Speaking outdoors is one of the most difficult challenges faced by a public speaker.

Do you know how to overcome the obstacles in this difficult scenario?

An anonymous Six Minutes reader asks:

Every speech I’ve heard given outdoors has been pretty much a disaster. Have I just been unlucky, or is this an impossible venue? Is there any way to succeed?

In this article, we’ll examine the unique challenges of speaking outdoors, and give several tips for effectively getting your message across.

The Challenges of Speaking Outdoors

While it’s great to be outside in the fresh air, it’s usually a terrible venue for speaking. Yet, as long as people continue to congregate outside, there will be speeches delivered outside. Just a few examples include:

• Addressing co-workers at a summer event.
• Delivering a toast at an outdoor wedding or beach barbecue.
• Giving a pep talk to a sports team.
• Speaking to supporters at an outdoor political rally.
• Commemorating an event or speaking at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The benefits of speaking outdoors are… ah, yes, of course…

1. The lighting is usually very good.

That’s the only one I can think of. Seriously.

On the other hand, the drawbacks of speaking outdoors include:

1. Visual distractions abound, including people walking by, animals, scenery, and even the sky! All of these are competing for the visual attention of your audience. Consider that when you speak indoors, your audience has a relatively narrow choice of things to look at (you, your slides, their mobile device, or the walls)
2. Sound quality is poor as well. Not only do you have to compete with outdoor sounds of all variety (e.g. barking dogs; motored vehicles; sirens; airplanes; even a whistling wind), but your voice may not carry as well either because you are usually standing much farther away from your audience than you would be indoors.
3. As a whole, outdoor events tend to be less structured than those indoors. Getting and retaining their attention can be a difficult or futile activity.

8 Tips for Successfully Speaking Outdoors

Despite all the challenges, there are many things that you can do to improve your effectiveness the next time you speak outdoors.

1. Get attention. If the speech is not part of a planned agenda, it can be difficult even getting the group to look in your direction, much less listen to a speech. How do you get attention? A booming voice, helpful assistants, or a noisy instrument helps.
2. Gather people as close as you can. Outdoor events tend to be fairly relaxed (that’s why you are outdoors!), and people are spread out much more than they would be at a comparable event indoors. By gathering people closer, you improve sight lines, make it easier for everyone to hear you, and increase audience connection. It is well worth your effort to ask people to move in closer. (Not everyone will, but some will, and that’s an improvement.)
3. Move up higher. If there’s a podium to speak from, great. But there usually isn’t. To help everyone see you (and your gestures) better, figure out some way to get higher. Sometimes the landscape will provide for you (e.g. a raised mound; a big rock). Other times, you have to get more creative (e.g. a chair; a milk crate; a picnic table; a tree stump). But please, be careful of your footing.
4. Speak loudly. If you have a timid voice, you are going to have a very difficult time in this environment. Speaking loud is often necessary for you to to be heard at all, and will help you to keep your audience’s attention when distracting sounds invade.
5. Arrange for audio help, if possible. Megaphones and microphones can be tricky to use, but if they are available, I encourage you to use them. If your audience has to strain too hard to hear you, they may give up and watch the clouds instead.
6. Use broad gestures. There are so many moving distractions outside that you’ll often need to be particularly expressive to compete with them.
7. Position yourself so the sun is not in your audience’s eyes. Looking into the sun is too much to ask for most audiences. Position yourself so the sun is off to the side or, if necessary, in your eyes. Hope for clouds (but not rain).
8. Keep your remarks brief. You have a captive audience in a lecture theater, but outdoors, most people want to get back to relaxing, talking, or joining the burger line-up. If you respect this, your audience will thank you.

Good luck!

Your Turn: What’s Your Opinion?

Have you had success speaking outdoors? Or been in the audience for a particularly good speech? What was the key to success?

Please share in the comments.

Similar Articles You May Like... Boost Your Speaking Confidence Through Improv Bookending Your Speech: A Master Technique How to Ace the Short, Impromptu Speech Why You Must Relish Every Opportunity to Speak 3 Common Ways Speakers Sabotage Themselves 9 Do’s and Taboos to Eat, Drink, and 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.

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.

Have you ever been at an industry conference, a PTA meeting, or a community gathering where you wanted to stand up and voice your opinion, but couldn’t find the words or didn’t have the confidence to put yourself out there?

This article shows how you can gain public speaking confidence using an unlikely method — by practicing improv comedy.

What is improvisational comedy?

Remember the TV show, Who’s Line Is It Anyway? The stars would be placed in a scene or character, and they would entertain us with their on-the-spot confidence and skills.

Improvisational comedy — or just plain improv — is the trained skill of improvised acting and spontaneously creating hilarity. If you are like me, you may view spontaneity as creating new things on the spot — creativity on demand. But spontaneity is something you already possess. It is about removing the mental blocks to your innate creativity, and letting your inner self shine.

We often have a gut instinct about what is funny in the moment and that can serve us well. Training in improv comedy allows you to recognize those moments, relax, and let your spontaneity flow. You will stress less about what is and isn’t allowed, and speak up more freely.

Learning by playing

One of the first things you learn at improv is to get in a playful state. What this means is that you let go of the need for perfection. Let go of the wish to affect the outcome – to always want to be successful and to avoid failure. Just play. Regardless of the outcome.

When you are doing improv, you learn to do before you think too much. Act as soon as the thought appears. If you start to think about it, and imagining what can go wrong, you won’t express the creativity. Be willing to reveal that inner self that usually gets censored. When you play, you can be any character you want to be.

Improv games you can play

Find a friend or group of friends who are open to learning new skills.

You can practice these exercises as long as you want, but each round should last about two minutes.

