The Public Speaking Mindset

This article is Part 1 in a 3-part series on A?Smart Presentation and Public Speaking Skills

Before you read any of the other articles in the series, read this one first!

I can?t overemphasize the importance of the right public speaking and presentation mindset. ?I emphasize this because mindset is the only?way to learn to speak and present well. ?Thinking about and understanding?what makes a speech good or bad makes it easy to take the action needed (e.g. hand gestures, tone inflection, etc.) to give a spectacular presentation.

That?s completely different from the way most teach public speaking.

As I mentioned in the introduction to the series, public speaking and presentations are situational. ?It?s not a math equation, where you succeed by memorizing variables and processes. ?Being able to speak and present well means:

- Being able to think on your feet.

-Adapting what you have to say to the situation (e.g. the audience, the atmosphere, the size of the room, etc.).

- Coming across as confident?and making your message count?no matter what the situation.

Before learning the Public Speaking Mindset, understand a couple things about why you fear public speaking, and what you can do about it:

You probably fear public speaking because?it is situational and lacks a specific structure.

Do you fear public speaking for any of these reasons:

a.) What do I do if I get heckled by a member of the audience?

b.) How do I know if the information I?m presenting is what the audience wants to hear?

c.) What if I?m boring?

d.) What if I screw up?

If public speaking had a specific structure, there?s no way?you could fear any of these things: just like a math equation; you?d memorize how to say what, how to say it, and then give a great speech.

But think about it: how can you know what will happen during your presentation? ?How do you know your audience?s reaction? ?You won?t know for sure until you get there. ?Public speakers who accept speaking for what it is?a situational, fluid process?can get over silly ways to purportedly master public speaking (reading ?tips?) and get onto more useful techniques.

The only?way to improve your speaking abilities is through habit formation.? That comes only?with?practice.

Not?through reading books. ?Not?through reading my blog articles. ?Not?through talking about it with friends.

I think some will say ?that sucks! ?I?m not going out there to try to give a speech without knowing what I?m doing first!?

When I give a speech, it just happens. ?The speed at which I talk, the way I move my hands, the way I make eye contact, my tone inflections?I think about exactly none of it?when I?m talking.

I can do that because I?ve practiced like hell. ?It?s just a habit.

I recently gave a speech about an equity valuation my team and I did on a company. ?Half way through the speech, I offered to sell our ?patented? valuation model to the professor, or exchange it for a better grade. ?The audience broke out laughing! ?The professor?who usually never showed emotion?cracked a smile.

I hadn?t planned for that at all. ?It just seemed like the thing to say. ?And I was right; I think ours was the best speech of the 10 that were given that evening.

Think of trying to master public speaking through tip memorization like grocery shopping with a long grocery list, except that you don?t get to bring the list with you.

?What am I supposed to buy? ?Let?s see: milk, salad, ham, oatmeal, prunes (maybe I won?t get those)??. ?You?re trying to juggle a million different things in your mind at once.

What happens when you get home?

?Crap, I forgot the vanilla wafers!?

The same concept applies to tip memorization during speeches. ?How do you think you?re going to be able to juggle a million different tips in your mind at once?

You can?t.

But through practice, you convert an idea into a habit. ?

So let?s talk about that now.

What is the Public Speaking Mindset? ?

The Public Speaking Mindset

1. Understand your purpose and your value-added.

Before you say ?duh, I need to know what I?m giving my speech on?, read the rest of what I have to say here.

Your purpose is more than your topic. ? Understanding your purpose is the bedrock?and guiding light?for forming a presentation that is relevant, engaging and inspiring. ?Think about it:

- How many times have you listened to a speech where the speaker rambled on, and it was unclear what his main point was?

-How about presentation slides? ?Ever seen any with way too much writing?

Before you even start writing your speech, you should ask yourself, ?Of all of the things I could say about my topic, which are value-added??. ?Then, only?talk about those things that are value-added.

A perfect example:

In my Masters of Taxation program, everyone in the class was required to give a presentation about a complicated tax issue. ?How do you think most of my classmates gave them?

-They would repeat each and every fact about the case (often a 10 page court case).

-They would cover almost every facet of a large Internal Revenue Code section or regulation.

