182: Public Speaking Tips No One Ever Tells You

Want to give a killer keynote?

Start with these public speaking tips that no one ever tells you. From preparation to delivery, this episode has you covered.

Hear how one prepares for a big speech or presentation in front of hundreds of people using tips no one ever tells you.

1. Don’t let the tech people run your show. 

The people who are sitting in the back of the room producing keynote events at conferences. They run the board, the lights, sounds, and the screen behind you. They are your friend, Treat them as such. They are there to make you look good, because it makes them look good to the organizers. 

They know how to make your material look good, but they don’t know your material. You do.
If there is a screen you need to on the screen longer, or

In my case, I had a handful of slides, one slide had bullets for my 7 pillars of indestructibility. The tech guy told me during rehearsal that he doesn’t like bullet points. Me neither. 

But this well-designed slide I should add, was an important list. And unbeknownst to me he only left it on the screen for a few moments. 

I Know this because so many people came up to me in a breakout asking me for the list. They tried to write it down. 

I should have made it a point during rehearsal to tell him it needed to stay on the screen. 

1. Rehearsal. Do one. 

Mist conferences will have a run-through, so be prepared – fully with your talk. They’ll run through it uin real-time. This is when you learn your cues, your walk on music, – admiral – anchors away and she informs the host that she would have to stand at attention for the duration of the song. That would have been very awkward if she learned this on the day of the talk. The orgainmer found a great replacement for the actual talk. 

The run through will tell you. 

The view of the room from the stage.

The parts of the stage that squeak when you walk on it. Look For the circles. 

The pacing of your talk. 

Get your nerves out. 

You can tell the organizers and tech crew your direction. They are there to make your talk look amazing. Give them advice and listen to their advice. 

1. Don’t rely on the monitor. Use it for glancing only. It’s there for pacing. Do NOT use presenter view to read words. That’s why photos or images only for talks to use as cues. If your speech is on the ground, you will look on the ground. If you are giving remarks that you must read, then ask for a teleprompter. Clear one on stage, but honestly, if you are on stage speaking, then whatever got you there means you need to know your stuff. 

1. Don’t make your wardrobe part of your talk. In two ways. One, wear clothes that flatter you, but not wear you. You should uplever your wardrobe. FInd that mix between upleving your wardrobe and wearing clothes you feel comfortable wearing on stage. Unless it’s part of your brand, or schtick, to dress a certain way – big speakers – you should make an effort to dress better than the people watching you. Also, do not make your wardrobe a part of your talk. Don’t say you are overdressed or underdressed – or add an anecdote for why you are dressed that way. It comes across to your audience as a lack of confidence. You’re on stage – own it.
   
   
2. Take a breath. During the talk before I distract myself by tricking my brain that this is nothing, I take a breath. Check my phone, but discreetly bc I don’t want to look like I’m not paying attention. 911 breaths, hot chocolate. When I stand on stage. I take a visabile breath, OYure audience does as well. I Learned this from my guest – Gina Razon.
3. Dress for temperature. The temperature of hotel ballrooms in particialt can swing wildly. I was in Austin for a few days and was frozen to the bones, No aggrandization. Freezing. The room I was speaking in – also freezing. Like winter. For men, most wear a jacket on stage, Many women don’t because it can be too stiff. We tend to wear skirts and blouses. But my guess is that the people who set the temp in rooms are often men, because – women do not want to wear blouses on stage when it is freezing.
   
   It can be one of the worst types of a wardrobe malfunction when you are a woman wearing a blouse standing on stage in front of hundreds of people. Freeing in a blouse. I spent too much time looking at the monitors to make sure I didn’t look cold on stage.
   I am speaking in an innuendo , but you get the point.
   Why are rooms this cold? I get that people are crowded in a space and they don’t want it too warm, but people were freezing in their seats too.

   Indestructible tip: For every talk, have a person. What do I mean by person? Someone sitting near the front to look to make sure everything is humming along. I had someone on the lookout for a wardrobe malfunction. She was there to give me a sign –

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That’s all for this week on the podcast. Thanks for attending my talk everyone, Bye for now. 

MUSIC OUT

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