Game 1: Word-at-a-time storytelling

This is an exercise for two people. The goal is to tell a story one word at a time alternating between the two people.

For example: (Person A) Once, (Person B) upon, (A) a, (B) time, (A) I, (B) walked, (A) into, (B) a, (A) tree, and so on.

When starting out, you may find it easier to frame what the story is about before starting. This gives the participants an idea of the direction of the story. For example, “Go into a forest and kill a monster.” Then leave the details up to the participants.

Game 2: Speaking in Gibberish

This can be practiced alone. However, to get the best effect, you need to get feedback, so at least two people are recommended.

Act out a scene without using your verbal skills. You’ll notice how much of communication is actually non-verbal as you can still tell a lot with non-verbal cues (e.g. pointing to a watch or showing a surprised or angry expression).

Game 3: Questions are the answer

This is a game for two people who get placed in a scene and then they share a dialogue around it. The rule is that you can only ask questions. No answers, statements or explanations – always answer a question with a question.

Keep trying to move the conversation forward, so stay clear of circular arguments, i.e. why? Why not?

For example, suppose the scene is a pet shop.

• Person A: Do you have any puppies?
• Person B: What kind of puppies do you like?
• Person A: What about german sheppard puppies?
• Person B: Male or female puppies?
• … and so on.

Game 4: Play with an imaginary object

Stand in a circle with your group of friends. One-by-one, pick up an imaginary object from a the table in front of you, interact with it, and pass it on to person next to you. They will then take it, interact with it, and put it back on the table.

You have to make it clear what the object is, so that the person next to you knows how to interact with it.

For example, pick up an imaginary lollipop, lick it a few times, put it in your mouth (with the tongue bulging out your cheek), before taking it out and passing it to the next person.

Game 5: Narrating a story

Two people play this game. One person narrates while the other acts out the story.

There are two variations you can play. In variation A, the narrator prescribes what the other person should act out. In variation B, the actor acts out a story, and the narrator responds by describing it.

For example:

• Variation A: Narrator says “The man saw a big monster and took out his sword” (and the actor then performs the action as described).
• Variation B: The actor acts surprised and exaggerates taking a sword out of a sheath (and the narrator describes what is happening).

Improv lessons will boost your speaking confidence

The lessons you learn in improv are valuable, and will improve your confidence as a speaker.

• In improv, you learn to think on your feet; this will hone your on-the-spot speaking skills too.
• Improv works best if you make the other participants look good; in speaking, you look good if you make the audience feel good about their chances to succeed.
• When you are having fun doing improv, the audience has fun too; with public speaking, the audience will enjoy themselves if you are enjoying yourself.
• In improv, you learn the outcome isn’t always controlled by you; the same goes with public speaking: you need to take the pulse of the audience continuously and adjust where necessary to keep them engaged.
• In improv, you practice and gain expertise in many speaking tools. Vivid body language to engage the audience; setting a scene and playing a character; good storytelling skills; and directing attention through asking questions are just a few critical speaking skills.

Try it out!

If you have the opportunity to join an improv course or workshop, do it. Or, gather a group of friends and hold your own event. Improv comedy isn’t as scary as it is made out to be. It is not just for performers but anyone wishing to become more confident in front of an audience. So, sign up and have a blast, and become a more confident speaker in the process.

Similar Articles You May Like... How to Thrive When Speaking Outside Book Review: Confessions of a Public Speaker (Scott Berkun) Are Your Speech Gestures Too Small, Too Big, or Just Right? Speech Preparation #7: Choreograph Your Speech with Staging, Gestures, and Vocal Variety 12 Days of Public Speaking Christmas 6 Communication Barriers and How You Can Avoid Them

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

Leon van der Walt has been a member of Toastmasters in Johannesburg and London and has served as club VP of Education. He constantly seeks to improve his public speaking and communication skills and sharing what he has learned through his website. His guiding principle is that life is about communication, and having fun while communicating is what makes life worth living.

On my recent vacation, I took a copy of Boring to Bravo. It’s a perfect summer read. Not only is it organized into easily digestible chunks (read a section or two while sipping lemonade on the deck), it is also packed with techniques which will energize your presentations.

This article is the latest of a series of public speaking book reviews here on Six Minutes.

• What’s Inside?
• The Price
• What I Loved
• How could it be better?
• What Others Think
• Verdict

What’s Inside?

Boring to Bravo is the latest book from Kristin Arnold, current President of the National Speakers Association. Among the dozens of techniques in the book, you’ll find advice such as:

• Why you should move with purpose
• The value of choosing vivid words
• How to make the room more engaging
• Effectively breaking your audience into groups
• Facilitating a discussion

Every speaker is guaranteed to find new techniques here. I certainly did.

Don’t Believe Me? See For Yourself!

You can browse through the opening pages of Boring to Bravo with these PDF downloads:

• Table of Contents (pdf)
• Introduction (pdf)
• Chapter One (pdf)

The Price

At the time of writing this review, you can get this book for only $14.93 from amazon.com. This is 32% off the list price.

3 Things I Love about Boring to Bravo

The three things I liked most about Boring to Bravo are:

1. Breadth of Techniques Covered

This book casts a wide net, covering topics such as delivery techniques, visual aids, storytelling, asking engaging questions, facilitating discussion, and critiquing yourself. Gaining mastery over every technique described will help you become a very well-rounded presenter.

2. Emphasis on Techniques Beyond “Just Speaking”

This book stands out on my speaking bookshelf in large part to the tips and techniques that go beyond “just speaking.”