-They would give an extensive analysis with each line being something like this: ??According to Treas. Reg. ? 1.213-1(e)(1)(v), the cost of an in-patient hospital care is an expenditure for medical care, however for the institutions other than a hospital, the qualifications depend on the condition of the individual and the nature of the services he receives.?

Imagine having to listen to these presentations. ?The thing I realized from sitting through 40 of these is just how bad a speech is if the presenter isn?t focused on staying on point and conveying only value-added information.

It?s important for the speaker to know what aspects?of his or her topic to actually discuss!

The best way to do this: think first about your conclusion.

A lesson I learned long ago when I volunteered for some local political campaigns?:

The most people are going to remember about your speech is 2 or 3 things. ?So when you?re preparing your presentation, think to yourself- ?what are the 3 most important things I want my audience to remember? ?Focus your entire presentation around those 3 things?.

So- what is your bottom line? ?What is your conclusion? ?Whatever your ultimate point or punchline is: that?s what you should focus every word?of your speech on. ?Eliminate those words which add no value.

Think of the excerpt above that cites the Treasury Regulation. ?When you think about it, the actual value added here is knowing that care at a hospital will always count as a medical expense, but it will depend if it?s at something other than a hospital. ?The regulation citation and the faux-professional $10 words add nothing to the sentence?s basic meaning: it only adds complication.

So the next question naturally flows: how do I know what my conclusion?should be?

2. Understand your audience?s disposition.

-What does your audience already know?

-What do they want?to know?

-What kind of attention span do they have?

Way too many speeches I?ve heard simply exist for their own sake. ?The speaker just wants to?or has been forced to?talk about something random. ?And so they do just that; talk about whatever they want with minimal consideration to the audience.

But the real question is: ?what does your audience want??

3. You are an entertainer in addition to the main purpose of your speech.

I?m pretty sure I can, instead of listening to your speech:

a.) Go read a blog article

b.) Go read a Wikipedia article

c.) Go read a joke book,

and get the same content and ideas that I could from your speech.

But I?m taking time out of my day to listen to you.? Are you going to make it worth my while?

All of the aforementioned formats can convey the same content that your speech does. ?But can they convey the same feeling and emotion that your speech does?

I don?t necessarily mean ?be funny?; I mean ?be entertaining?.

I don?t need to spend much time here, because it?s easy to prove this point. ?Just think of any speech you?ve listened to. ?Have you ever enjoyed listening to a boring speech, even if the words spoken were informative and enlightening? ?Of course not. ?If you?re like me, your attention starts to wane after about 45 seconds, and you?re on facebook within a minute fifteen.

I will hit this in more detail in Parts 2 and 3 of this series, on speeches and presentation materials.

4. Learn to speak through osmosis.

Osmosis is the process of absorption; the process of absorbing cues and stimuli in your environment, and making them a part of you and your habits.

Great speakers learn to speak through osmosis. ?Excellent students of rhetoric don?t just think about it or read about it: they watch other great speakers, and they take note of what they do. ?How do they stand? ?How do they use their hands? ?What kind of tone inflections do they use?

If you want to give a funny speech, why not watch stand-up comedy? ?If you want to give a political and authoritative speech, go watch Ronald Reagan?s inauguration speech. ?If you want to learn how to tell stories to deliver points, watch Steve Jobs? 2005 Commencement Address.

Why reinvent the wheel? ?What makes sense to me is to watch the greats already at work, and to learn from them.

It?s like giving someone advice on how to dress. ?What is easier: trying to use words to explain proper suit combinations? ?Or showing people the combinations while being worn?

Final Thoughts (for this article).

I?ve given you a lot to think about here. ?And that?s okay. ?I think this will leave you well prepared for the upcoming articles on speeches and presentation materials.

In Parts 2 and 3, I will relate the concepts and action-points presented there directly back to the mindset outlined here. ?I want you to see how abstract concepts like the ones presented here make a huge difference when applied to a particular speech.

Remember: mindset is most important.? When you?re up there speaking, there?s no starting over; there?s no rewind; there?s no list of pointers to keep you on the right track. ?There?s only you. ?And with the right mindset, all of the ?tips? don?t matter: you will automatically articulate your points well, and have your audience thoroughly engaged.

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