Speaking at a conference? Here’s what NOT to do!

I love speaking at conferences. It’s an opportunity to meet new people, challenge myself with new ideas and to travel.

Wherever possible I stay for the day so I can listen to the speakers before me. I love hearing and seeing other people present and understand how nerve wracking it can be to speak to a room full of strangers. But a keynote requires some special preparation and there are rules you need to adhere to.

Here are 5 things you should ever do in your keynote

1. Make it all about you

Let me tell you how faaaabulous I am!

Some speakers remind me of a bad first date – you know the ones when all they want to talk about is their house on the beach and the car they drive? I recently saw a keynote speaker show a rah rah company video and then proceed to talk about himself for a full 20 minutes. He did not start on his topic until 30 minutes into his presentation. The audience was not impressed.

Solution: Focus on the audience’s WIIFM (What’s In It For Me?) and your credibility will speak for itself.

2. Deliver a report instead of a presentation

This is a mistake I see a lot of novices make. They have done some research that has had some great outcomes and as a result they’ve been asked to present their findings at a national conference. They then proceed to deliver their research in its entirety and bore the audience until they are catatonic.

Solution: Deliver a ‘Persuasive Executive Summary’ and relate it to the audience. Those who want the detail can read the paper.

3. Let me show you the spreadsheet…

Keynotes and PowerPoint abuse seem to go hand in hand. Here’s a quick tip. Open your PowerPoint make the slides full screen and stand six feet away. If you can’t read the detail on your slide, neither can your audience. It’s time to escape PowerPoint purgatory.

Solution: Have a look at the blogs I have written on how to “Escape Powerpoint Purgatory”

4. You MUST do this!

There is a saying in sales: ‘Telling is not selling’. When I’m in an audience I take off my evaluator’s hat and enjoy the moment. But every now and then something will punch through that causes discomfort. I was listening to a speaker recently and I thought: “Maybe it’s just me…” but when I noticed the person on my left checking her emails and person on my right playing solitaire, I thought “Maybe not!”

I asked them after why they were disengaged and they said:

• “She came across as preachy and a know it all”
• “I don’t appreciate being told what to do”

Solution: Tell stories. Share your challenges and what you learnt from them. Use inclusive ‘we’ language rather than ‘you’. Pose questions to the audience and increase interaction.

5. Go over time

Several years ago I spoke at a conference where the two previous speakers went over by 20 minutes each. I was the last speaker before lunch and you could see the audience was getting testy. I checked with the conference organiser first and then I stood up and said:

“I’m going to tell you what you need to know about delivering a persuasive presentation and I’m going to do it in 20 minutes” I received my first standing ovation when we broke for lunch on time.

Solution: Franklin D Roosevelt’s advice to his son on public speaking was “Be sincere. Be brief. Be seated.” Conferences are planned down to the last minute – if you want to be invited back, you’d better be on time!

This year I have delivered keynotes across Australia and overseas on topics ranging from persuasion and making your message stick, through to presentation skills and “escaping PowerPoint Purgatory’.

My audiences have consisted of accountants, lawyers doctors, CEO’s, HR professionals, trainers and managers. If you have a conference coming up I’d love to have a chat to see if what I deliver can meet your needs.

Kick those bad habits!

Are you still presenting the way you were taught at school? Time to kick those habits and become a better presenter.

My two boys aged 8 and 10 are learning public speaking at school. Fabulous! I thought – here is something I can help them with! So, trying not to resort to ‘Tiger Mom’ tactics I offered to listen to their speeches and help them with their preparation.

 Well, any parent out there will know what happened next.

 “MUM! We don’t do it THAT way!” “The teacher says we HAVE to do it THIS way.” And the final comment: “I don’t need to to be a professional speaker, Mum!!”

So at the risk of causing psychological scarring and acute embarrassment to my lads, here are five bad public speaking habits you picked up at school that you need to repair.

1. “Hello, my name is Samuel and today I’m going to talk to you about…”

 In most cases the audience will either know you already or you have been introduced by someone else. Make the most of your speech opening and hit them with a 10 second grab.  

2. “Umm I’ll just unfold my notes…”

Those of you who did debating at school remember writing your speech out in full in tiny hand written notes on palm cards. There was always one kid who dropped them on the way to the lectern and spent the first 60 seconds of his speech trying to get them back in order.

My recommendation is have a ‘prepared plan’. If you write your speech in full you tend to read it and it will sound flat and stilted. Instead write your notes in point form and print them out in size 16 font. You can now put them down on a table or on the lectern and walk away, knowing that they are highly visible and are there as a prompt if you need them. A simple speech planner will help with your structure.

3. “I’ve prepared some whiz bang slides!”

 Flying text, animated clip art, sound effects and colours that burn a hole in your retina are fabulous in grade five. Just don’t do it in the corporate sector as you will be remembered for your delivery and not your message. (Take this as a warning for all you PREZI users too!) 

4. “I’ll just stand here like a statue…”

I see many adults who still do this. Their speech delivery style is completely different from their natural communication style. When I point this out to them and ask them why, they respond with “Oh, I move my hands too much.” Really? Who told you that? “My high school teacher,” they reply.

Here’s an exercise for you: Sit on your hands and try to speak out loud about some thing you are really excited and passionate about. Pretty hard to do huh?

Movement is important. It helps us:

• Think better
• Be more expressive
• Increases our vocal variety
• Appear more engaging to our audience

So, free up your hands, step away from the lectern and MOVE!

5. “Thank you for listening… any questions?”

Courtesy and manners are to be encouraged, ensure they are used appropriately. As an adult, in most cases you have been asked to speak. Thanking the audience diminishes your message as it comes across as passive.

The primacy and recency theory shows us that people tend to remember what they hear and see first and last. So look for questions during your presentation as an opportunity to increase engagement. Then go back to your objectives and finish your presentation with a powerful call to action.

What are the bad presentation habits you were taught at school?