When delivering five, ten, or even 15 minute speeches, you can probably speak from start to finish and keep the audience engaged and entertained. But if you find yourself delivering lunch-hour seminars, or 3 to 4-hour courses, you quickly discover that your audience’s attention is not so easily sustained. It’s necessary to change the pace and introduce short (relevant!) activities.

Ideas for these short activities is where Boring to Bravo excels. For example, there’s an entire chapter on organizing effective group breakout sessions.

3. Risk Ratings

Within every chapter, each section is accompanied by a “risk rating,” which aims to distinguish between low-risk activities (score 1) and high-risk activities (score 5).

For example:

• “Choose Vivid Words” has a risk rating of 1 (low-risk)
• “Borrowed Stories” has a risk rating of 2
• “Dress the Part” (in costume) has a risk rating of 3
• “Interview a Participant” has a risk rating of 4

I could quibble about a few of the individual ratings, but the concept is useful. You may wish to master low-risk activities first, and carefully experiment with higher risk activities as your skills and confidence grows.

How could it be better?

1. More Aggressive Editing

I think the book would benefit from one last critical edit.

• On several occasions, it seemed like the same tip was being duplicated in different words, just a page or two apart. I don’t think the repetition was intentional, but…?
• There are numerous “guest tips” offered (from highlighted professional speakers) in sidebars throughout the book. These sidebars are valuable as they offer new perspectives. However, the sidebars usually weren’t introduced or placed in context by the main body text. Also, the tips were occasionally duplicates of ones offered in nearby body text.

2. Crosslink the Glossary/Index

There is a healthy 12-page glossary at the end of the book, which offers short descriptions of many of the terms discussed in the book (e.g. Audience Response System). However, there’s a wasted opportunity here to link those glossary definitions back to the location(s) in the book where that concept is discussed. For example, the book would be more useful as reference material if the Audience Response System entry told you that it is discussed on page 89 (the “Using Technology” section of the “Ask Engaging Questions” chapter).

Update: According to the author’s comment below, the glossary is cross-linked as an index in the publicly released version of the book. My review is based upon an advance copy.

3. More Practical Examples

I’d like to see practical examples added more consistently to accompany the tips. There are numerous examples throughout, but they are occasionally missing.

For example, in Chapter 9 (Use Descriptive Words), the author encourages cadence variation (page 130) and parallel construction (page 131), but doesn’t accompany either tip with a short speech example. [Note: It does point to "the many bulleted lists in this book for examples of parallel construction", but many of the bulleted lists in the book are not, in fact, parallel construction.]

What Others Think

Ian Griffin, Professional Speaking blog:

This is not a basic presentation skills book. Arnold encourages readers to step outside the role of the speaker as an authority figure who controls the audience from the front of the room, to someone who passionately participates in an event that is enjoyed by the audience as a collaborative experience.

Stephen Forte:

I have been a public speaker for 15 years, a professional one for over 13, and found this book very useful. I learned several things while reading it, including many things I am doing wrong! [...]

[...] If you want to be a more engaging, dynamic speaker, read this book!

Verdict

Boring to Bravo will help you become a more complete speaker and will improve your ability to handle a diverse set of speaking situations. I recommend you get yourself a copy today.

Similar Articles You May Like... Book Review: Confessions of a Public Speaker (Scott Berkun) What Does Your Personal Brand Say About You as a Speaker? Book Review: The Wealthy Speaker by Jane Atkinson How to Thrive When Speaking Outside Gifts for Every Speaker… from Zero to Eighty Dollars Six Thinking Hats and the Public Speaker

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.

2300 years ago, Aristotle wrote down the secret to being a persuasive speaker, the secret which forms the basis for nearly every public speaking book written since then.

Do you know the secret?

If you don’t, you might be wondering what a 2300-year-old theory has to do with public speaking in the year 2010.

In a word — everything!

In this article, you’ll learn what ethos, pathos, and logos are (the secret!), and what every speaker needs to understand about these three pillars of public speaking.

What are Ethos, Pathos, and Logos?

So, what are ethos, pathos, and logos?

In simplest terms, they correspond to:

• Ethos: credibility (or character) of the speaker
• Pathos: emotional connection to the audience
• Logos: logical argument

Together, they are the three persuasive appeals. In other words, these are the three essential qualities that your speech or presentation must have before your audience will accept your message.

Origins of Ethos, Pathos, Logos — On Rhetoric by Aristotle

Written in the 4th century B.C.E., the Greek philosopher Aristotle compiled his thoughts on the art of rhetoric into On Rhetoric, including his theory on the three persuasive appeals.

Many teachers of communication, speech, and rhetoric consider Aristotle’s On Rhetoric to be a seminal work in the field. Indeed, the editors of The Rhetoric of Western Thought: From the Mediterranean World to the Global Setting call it “the most important single work on persuasion ever written.” It is hard to argue this claim; most advice from modern books can be traced back to Aristotle’s foundations.

In The Classic Review, Sally van Noorden points to George Kennedy’s modern translation as the standard reference text for studying On Rhetoric. Kennedy’s translation is the source that I use. (At the time of this writing, it is available from amazon.com for $24.56, 18% off the list price.)

Ethos

Before you can convince an audience to accept anything you say, they have to accept you as credible.

There are many aspects to building your credibility:

• Does the audience respect you?
• Does the audience believe you are of good character?
• Does the audience believe you are generally trustworthy?
• Does the audience believe you are an authority on this speech topic?

Keep in mind that it isn’t enough for you to know that you are a credible source. (This isn’t about your confidence, experience, or expertise.) Your audience must know this. Ethos is your level of credibility as perceived by your audience.

We will define ethos in greater detail, and we will study examples of how to establish and build ethos.

Pathos

Pathos is the quality of a persuasive presentation which appeals to the emotions of the audience.

