1

Advantage Session # 45Making Effective Speeches

Presenter: Bob Goldstein

Career Counselor, Kelley School of Business , Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana.

2

Outline: What is Glossophobia?” Preparation Practice Managing your Nerves Tips for a good delivery Meetings Business presentations X 420 Advantage Session Evaluations

3

GLOSSOPHOBIAWhich is it:

The fear of “lip gloss”?

OR

The fear of public speaking?

4

RANK THESE FEARS

FEAR OF:

SPIDERS

THE DARK

PUBLIC SPEAKING

DEATH

SNAKES

GETTING MARRIED

5

General Truths about a Speech

Take it seriously;People will remember a good

presentation but they never forget a bad one;

Presentation is not an innate skill, it is acquired by practice;

6

PreparationConcise speaking takes more time to prepare (Abraham Lincoln says that it took him 2 weeks to prepare for a 20 minute

speech, 1 week for a 40 minute speech and “I can write a 2 hour-speech right now.”

Know your audience.Use appropriate words and body language.

u;

7

Preparation (Continued)Ask sponsor of event about

demographics, place of residence, level of education, political affiliation and age group of audience;

Think of topic in relation to audience;

Watch politicians and public speakers;

8

Beginning to writeStart by jotting down draft freely and

unedited;“Sheer writing is easy. All you have to do is stare at a

blank piece of paper until blood falls on your forehead” (Russell Baker, New York Times Columnist).

To organize a good speech takes minimum a day and a half to two full days worth 10 hours each (Paul Erdman, economist and novelist);

9

Beginning to write (Continued)Start with an outline (Aram Bakshian, Speech

Writer and Author; Christopher Buckly, Esquire Contributing Author);

A speech is like a story with Beginning – Middle - End;

Secret: Draft it, redraft it, redraft it;Don’t be general be specific: Example: We live in a material age vs. The US spend a

billion dollars on cosmetics].

10

Remember: You are writing for the tongue Think of difference between words on paper

and spoken words; Do not use words that do not come natural to

you; Keep basic not fancy vocabulary; Emphasis is important; Use power of words (some words are more

powerful than others); Ending is very important (rewrite it as many

times as possible);

11

PracticeRehearse your speech as actors do;Do not memorize it;Do not read your prose;Write out opening and closing

paragraphs, key transitional phrases, quotes and great lines in large type; then

Bullet main points;

12

Practice 2Use tape recorder, video recording or

mirror to determine where gestures and movements work;

Ask someone to watch you present and critique afterwards;

Trivia: How long do you think Broadway performers rehearse before opening a new show? 2, 10 weeks? 2, 3, 5 months? A year or more?

Answer: 3 months.

13

Practice 3Be truly relaxed, tensing muscles and loosening

them, ears and shoulders where they belong, breathe normally (Michael Khan, Director Screenplay);

Connect with audience: See and look at them - Is your goal to interest, change, make a friend out of or amuse them? Go about getting that;

Decide about your dress ahead of time and remember that casual dress does not project authority in business;

14

How to deal with nerves? Reasons for fear of public speaking:1. Feeling of being exposed, lonely, vulnerable;

fearing of failure, projecting false image;

2. Lack of preparation; However,

Positive nervousness and negative nervousness; [The Churchill’sTechnique!]

But what if the worst happens? [It is not the end of the world, you can manage it]

15

DeliveryConcentrate on people in front of you;Use eyes as ambassadors of good will;Connect with them as though in a one

by one conversation;Concentrate on one person until you

establish contact then move to another;

16

Delivery 2 Eyes and voice are not enough though; Use gestures, posture and movement to

make your presence felt;Example1. Rate and volume;2. Well timed pause;3. Keywords hammered on with great force;4. Key phrases set apart by dramatic silence that

highlights importance;5. Moving hand forward.

17

Delivery 3

Do not change your natural voice, rather, maximize its potential;

Use your character and past performances as your allies in persuading audience;

Use information about your experience, reliability, candor and courage esp. if audience does not know you.

18

Delivery 4People say “either be sincere or fake

sincerity” butFaking sincerity is very tough; therefore,Do not talk about something you do not

believe in; It is not acting----- it is performance;

19

MeetingsMeetings may be most important

speaking forms;Learn to use them effectively;Organize your ideas in advance;Have great phrase in mind that can

have a powerful effect;Pay attention to mood of the moment;

20

Meetings 2

Pick one response you meant to accomplish with your statement then make it;

Remember: Leaders are brief, they make strong point and skip details;

Closing should not drift to a lame ending.

21

Business Presentations

Trivia: How do business presentations differ from others?

Answer: Same except that you have dry information and you have to convince people about it.

When delivering business presentations, remove barriers between you and audience by:

22

Business Presentations 21. Not standing behind electrons;2. Not reading a set script;3. Knowing your subject and project

enthusiasm and confidence on the subject;4. Use visuals that are descriptive, effective,

bight, bold, brilliant and be brief (20 minutes);

But sometimes the unexpected can happen…SO KEEP YOUR COOL!

23

What if you are interrupted unexpectedly?Raise voice and continue Use humor;Do not get angry--- be prepared by

anticipating tough questions; Therefore,Write down at least 5 tough questions

that you may be asked;Do not think of questions as hostile

KEEP YOUR COOL!

24

When asked questions … Answer to audience not to questioner; Have eye contact with people from one side

of room to another; When there is a touchy question, answer

broadly; Broad question, answer by zeroing in and

being specific; Something you do not know, admit that you

do not know, promise to get back and please do so.

25

Summing upSpeeches need to be Zesty, Anecdotal

and Presentational. You do want your audience to remember you and what you said.

Prepare—Prepare—Prepare.

Practice---Practice---Practice.

26

Evaluation Questionsa. Strongly Agree; b. Agree; c. Disagree; d. Strongly

disagree; e. Don’t know. I found the presentation of material easy to

understand. This session increased my knowledge on subject

presented. I will be able to use this information in the future. The presenter was well prepared for the session. This session should be repeated in the future.