Rick Olson :: Blog :: Tips & Treats for Public Speaking

Oct. 14, 2007 

Yesterday I had lunch with three managers from the Polish and Slavic Federal Credit Union in NJ.  All three had made presentations that morning as part of their fall Strategic Planning conference.  I would be on in the afternoon sharing strategies for enhancing their sales and service culture. They asked if I would evaluate their presentations and share any pointers on how they could have done a better job.  As we talked further, I discovered one had gotten up at 4:00 that morning.  She was nervous, her stomach was in a knot, and she wanted to pour over her notes one more time.  All three were thrilled that it was over and felt they could now enjoy the rest of the weekend. Here is what I told them. 

1. Lecterns are lethal, podiums are poisonous.  Remove any barriers that stand between you and the people you are speaking to.

1. You own the room.  Whenever I present, I see myself as the host, and all people in the crowd are my guests.  For that timeframe – that room is mine.  I can use it any way I want that will enhance the presentation.  And I am going to treat them as well and comfortably as if they were guests in my home.

1. The crowd wants you to do great.  They are secretly cheering you on, not rooting against you.  They want you to do well because they will have a better experience if you do.

1. Assume they like you.  This is the motto I live my entire life by.  I meet new people every week.  I can’t worry – do they like me or not.  If I did, I would be a basket case.  If you treat people like they really like you, 95% will reciprocate.

1. The crowd is the car, you are the accelerator.  And the car is not going anywhere unless you hit the accelerator.

1. Be confident.  People like to feel that you know what you are doing and you are taking them someplace good.

1. Speak up.  Put a little extra into you voice.  You don’t want people to lean forward, then turn to a neighbor and say, “What did he say?”

1. Make a point – tell a story.  If you barrage the audience with endless charts, graphs, Powerpoint insights, and facts, you will soon notice a glazed look in the eyes of your audience.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a story is worth 10,000 words.  When it is all over, it is that story they will remember.