• Do your words evoke feelings of … love? … sympathy? … fear?
• Do your visuals evoke feelings of compassion? … envy?
• Does your characterization of the competition evoke feelings of hate? contempt?

Emotional connection can be created in many ways by a speaker, perhaps most notably by stories. The goal of a story, anecdote, analogy, simile, and metaphor is often to link an aspect of our primary message with a triggered emotional response from the audience.

We will study pathos in greater detail, and look at how to build pathos by tapping into different audience emotions.

Logos

Logos is synonymous with a logical argument.

• Does your message make sense?
• Is your message based on facts, statistics, and evidence?
• Will your call-to-action lead to the desired outcome that you promise?

We will see why logos is critical to your success, and examine ways to construct a logical, reasoned argument.

Which is most important? Ethos? Pathos? or Logos?

Suppose two speakers give speeches about a new corporate restructuring strategy.

• The first speaker — a grade nine student — gives a flawless speech pitching strategy A which is both logically sound and stirs emotions.
• The second speaker — a Fortune 500 CEO — gives a boring speech pitching strategy B.

Which speech is more persuasive? Is the CEO’s speech more persuasive, simply because she has much more credibility (ethos)?

Some suggest that pathos is the most critical of the three. In You’ve Got to Be Believed to Be Heard, Bert Decker says that people buy on emotion (pathos) and justify with fact (logos). True? You decide.

Aristotle believed that logos should be the most important of the three persuasive appeals. As a philosopher and a master of logical reasoning, he believed that logos should be the only required persuasive appeal. That is, if you demonstrated logos, you should not need either ethos or pathos.

However, Aristotle stated that logos alone is not sufficient. Not only is it not sufficient on its own, but it is no more important than either of the two other pillars. He argued that all three persuasive appeals are necessary.

Is he right? What do you think?

Next in this Series…

In the next article of this series, we examine ethos in greater detail.

Similar Articles You May Like... Presentation Power: Four Ways to Persuade Book Review: Thank You For Arguing (Jay Heinrichs) Speech Critique: Dan Pink (TED 2009) 17 Easy Ways to Be a More Persuasive Speaker What is Logos and Why is it Critical for Speakers? 18 Paths to Pathos: How to Connect with Your Audience

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.

This article is the latest of a series of public speaking book reviews here on Six Minutes.

• What’s Inside?
• The Price
• What I Loved
• How could it be better?
• What Others Think
• Verdict

What’s Inside?

Based on the provocative title, you might think this book is heavy on memoirs and light on educational content. You would only be half right.

Confessions of a Public Speaker is packed with personal stories from the author and also packed with tips and advice for speakers from all backgrounds. A more appropriate title would probably have been “Insights of a Public Speaker” or “Lessons Learned by a Public Speaker”; of course, neither of those titles would like sell as many copies as this best-selling book is.

The video below shows the author talking about what the book is about…

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Price

At the time of writing this review, you can get this hardcover book for only $16.49 from amazon.com. This is 34% off the list price.

At this price, it isn’t surprising that this book is the 7th most popular public speaking book on amazon.com since being released last November. Readers love it — everyone’s giving it 5 stars.

3 Things I Love about Confessions of a Public Speaker

The three things I liked most about Confessions of a Public Speaker are:

1. Packed with Great Insights

Confessions of a Public Speaker touches on a broad set of issues — fear of speaking, preparation, organization of ideas, delivery techniques, teaching approach, dealing with a difficult crowd, preventing mishaps, speaking technology, and many others. Every speaker will find new advice and insights here.

As just one example, the second chapter (just 11 pages) is perhaps the most concise, sensible advice on public speaking fear I’ve read.

2. Wonderfully written!

Most public speaking books are written by speaking experts who, if I were to guess, are not authors by nature.

Confessions of a Public Speaker is different.  Scott Berkun is a best-selling author (see: Making Things Happen and The Myths of Innovation) and refers to himself as a writer first, and a speaker second. His humorous, witty, and sharp prose make this a thoroughly enjoyable read.

3. Honest to a Fault

Confessions begins with an odd disclaimer:

This book is highly opinionated, personal, and full of behind-the-scenes stories. You may not like this. Some people like seeing how sausage is made, but many do not.

Although everything in this book is true and written to be useful, if you don’t always want to hear the truth, this book might not be for you.

It’s true. The honesty in this book may shock some, like this passage:

No amount of training will make a man with two brain cells seem anything but dumb, as the problem is not his ability to speak, it’s his inability to think. It’s rarely said, but some people will never be good public speakers. Unless they find someone to do their thinking for them, they only have, at best, half the tools they need.

[...] The problem with most bad presentations I see is not the speaking, the slides, the visuals, or any of the things people obsess about. Instead, it’s the lack of thinking.

Personally, I appreciate this fresh approach.

How could it be better?

1. More Cohesion from Chapter to Chapter

Each individual chapter is well-written and feels “just right” as far as depth. However, I didn’t notice much continuity from one chapter to the next, and there’s no obvious rationale for the ordering of material.

Maybe this isn’t a bad thing. Each chapter stands on its own. It’s easy to read the book in short bursts — like I did, one chapter each night.

2. Better Photos

There are photos distributed throughout the book (and even one short chapter with a whole series of them), many taken by the author at speaking venues. The photos are referenced in the text, and they help to tell the story.

Unfortunately, the photos are not in color, and the contrast levels are too low, so many of them hard to view. A few are completely washed out in my copy.

Maybe this was a tradeoff that keeps the price of the book low? Maybe it was only my copy? Maybe the photos could be shared on the author’s website for keeners like me who want to squeeze every drop of meaning?

