Improve Executive Speeches with 10 Fast Tips

It’s ok if you bring notes. What you are trying to avoid is reading your speech, or worse…reading your slides…to the audienceWhen you are preparing, be sure to say it out loud. I have caught many mistakes that when reviewed in my head sounded fine, butWhen I said them out loud, they took on a whole new meaning.
There’s no need to imitate speakers you’ve seen, retell stories you’ve heard, or try snappy techniques.Being natural is going to serve you best. A sales executive in the wind energy field wanted tips to improve a speech he was working on. I started our coaching session by having him give the speech to me.My first question was “where did you go? Who kidnapped you & took over your body?” This man typically smiled, was up beat, and had a great sense of humor. His speech was completely devoid of that. Most of my coaching with him was just to bring out who he really is. He’s now been asked to be the company spokesperson.Be yourself, THAT will make your speech snappy.
The most common error I see executives make is “I don’t need a microphone.” You may have a strong voice, but for the people in the back of the room to hear you, you will have to shout.That means the whole front half of the room feels like you are shouting at them. 50% of your employees being yelled at is probably not the result you are going for.There’s a science to using mic’s. My general rule is that for an audience of 50 or more, I get mic’ed.And in case you ever have to do your own sound check, a trick I learned from the sound folks is to turn the sound up loud, then start testing as someone gradually turns the sound down for you.When YOU can no longer hear your own voice through the system, it’s adjusted about perfectly for a “natural” volume for the audience.
The bigger the room & the bigger the audience, the more important this is.Itallows EVERY one to see you, not just the first few rows. Although it IS good to go out into the audience,Make is for short stretches to prove a specific point, then head back to the stage or riser.You can work a room FROM the riser by giving eye contact and being sure to look at people in various parts of the room.
Most jokes are risky. 1) they have to be relevant and often aren't germane to your topic, 2) a joke must be told & timed flawlessly or it will fail, 3. Most jokes offend in some way. With each of these, the risk is very high for failure. What you have to say is too important to risk this type of bad start. There are lots of ways to start off with a bang and they don’t take as much work. Here are 6 of them:You can: Use a quote, share a statistic, tell a story (use your own from your life experiences), ask a question, share a fact, make a shocking statement. Then tie it into your topic of the day. Any of these will make for a solid start AND get your audiences attention at the beginning…all without the risks attached to jokes.
When you say “I’m not a professional speaker”, they start to prove you right by finding things wrong with what you do as a speaker. When you say “I don’t understand this technology”, you look like a relic. Learn how to use it, the audience knows how. Learn at least enough to get through your presentation. And be sure to have folks on your team that will check out the technology ahead of time so you know everything is working.When you say “I don’t have enough time”, people tend to have one of 3 thoughts:The meeting planner is a poor planner – don’t make your folks look badYou are a poor planner I’m going to miss something.Information can be heavy, but keep your attitude light & positive. They don’t need to know about the changes YOU made to accommodate the schedule, or changes.
In other words, they are likely too small. Highlight what you want them to see with arrows and other indicators. Then try and use other drawings, icons, or pictures to explain what the chart is saying.
Be careful about under & over utilizing slides. If something needs to be seen to be visualized, have a visual. But be careful about going so far that nearly every word you say is on the slides.In the case of the latter, most audience feedback is “I can read slides myself.”You don’t need a slide for every point you make.Use slides to enhance, to help make a point, to create a visual.
The most common frustration that I hear from meeting planners is that an executive went over his time….by as much as 45 minutes.A few minutes (up to 10 depending upon how long the speech is) a meeting planner can usually work with. But 30 minutes overBacks up the whole schedule. This can be a real problem when paid professionals have been brought in that need to catch flightsAfter their program. Your organization ends up on missing out on critical information that you’ve paid for.Worse still is if everyone needs to stay even later into the day. Most of us still have a bit of kid in us and getting out of a meeting even 5 minutes early can put a smile on our face.And keep in mind, staff are aware you are the top boss, they will not give you feedback or pull you off the stage. A trick I use is to designate someone as my time keeper. I give them signs the size of an 8 1/2x11 sheet of paper. I have one of each of the following “15”, “5”, “1”, End” You can use more or less of these, whatever works for you. Knowing I have someone with a cue card in the room allows me to relax and be more spontaneous without having to watch time.
Speaking is an acquired skill that many people take years to perfect.Be careful of not falling into the trap of thinking you are too successful for feedback. I’ve been a professional speaker for over 25 years.I still get feedback from experts I respect & I still use coaches.A coach can help you focus on what will make YOU better, give you time to practice, and give you GREAT feedback.

Improve Executive Speeches with 10 Fast Tips

Recomendados

Recomendados

Más contenido relacionado

Destacado

Destacado (20)

Último

Último (20)

Improve Executive Speeches with 10 Fast Tips

Notas del editor