|
You’re standing in
front of a group of fifty people. Your heart is pounding. Your palms
are sweating. You’re about to begin your big presentation. What you
say next can put you on the path to success or set you off on a
downward spiral that will make you and your audience miserable.
How can you ensure that you don’t start off badly?
At Speechworks, we
tell our clients a few don’ts:
-
Don’t apologize.
-
Don’t tell a
joke.
-
Don’t beat around
the bush.
Don’t
apologize
“Ladies and
gentlemen, I want to start by telling you that I’m not really a very
good speaker. And I’m really nervous. So I hope that you’ll bear
with me.”
That’s the absolute
worst way to begin. You never want to start with an apology for
your own anxiety or even worse, lack of preparation (“I’m sorry I’m
a little disorganized this morning but I just got word that I was
supposed to speak yesterday.”) Apologies put the audience on the
defensive. Your audience thinks, “This is going to be another bad
speech that I have to endure.” You’ve now made it more difficult to
connect with your audience.
To deal with
anxiety, practice like crazy. And rehearse your first line over and
over so that you can get through it well. But don’t let that first
line be “I’m so nervous.”
Don’t Tell a
Joke
“I’d like to start
this presentation with a line that Elizabeth Taylor would tell her
husbands: ‘This won’t take long’.”
I actually heard
someone begin a presentation with that horrible joke. It’s not
funny or relevant to the subject matter of the presentation. And
some people might find it offensive (We apologize if anyone was
offended by reading the joke here.)
But
this joke is
typical of most “ice breakers” that begin presentations. They aren’t
funny. They are usually irrelevant. And they are often offensive.
As a result, jokes make you seem amateurish.
A far better way to
begin a presentation is simply to lay out for the audience a key
issue that they are facing in their lives. If you start by focusing
on something that’s important to the audience, they’re more likely
to want to hear more.
Don’t beat
around the Bush
“Before I get
started this afternoon, I have a lot of people I’d like to thank for
inviting me.”
If you have to
thank one or two people, then do so. But remember that no one is
listening or cares. It’s a waste of time. We recommend
thanking your introducer briefly, pausing, and then starting right
into the meat of your message. People’s time is valuable. Don’t
waste it.
At Speechworks we
help our clients learn how to communicate in a way that connects and
persuades. If you’re interested in becoming a great communicator
give us a call at 404-266-0888 or check out our website at
www.speechworks.net. |