Update: Apparently, it wasn’t just my copy. On Scott’s blog, he reports that the low-contrast photos were a mistake in the first print run, and says the 2nd and 3rd run fixes this problem. If you get a copy now, you should get the good photos.

What Others Think

Gina Trapani, Lifehacker:

If public speaking is a part of your job–and it is, in some capacity, whether or not you’re Barack Obama–this book is a worthy read. It’s converted at least one person who has turned down speaking engagements because the idea was too scary to someone excited about getting better at a special and important skill.

Ben Rothke, Slashdot:

[...] Confessions of a Public Speaker is unique in that it takes a holistic approach to the art and science of public speaking. The book doesn’t just provide helpful hints, it attempts to make the speaker, and his associated presentation, compelling and necessary.

Jeff Bailey, Wired Presentations:

If you are new to presentations this should be the first book that you read on the topic. It gives a lot of great advice that many people take for granted.

Rhett Laubach, Authenticity Rules:

I have given at least 100 public speeches each year for the past 18 years and I have found a ton of value in it.

Ian Griffin, Speechwriter:

Confessions of a Public Speaker offers presenters—and those of us who support executives who give presentations—a great source of ideas to improve both the content and delivery of future talks.

Verdict

Here’s my confession… I didn’t want to put this book down.

Confessions of a Public Speaker provides sound advice that can help anyone improve their speaking skills. Highly recommended.

Similar Articles You May Like... Book Review: Boring to Bravo (Kristin Arnold) Boost Your Speaking Confidence Through Improv What Does Your Personal Brand Say About You as a Speaker? 8 Faulty Speaker Assumptions and How to Fix Them Book Review: The Wealthy Speaker by Jane Atkinson 12 Days of Public Speaking Christmas

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.

A dream? Not if you understand how to brand yourself as an expert, one of the steps to becoming a speaker in demand.

In this article, we tap into the wisdom of five experts from the fields of branding and public speaking. They discuss the importance of personal branding, and they offer advice about specific tools you can use to shape your personal brand.

Be the Expert

As a public speaker, you will have plenty of opportunities to speak, but your potential audiences also have plenty of other speaker options. Beyond simply having a skilled delivery, go-to speakers have developed a specific area of expertise. That expertise keeps their audiences coming back for more.

Jane Atkinson stated that the trick is to have your name become synonymous with your expertise. If people aren’t taking you by the sleeve, offering to buy you lunch just so they can pick your brain about your area of expertise, they should be.

Jane Atkinson:

In the speaking industry, it’s all about focus. You can’t be all things to all people. The best way to start building your brand is to declare your area of expertise. People need to know what they are getting from you. As people recognized my expertise, they kept asking me for my professional advice, and I thought, “Some day I’m going to charge for this advice.” I was developing my personal brand.

For Jane, especially in the speaking industry, more is not always better. Likewise, according to Nick Morgan, saying ‘yes’ to every opportunity may seem like a great way to establish more business, but it can exhaust you and dilute the potency of your personal brand.

Nick Morgan:

It wasn’t until I had the courage to say ‘no’ to some people that my brand began to take on some clarity.

The clarity Nick refers to comes from defining an overall vision and shaping our personal brands to help others see that vision the same way we do. But the vision must have a sharp focus. As an example, Aymee Buckhannon related how she found her own focus by helping others develop their personal brands.

Aymee Buckhannon:

I built a website for a life coach as a favor. Then another person saw it, then another person saw it, and the rest is history. Now I define myself confidently as a “branding strategist” and focus mainly on network marketing professionals.

Developing expertise in an area of interest to others may take years. By then, hopefully your area of expertise is something you still are passionate about. When you can align your expertise with your passion, you are well on your way to being the speaker audiences crave.

Manage Your Personal Brand

Even when you’re not behind the podium, you convey a presence to the world, be it in your one-to-one relationships or via the Internet. So, how do you make sure that the image you convey helps your speaking career instead of damaging it?

Joe Calloway wrote, “Your brand resides in the minds of your customers [...] Your brand is whoever customers think you are, whatever they think is your promise to them, and whether or not they believe that you keep that promise.”

It’s not too difficult for a presenter to replace the word “customers” in Calloway’s example with “audience” – or even “potential audiences”. Expanding your speaking opportunities means shaping your brand as a presenter, because your brand affects:

• Your ability to be hired to present.
• The types of speaking engagements you are offered.
• Your audience’s expectations.

Our experts agree that a speaker’s personal brand is as important as how well a speaker delivers a presentation. According to Joe Calloway, the two key questions are whether your brand is what you want it to be and whether you have created it by design.

Joe Calloway:

If I were to ask your clients or professional colleagues what it’s like to do business with you, whatever they say next is your brand. For me, one of the key elements of my personal brand is that Joe Calloway is “easy to do business with.” It’s very much by design and has become a key “tiebreaker” that has gotten me a ton of business over the years.

Cynthia Starks said that, for her, a personal brand is more than a choice of colors for a website or business cards. She takes a “big picture” approach to personal branding, remaining aware of how she comes across to other people in both personal interactions and in her dealings with others on the Internet.

Cynthia Starks:

I think personal branding is who you are – and that “who” comes across most fully in your personal interactions – on the ‘Net and in real life.

Are you kind? Are you willing to hear different opinions? Willing to be a resource to others? Are your online comments encouraging and supportive instead of sarcastic or cynical? These sets of behaviors are truly your “personal brand.”

Jane Atkinson echoed Cynthia’s observations about a more inclusive definition of personal branding. She cautions against losing track of your brand as a speaker.

Jane Atkinson:

People are building their personal brands, whether they’re aware of it or not, and sometimes they may unintentionally be creating a negative brand for themselves. It takes intention and focus to build an effective personal brand.

