The Point

Public speaking – without the terror

All of my friends at Toastmasters have their own war stories about what has happened to them in front of an audience. Wavering voices, quivering knees, heart pounding and a little bit too much sweating are not even the worst things that happened. Having a “senior moment” and blanking out are more severe problems. When these symptoms occur, nervousness has taken its toll. The speaker’s mind and body are overwhelmed. Nothing works as planned. However, this doesn’t have to happen. Nervousness itself is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, all speakers that care about their performance experience this in one way or the other. Skilled speakers have learned how to control nervousness and channel it. Used correctly, nervousness can give a presenter the little extra edge to really shine. Good speakers learn to interpret nervousness as an indication that they are ready to give a speech. They reach a state of alertness improving their ability to think and execute. They are able to direct the physiological changes in a positive fashion while avoiding panic. There are four key concepts for speakers to keep in mind.

• Preparation and practice
• Mental rehearsal
• Relaxation techniques
• Experience

Preparation and practice

Even the most experienced speakers are creating notes or write out a speech in its entirety. This process helps to collect thoughts and allows reflecting on the content. Every speech should have an opening, body and conclusion. A simple approach to structuring these three parts is the following:

• Tell your audience what you are going to tell them
• Tell them
• Then tell them what you told them

In this phase, it is important to get the material in shape. Create a script and/or complete the power point presentation as well as arrange for all the visual aids you plan to use. Then, it is time to practice. Do it by yourself, with your significant other, your dog and/or in front of anyone else who is willing to listen. It doesn’t matter. The goal is for you to become familiar with the material and the delivery of the speech. Focus on your message and the rest will follow.

Mental rehearsal

Like professional athletes, learn to visualize your success in delivering the speech before you are going to deliver it. For example, Taekwondo fighters visualize their sparring strategies. They go mentally through combinations of punches and kicks before they actually compete. Like those fighters, do a mental run through of the entire presentation. Begin with your arrival at the meeting, your introduction, the delivery of the speech and the applause you will get (preferably an ecstatic standing ovation). The advantage of doing mental rehearsals is that you can do them at any time, at any speed and any place. I go through some of mine at those boring waits at the airport. We all have time to kill at some point in our day.

Relaxation techniques

After practicing and rehearsing the speech numerous times, there might still be some tension before the big moment. Don’t worry about this too much. Here are some techniques that have helped me in the past. The evening before, I personally like to get some physical exercise. It almost doesn’t matter what it is. I found out for me that a martial arts class, a run or walk are the best ways to calm down. I encourage you to find your own approach. At the event, if you feel that a certain body part, such as the shoulders, are tense, then try the following excersise. Tighten the part that feels tense for a few seconds, then release it. Repeat this 4-5 times. You can do this even in a room full of people. If you have more privacy, then you can try other exercises.

• Standing, inhale and stretch your arms toward the ceiling. Then exhale as you bend and touch your toes. Keep the knees straight. Repeat this 4-5 times.
• Hold your arms to the sides, parallel to the floor and rotate them in small circles first forward, then backward. After you have done that, shake them loose. Then, like a swimmer during a warm up, “hug” yourself.
• Drop your head to the chest, roll it to the right, to the back and then to the left. Do this motion in a circle. Repeat these head rolls a number of times.
• Take deep breaths.  While you inhale, make sure that the diaphragm and stomach expands. This helps get plenty of oxygen into your system.

Experience

Finally, over time, the best way to reduce anxiety in front of an audience is to simply practice public speaking. Doing this repeatedly reduces fear and builds confidence. This is where Toastmaster International can help. It provides opportunities to try out speaking skills on all levels of its organization: club, area, division, district, regional or international. To get started, go to www.toastmasters.org and find a club in your area. If you are in the DC area, feel free to reach out to my club www.fstoastmasters.org.

One last word about nervousness. Most likely, your audience will not notice unless you tell them. They don’t see your sweaty palms nor do they hear your heart pounding. In general, an audience has a positive attitude towards a speaker. A little ah here or a double clutch there will go unnoticed. Be yourself, know your material, be prepared and victory will be yours.

Upcoming conferences on Critical Chain in 2008

There are two upcoming opportunities to learn more about Critical Chain this year.
First of all, we will have our company conference in Washington DC. The event takes place  on Sep 30 and Oct 1. A number of accomplished speakers from our customer base will present their results implementing Critical Chain. David Allen, author of “Getting Things Done” will deliver the key note speech. For more information go to www.prochain.com

Secondly, there will be a Critical Chain tutorial at the DIA conference on Oct 22. This seminar will be a combination of concept training and customer presentations.  The case studies are from companies in the Life Science space. We will have presenters from Eli Lilly and Abbott Labs joining us for this event.