred-got-drunk-and-shagged-Olga-The-Hairy, the-Bulgarian-shot-putter-from-Varna”.

Certainly not if it risks upsetting the people who, next to the Bride and Groom, are the most important members of any wedding party.

The parents.

Heresy it may be, but the truth is that any Best Man wanting to “score big” with his speech should build it around what will engage and entertain The Parents, not The Friends.

What will The Parents find funny?

When recounting the stories, what traits in their offspring will The Parents recognise and enjoy? And most important, what will make The Parents proud of their new son-in-law and their new daughter-in-law?

No, this is not about being a sycophant. Far from it. It’s about doing what’s in any speaker’s best interest –  recognising the number one rule of public speaking — know your audience.

(It’s also about discharging your duties responsibly, but we can save the high-horse preaching for another time).

Think about it. The Father Of The Bride has just given one of the most emotional speeches of his life, finally releasing his darling girl. Emotions are running high. Hankies are on stand-by.

Because everyone – the young, the old, the aunts, the uncles and the friends – is there to celebrate the single same event.

A new and happy union.

At a time like this – on a Wedding Day of all days – what’s the last thing everyone needs? Some smart alec on a mission to prove what a dreadful mistake the twerp in the meringue outfit just made.

Want your Best Man Speech to be a winner? If the answer is yes, then I can put it no simpler than this: Win The Parents and you will win The Crowd.

You may not be hilarious, but at least you’ll be appreciated. And that’s more than a malevolent Best Man will ever achieve.

Best Man Speech Example

Ed: As an example, here is Simon delivering a Best Man Speech. What additional lessons can we learn from this speech example?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Similar Articles You May Like... 5 Speaking Resolutions to Wow Your Audience in 2012 3 Common Ways Speakers Sabotage Themselves How to Dress for Public Speaking The Secret of Choosing Successful Speech Topics Speechwriting Hocus Pocus: Summoning Your Magical Powers Speaking is a Team Sport: 3 Ways to be Responsive to Your Audience

Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Simon Bucknall is a former Best Man and twice winner of the GB & All-Ireland Championship of Public Speaking. He is a full-time speaker coach, trainer, and keynote speaker. For more information, visit Simon's site: The Art of Connection .

Do you provide good service, or bad service? More importantly, does it matter?

Customer Service at Home Depot

Recently, I visited Home Depot to purchase a table saw. I found one in my price range that seemed to have the features I desired.

• I asked the salesman (“Salesman A”)to answer a few questions. He told me that he couldn’t leave his station. (The saw was about 30 feet away from his station.)
• I asked the salesman for the saw specifications. He told me to go home and look it up on the manufacturer website.
• When I returned (hey, it was a good price!), I asked him to have the saw brought out to me. He told me that I’d have to wait for the forklift operator to get one down. I waited ninety minutes. The forklift never arrived.
• When I threatened to leave unless I received better service, he blamed “Atlanta” (head office) for short-staffing. I walked out.

Customer Service at Southridge Building Supplies

Contrast this with my experience at the local tool store, a store that I initially didn’t expect to even carry table saws because they were so small.

• I didn’t see any table saws I liked out front. The salesman (“Salesman B”) left his “station” and walked to the warehouse with me.
• The saw was (as before) up on the top shelf. The salesman ran (yes… ran!) into the back lot and yelled for the forklift operator, who then appeared 20 seconds later.
• Since this was not the same model as the big box store, I asked about the specifications again. He didn’t know… but for the next 45 minutes, he did Internet searches, looked through about about 50 product binders, and rifled through filing cabinets to find the answer. [Eventually, he gave up. But, I appreciated the effort.]
• He didn’t blame anyone. Instead, he told me that he would call the product distributor on Monday to get the answers for me.

Eventually, I got a much better product at a much better price (the Delta model, pictured above). Because of the great customer service, I’ve returned to buy kerosene, deck screws, and sandpaper, and will continue to give my business to them.

Can these lessons be applied to public speaking?

What is Customer Service for Speakers?

Three ways to compete with competitors in any industry are to offer the lowest price, highest quality, or best service. It’s difficult to accomplish all three simultaneously.

These concepts have parallels in public speaking too:

• Price
  Your speaking fee, and also the “opportunity cost” your audience pays to listen to you. (i.e. if they weren’t listening to you for an hour, what else could they be doing?)
• Quality
  The intrisic value of your message, because this is the only thing your audience takes away with them. How much will their lives or their businesses improve as a result of applying that message?
• Service
  How easy are you making it for them to receive your message?

Let’s focus on this third element — customer service — and ask some questions.

1. Do you provide necessary background information?

A poor speaker:

• assumes that their audience has the background knowledge
• expects them to look it up themselves after (Salesman A)

A good speaker:

• performs audience analysis to determine what the audience doesn’t know
• devotes the necessary time to bridge that gap early in the presentation. (Salesman B)

2. Are you willing to meet your audience half way?

A poor speaker:

• will not customize content, slides, or delivery for a given audience
• will put the message out there with facts and figures, but it will be inaccessible to the audience just like the table saw on the top shelf was inaccessible to me without a forklift

A good speaker:

• uses language that is familiar to the audience
• chooses examples that will be understood
• adopts a delivery style that is comfortable to the audience/event
• employs metaphors, analogies, or other devices to make the message understandable

3. Are you flexible, both with the audience and with the event host?

A poor speaker:

• refuses to go beyond what it says in the contract (like Salesman A who would not leave his station)
• insists on using their full planned time (e.g. 60 minutes), even if the event is behind schedule
• ignores questions that arise during a presentation

A good speaker:

• adapts to the situation
• understand that compromises are necessary; (e.g. “okay, I’ll only speak for 40 minutes, and deliver extra material via email to audience members”)
• allows questions (within reason) during the presentation

4. Do you accept responsibility when things go wrong?

A poor speaker:

• blames outside factors (e.g. traffic, the airline)
• blames the audience (e.g. “if you had paid more attention earlier, you’d know this”)
• blames the event organizer (like Salesman A who blamed Head Office in Atlanta)

A good speaker:

• considers what can possibly go wrong, and is prepared when it happens
• arrives early to allow time to implement alternate plans when necessary
• absorbs responsibility for the problem, rather than passing the negativity on to the audience

Why does it matter?

Event planners and audiences have a choice when they book speakers or listen to speakers. In many situations, there are dozens of speakers who can deliver the same message. The level of customer service you provide distinguishes you from other speakers. Often, it determines whether you get called to speak to the same audience again.

What level of service do you provide?

How else can a speaker provide great customer service? Share your ideas in the comments.

For inspiration, you might like to consider these 10 stories of customer service and think about the parallels for public speaking.

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Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.