Jane suggested taking an active role in creating the brand that you want as a speaker, a sentiment shared by Aymee Buckhannon, who pointed out that when people see that you deliver what you promise through your personal brand, you increase your opportunities as a speaker and in other channels, too.

Aymee Buckhannon:

If people like to work with me for what I offer as a leader, or a branding strategist, then it won’t matter which product I carry. Meaning, if that company goes under, or if I change course, my personal brand is me, and not “enter product name here”.

Like many professional speakers, Nick Morgan is also a successful author. He said that the benefits of a well-crafted personal brand have extended beyond his speaking career to help his book sales, even in a difficult market.

Nick Morgan:

All the interviews and connecting I did when my second book came out have paid off in increased book sales. Your book will disappear without a trace unless you personally take charge of marketing it and work very, very hard.

Our experts agree that personal branding is a journey, not a destination. We must think hard about our goals as speakers and consciously develop a personal brand that we can realistically (and diligently) maintain.

Three Fundamentals to Managing Your Brand

Our experts suggest three key ways to promote your personal brand online.

1. Blog it!

Nick Morgan:

The blog is fundamental. You have to have something to say, and the blog is the place to start. Start a blog. If you don’t have a blog, you don’t have an opinion, and why should anyone pay attention to you?

Aymee Buckhannon:

You can even start your blog with a freebie. I believe content is more valuable than “aesthetics” at first. However, as you begin to work your way through the online world, you will need an upgrade and a professional look that stands out from all the “freebies”.

2. Get Your Own Website

Aymee Buckhannon:

If you do not own www.YOURNAME.com, get it now! Once you are famous or you have managed to brand yourself, whoever owns that name will profit.

Jane Atkinson:

When I updated my website, I decided that “all roads lead to the book”, meaning my website’s mission was to promote my book and provide sufficient information about it and easy links to order it.

Cynthia Starks:

The best reason for a website is that when someone says, “send me some speech samples,” you can happily say, “they’re on my website. Here’s the address.” 

3. Use Social Media to Your Advantage

Aymee Buckhannon:

The main goal of sites like Facebook and Linkedin is relationship building. Your profile should be about you and not about what you sell. People on these sites are looking for others with whom they have something in common.

Jane Atkinson:

Thanks to social media, it has never been easier to build a personal brand. We need to be careful what we post if we want to maintain a credible brand. I use Facebook for more personal touches that tend to focus on my expertise, but I give hints to my personal side, like when I got my new puppy.

Cynthia Starks:

If you’re on LinkedIn, don’t forget the group LinkEds & Writers, where I’ve discovered some wonderful fellow communicators. The Quintilian Speechwriters Group is another excellent group for both corporate and freelance writers. There, you can pick the minds of some of the best speechwriters in the business on a variety of topics related to the process and business of speechwriting.

Discover More About the Experts

• Jane Atkinson (Web | Twitter) is President of Speaker Launcher and author of The Wealthy Speaker. She coaches professional speakers, celebrities, and CEOs to help focus their careers. She has represented numerous speakers who have vaulted to the top 3% of the speaking industry.
• Aymee Buckhannon (Web | Twitter) is personal branding expert and owner of My Personal Brand. She helps her clients develop cohesive personal branding for websites, blogs, and social media.
• Joe Calloway (Web | Twitter) is a nationally known speaker and author of the best-selling business book Becoming a Category of One. He helps companies align their vision, brand, and employee engagement objectives.
• Nick Morgan (Web | Twitter) is President of the presenter coaching and message development company, Public Words, Inc., and author of Trust Me: Four Steps to Authenticity and Charisma; and Working the Room: How to Move People to Action through Audience-Centered Speaking.
• Cynthia Starks (Web) is President of Starks Communications, LLC and is a former IBM and Fortune 500 speechwriter. Leaders in business, education, and government have delivered her speeches around the world.

Similar Articles You May Like... Book Review: Boring to Bravo (Kristin Arnold) Book Review: Confessions of a Public Speaker (Scott Berkun) How to Thrive When Speaking Outside Six Thinking Hats and the Public Speaker Speaking is a Team Sport: 3 Ways to be Responsive to Your Audience Boost Your Speaking Confidence Through Improv

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

Chaunce Stanton provides marketing communications support for the professional services industry, including architects, engineers, and scientists. For more than eight years, he has routinely helped teams develop messages and craft polished presentations for multimillion-dollar projects. Chaunce is an enthusiastic member of Toastmasters International in St. Paul, Minnesota’s Metropolitan Chapter.

And as you get more advanced in your speaking, and comfortable with the stage, how should you move in relation to the audience?

Is it a good idea to move deep into the audience or not? What about those situations where it seems awkward to get to the audience at all, either because of the logistics of the room or the positioning of your listeners?

Human Interaction Zones

In establishing a few rules for the effective choreography of a speech, several key insights from research on non-verbal communications will help. The first comes from Edward T. Hall and his classic work The Silent Language. He described 4 zones of space between people:

1. Twelve feet or more is public space.
2. Twelve feet to 4 feet is social space.
3. Four feet to a foot and a half is personal space.
4. And a foot and a half to zero is intimate space.

The exact dimensions of these zones vary a little from one culture to another, but all cultures have them.

Audience Personal Space is the Key To Connecting

Sharing public space is quite low-key for us – we’re not very interested in people in that space simply because they’re too far away to be important. Social space is a little warmer, but it’s not until someone moves into our personal space that we really begin to pay attention. And of course, when someone is in our intimate space he or she has all our focus.

