1 Advantage Session # 45 Making Effective Speeches Presenter: Bob Goldstein Career Counselor, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University Bloomington,

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Advantage Session # 45Making Effective Speeches

Presenter: Bob Goldstein

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

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

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GLOSSOPHOBIAWhich is it:

The fear of “lip gloss”?

OR

The fear of public speaking?

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RANK THESE FEARS

FEAR OF:

SPIDERS

THE DARK

PUBLIC SPEAKING

DEATH

SNAKES

GETTING MARRIED

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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;

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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;

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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;

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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);

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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].

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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);

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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;

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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.

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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;

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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]

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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;

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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.

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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.

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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;

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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;

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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.

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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:

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.