The bottom line is that nothing significant happens between people except in personal and intimate space. Since public speakers can’t get into intimate space — it violates something quite profound — that leaves personal space.

Here’s the way to think about it: you can’t make a real impact on people unless you can get into their personal space.

By now, you’re thinking that this zone research creates a real problem for public speakers. You obviously can’t get into the personal space of everyone in the audience; you’d be running around like a mad person. Won’t the majority of the audience feel left out?

Your Audience Shares Emotions

I’ll get to the logistics in a minute, but first there’s a nice bit of recent brain research that sheds more light on the subject. An Italian group of brain researchers have studied mirror neurons (See: Mirrors in the Brain: How Our Minds Share Actions, Emotions, and Experience). It turns out that when someone near us experiences an emotion, a special kind of neuron – a mirror neuron – fires in our head giving us the same emotion. It’s how we’re able to be empathetic as a species, how we can feel other people’s pain and joy, how we can care for others, and so on.

In this case, it means that if a speaker focuses his or her attention on an audience member, all the people sitting near that lucky individual will experience the same thrill of attention. The effect diminishes over space, but it’s quite powerful and it means that to give attention to a great majority of the audience, you don’t have to run around the room.

Trust (and Connection) Increases as Distance Decreases

We can then add to these research insights with a third phenomenon: our trust of people increases when they move closer to us, and decreases as they move away from us.

By now a picture should be emerging of why it’s so important to move into an audience to connect with them – and why you shouldn’t believe that old misconception that other audience members will feel left out if you focus on several people in the room. Moving into the audience, and getting into the personal space of selected audience members, is the only effective way to move beyond bland and make a world-changing impression on people. And the only reason to give a speech is to change the world, right?

Okay, But How Do You Move Closer to the Audience?

Okay, you say, but we’re still left with the logistics.

• What if I’m speaking in a ballroom with all those round tables and people facing every which way – how do I negotiate that space?
• What if I’m up on a stage and jumping down is hazardous to my health?
• What about those times I’m on a camera for the people in the back – the AV people tell me not to go off the stage because they can’t follow me. What do I do then?

In over 20 years of work as a speaker and as a coach of speakers, I have seen virtually every imaginable room configuration. Many of them make it extremely difficult for speakers to move successfully into the audience. In those cases, you just have to do the best you can. And the best may only be moving to the edge of the stage. But even that will increase the audience’s trust in you, and their sense of connection, because humans are very quick to notice when someone is moving toward or away from them, even in small amounts.

Understanding how mirror neurons work lets you know why working the audience is effective even if you only get close to a few people. Nonetheless, you don’t want to spend a lot of time deep in an audience so that your back is turned away from a significant percentage of your listeners. Turning your back on people sends out a powerful message of lack of interest or disengagement.

This is especially true in a room filled with those round tables, where it seems like you’re always turning away from someone. With that kind of configuration, your should spend most of your time at the front of the room, approaching the tables you can easily get to. Try to get to each side of the room. The audience will appreciate both that you’ve attempted to reach them and that you haven’t spent a lot of time lost deep in the thicket of tables.

You also don’t want to spend too much time on one particular audience member. The exact timing depends on the nature of your speech, and the kinds of interactions you have, but as a rule of thumb, think in terms of 30 seconds to a minute, not much more. Audience members will feel left out if you allow one person to monopolize your attention for too long.

It’s a matter of (1) tact and (2) quick thinking on your feet. You need to size up the room, figure out how you’re going to move in it, and plan how much you can work the audience.

The goal should always be to move toward your audience, even if it’s only a few feet, on points in your talk that you want to emphasize, or when you want to interact with audience members. Moving toward the audience – closing the distance – says, “this is important.” Moving away says the opposite. So use your body like a punctuation mark to add clarity and impact to your speaking. The choreography should be in service to the message. Always.

What Do You Think?

As a speaker, has moving toward the audience been a rewarding or frustrating experience?

As an audience member, what do you like or dislike when the speaker steps into the audience?

Similar Articles You May Like... Ethos, Pathos, Logos: 3 Pillars of Public Speaking Connect With Your Audience: Don’t Hide Your Emotions When Speaking How to Thrive When Speaking Outside 3 Common Ways Speakers Sabotage Themselves 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

Nick Morgan is President of Public Words Inc and author of Trust Me: Four Steps to Authenticity and Charisma, and Give Your Speech, Change the World. He has coached professional speakers, executives, educators, and politicians in effective public speaking for more than 20 years.

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.

Similar Articles You May Like... 5 Speaking Resolutions to Wow Your Audience in 2012 Speaking is a Team Sport: 3 Ways to be Responsive to Your Audience Book Review: Confessions of a Public Speaker (Scott Berkun) The 7 Deadly Sins of Public Speaking Stop Rehearsing! 3 Critical Things to Do Before Your Speech Speaking Survey says: Speaker DO’s and DON’Ts

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.

But do you know how big these gestures should be?

In this article, you’ll learn to match the size of your gestures to your audience and venue.

What is meant by gesture size?

Just as your voice can be loud or soft, your gestures can be large or small.

For example, consider the spectrum of hand and arm gestures.

• Gestures involving your fingers only are small gestures.
• Gestures pivoting at your wrist are a bit larger.
• Gestures pivoting at your elbow are larger still.
• Finally, gestures pivoting at your shoulder are large.

Okay, how do you choose the right size?

It depends. Gestures that are effective for one audience might be completely ineffective with another audience.

Factors you should consider are:

1. the distance between you and your audience, and
2. sight lines between you and your audience
3. cultural and contextual factors

From these factors, we can derive some basic guidelines for effective body language.

Distance

In general, the farther your audience is from you, the larger and more pronounced your gestures need to be. Small audience = small gestures. Big audience = big gestures.

For example, when seated at a board room table, you might use a small hand gesture. When speaking in an auditorium, you need to use full arm gestures.

Sight Lines

In general, if sight lines are clear, you can make smaller and more intricate gestures. If sight lines are partially blocked, you need larger (and higher) gestures.

Cultural and Contextual Factors

Cultural and contextual factors may impact the appropriate size for your gestures. A few examples are:

• The culture of your audience members may dictate more subdued gestures. (In general, beware the use of large gestures if you are not familiar with your audience’s culture.)
• When delivering a eulogy or news about layoffs, your gestures should be subdued.
• When speaking to children, your gestures can probably be magnified.

In all cases, it is best to research this as part of your audience analysis, particularly if you are speaking to a new group.

Example Scenarios for Speech Gestures

Let’s consider a few sample scenarios to illustrate how the size of your audience (and, by extension, the size of the room) influences which gestures are most effective.

1. Speech Gestures for a Small Group (2-6 people)

Example Scenario: You are having a conversation with a colleague in an office, or sitting at a table with customers.

Guidelines for this small group setting:

• Your gestures can be small and still effective because everyone is close to you.
• Finger gestures and hand gestures pivoting at the wrist can be effective.
  For example, consider the finger gestures displayed by the man in photo A on the right.
• Eye gestures and facial expressions are inherently small gestures. They are critical in an intimate small-group setting, because everyone can see every nuance, both conscious and unconscious.
  For example, the woman in photo B is communicating non-verbally simply with her eyes and facial expression.
• The smaller your audience is, the more likely that you will have their full attention. They will tend to be looking at your eyes with a rather narrow field of view. Therefore, small hand gestures may work best if you raise your hands up closer to your eyes.
  For example, see how the man in photo C is gesturing with raised hands.
• Beware nervous gestures (e.g. tapping your fingers on the table; clicking a pen repeatedly) which are magnified in this setting.

2. Speech Gestures for a Medium Group (7-40 people)

Example Scenario: You are presenting to an audience which is seated around boardroom table, or in a small meeting room. You may be standing, or you may be seated yourself.

Guidelines for this medium group setting:

• Your gestures should be scaled up a bit as the average distance between you and the audience members increases.
• Your eye and facial gestures are still important. People in the front rows may still be able to see every nuance, both conscious and unconscious.
• Hand/arm gestures should pivot from your elbows at least.
  For example, consider President Obama in photo D as he gestures with his arm pivoting from his elbow.
• Watch your sight lines! Hand gestures which pivot at the wrist may be too small for people to see, particularly if you are speaking with a lectern or if views are obscured (e.g. by computer screens).
  For example, the man’s gesture in photo E may be invisible to his audience (and thus, ineffective) because it is blocked by the computer screen.
• Depending on the room layout, you may be able to incorporate some larger gestures with your upper body.

3. Speech Gestures for a Large Group (40-100 people)

Example Scenario: You are presenting a lunchtime seminar at a company, or perhaps a conference break-out session in a large meeting room. There probably is not a significant stage, nor is there raised seating (i.e. you are standing at the same level as your audience).

Guidelines for this large group setting:

• Your gestures should scale up even larger with arm gestures out and away from your body.
  For example, the woman in photo F is gesturing with her arm which is pivoting from her shoulder.
• Eye and facial expressions become less important because they are probably invisible to much of the audience unless you really exaggerate them.
• Because of the obscured sight lines for most of your audience behind the first few rows, this can be the most challenging audience size because they can only see you from the chest and higher. Any gestures you make lower are invisible to much of the audience.
  Note how the man in photo G has raised both his arms just under his face to gesture. This allows audience members to see him above the head of the person in front of them.
• One way to magnify smaller gestures is to hold them for a longer period of time and turn your body slightly as you display it. This increases the likelihood that more people will see the gesture.

4. Speech Gestures for a Huge Group (100+ people)

Example Scenario: You are presenting a keynote address at a conference. Audience seating is elevated as you move from front to back, and you are speaking from a stage which is probably set back from the front row.

Guidelines for this huge group setting:

• Your gestures need to scale up again. Full body gestures are necessary. Don’t hold back.
• Small gestures, like small objects, are invisible. Gestures with your fingers (e.g. putting up three fingers to indicate your third point) are invisible. Your audience will see your arm up, but they cannot see your fingers.
  For example, consider Steve Jobs as he unveils the MacBook Air in photo H. He realizes that most of his audience cannot really see what he is holding. (And his hands and face are even smaller!) So, a photo of a manila envelope appears on the screen behind him to compensate.
• Eye and facial gestures are invisible. This does not mean you should have a “dead” face. Quite the opposite, you should still have expressive eye and facial gestures because this will tend to keep your vocal variety high.
• Because of improved sight lines, you can probably use “low” hand/arm gestures that are centered around your stomach and waist.
• Also, your legs are now visible and you can exploit this to great advantage with full body gestures such as strolling or kicking.
• In rare cases, a video system may be used to magnify you for your audience, as with the woman presenting in photo I. If this is the case, smaller gestures can, once again, be seen. Large gestures are probably still more effective.

In Summary

Always be aware of the distance between you and your audience and the sight lines in the room. Based on this knowledge, scale your gestures accordingly and you will be effective.

Similar Articles You May Like... Toastmasters Speech 5: Your Body Speaks 6 Communication Barriers and How You Can Avoid Them Boost Your Speaking Confidence Through Improv How to Thrive When Speaking Outside How to Make Reading a Speech Not Like Reading a Speech Speech Critique: Elizabeth Gilbert @ TED (Author of Eat, Pray, Love)

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.