public speaking

Public Speaking Problems – and How to Recover

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Standing up in front of a group of people and giving a speech can be a very nerve-wracking experience. It strikes fear in the hearts of more than one in four people (according to a survey of 1,541 adults). And no matter how well you prepare for it, mistakes can still happen.

But the good news is that it’s almost always possible to recover from those mistakes! Although stress can lead you to fumble, you can still deliver a terrific speech. You just need to know what to do when accidents happen.

Sue Shellenbarger of the Wall Street Journal provides this list of common public speaking errors and tips on how to fix them:

  • Problem – Your mind goes blank and you can’t remember what you were going to say.
    How to fix it     – Pause for a minute and try to calm down. Smile at the audience, take a deep breath, and take a drink of water. This mini-break should help you to recall the main points of your speech.
  • Problem – No one laughs at your opening joke.
    How to fix it – If people are offended by your joke, quickly apologize. If it’s just that no one found it funny, quickly push on with your speech. Don’t let it rattle you.
  • Problem – You misplace your notes.
    How to fix it – Try to remember the way your speech begins and ends, and some of the main points that you make in the middle. Scribble this information down on a piece of paper (if you have time), and then go for it!
  • Problem – You start to shake and sweat while you’re on stage.
    How to fix it – Pause for a few seconds and take a deep breath. Move around instead of just standing behind the podium. Try to focus on what your audience really needs to hear rather than your own situation.
  • Problem – When you walk out on stage, you suddenly realize that your clothes aren’t buttoned/zipped properly.
    How to fix it     – Button or zip yourself up as quickly and discretely as possible. If the audience noticed, try to make a joke about it. If no jokes come to mind, then just push on!

And if you have any additional public-speaking tips, please share them in the Comments section below.

Good luck! You’ll do great!

 

Shellenbarger, S. (2015, December 23). Raise a Glass, Give a Speech, Without a Stumble. The Wall Street Journal, p. D3.

 

What Your Hand Gestures Mean

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Hand_Gestures

When you’re giving a presentation, your words matter. But the way you gesture with your hands also matters quite a bit. You may not realize it, but your audience will derive a lot of meaning from the way you hold your hands. Body language is very revealing!

So it’s important to be aware of what you’re communicating when you hold your hands in a certain way. To help you out with that, here is a list of common hand gestures and how others tend to interpret them.

  1. Not Moving Your Hands at All
    You don’t make any hand gestures while talking.
    What It Means: Your audience may think that you don’t really care about what you’re talking about. You may appear to be uninterested or indifferent.
  2. Hiding Your Hands
    Throughout your speech, you hide your hands from your audience’s view.
    What It Means: Your audience may think that you’re untrustworthy.
  3. Hands Open at a 45 Degree Angle
    You hold your hands in front of you with your open palms facing each other. Your hands are tilted outward slightly.
    What It Means: This gesture suggests that you’re being open and honest about what you’re saying.
  4. Hands Open With Palms Facing Down
    You hold your hands in front of you with your open palms facing the floor.
    What It Means: This gesture is often interpreted as meaning that you’re very certain about what you’re saying.
  5. Palms Facing Each Other With Fingers Touching
    You hold your hands in front of you with palms facing each other and your fingers touching (forming a triangle shape). This is sometimes known as a “hand steeple.”
    What It Means: This gesture suggests that you’re an expert on the topic under discussion. (I also think it could mean that you’re an evil genius. I’ve noticed that a lot of movie villains tend to hold their hands this way!)
  6. Gripping Your Hands Together OR Touching Your Face and Hair a Lot
    You clasp your hands together, or you constantly touch your face and play with your hair.
    What It Means: These gestures will make you look nervous and uncertain.
  7. Making Big Gestures
    You hold your arms and hands out wide.
    What It Means: If you only do this once in a while, it’s a good way to let your audience know that you’re communicating something very important or groundbreaking. If you do it all the time, you will look a little odd and out of control.

 

Weinschenk, S. (2012, September 26). Your hand gestures are speaking for you. Psychology Today. Retrieved from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-wise/201209/your-hand-gestures-are-speaking-you

 

Stop Using Filler Speech When Presenting

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Presenting

I think we all use filler speech occasionally. Those are words like “um,” “so,” “you know,” “ah,” and “like.” Some people use them more than others. But in regular conversation, it’s OK. People who use a lot of filler speech take a little extra time to get their point across. But they get there eventually. And research has shown that they tend to be more thoughtful and conscientious than those who don’t use filler speech when they talk. So, like, it’s fine.

But there is a time when using a lot of filler speech is NOT fine – and that’s when you’re speaking publically. If you use a lot of filler speech during a presentation, your audience will react negatively. Research indicates that your audience will do the following:

  • Have difficulty figuring out what you’re actually trying to say
  • View you as distracted, nervous, untrustworthy, and inauthentic
  • Get distracted and start thinking about other things

So how can you avoid using these “verbal crutches”? According to Noah Zandan, you need to get comfortable with silence. Every time you feel like saying “um” or “like,” simply pause instead.

There’s no need to fill in every gap with a word or sound. During a speech, pauses are actually very effective. Not only do they give you a chance to gather your thoughts and take a few deep breaths (if you’re feeling anxious). They also make you sound relaxed and confident. They can be used to build suspense and emphasize a certain key point. And they give your audience the chance to absorb and process what you’re saying.

So how can you stop using filler speech and start pausing instead? Zandan recommends that you videotape yourself giving your presentation to identify the types of filler words that you tend to use. And then, after that, you need to practice replacing those words with pauses. Run through your presentation over and over until you’ve succeeded in removing the filler words. Preparation and practice is key.

 

Zandan, N. (2018, August 1). How to stop saying “um,” “ah,” and “you know”. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2018/08/how-to-stop-saying-um-ah-and-you-know?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_campaign=mtod_not_activesubs&referral=00203&deliveryName=DM15924

 

Are You Terrible at Public Speaking? Try These Three Techniques.

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Making_a_Speech

Public speaking can be a terrifying thing. It’s hard to get up in front of a group of people and give a speech! It’s a nerve-wracking experience. And if you make a mistake, there are so many witnesses. So it’s no surprise that public speaking is something that many people try to avoid. More than one in four people are fearful of talking in front of groups of people.

Sometimes, however, there is no way around it. You just have to get up there and speak. But there are things that you can do to appear more confident and competent. Author Mandy Gilbert has three suggestions:

  1. Talk really slowly – When people are giving a speech and feeling nervous, they tend to speak quickly without even realizing it. This can cause audience members to feel disconnected, confused, or overwhelmed. To avoid this, make an effort to talk really slowly – much more slowly than you usually do. It might feel strange, but your audience will have a much easier time understanding and digesting the information. Also, don’t be afraid to take frequent pauses. You’ll sound well informed and in control – and it will give your audience time to react to what you’re saying.
  2. Get to the point – If the audience is there to get a particular piece of information, get right to it. Don’t ramble around and frustrate everyone. Also, make sure to deliver the information using language that is appropriate to your audience. Explain complex concepts and avoid the use of jargon at all costs.
  3. Act like someone else – Pretend that you’re in a movie, and you’re playing the part of a super-confident person (who is also a great public speaker). This might seem kind of odd, but it can actually help to calm your nerves and improve your performance.

 

Gilbert, M. (2018, May 29). 3 tips for public speaking with confidence, even if you don’t have any. Inc. Retrieved from: https://www.inc.com/mandy-gilbert/3-tips-for-public-speaking-with-confidence-even-if-you-dont-have-any.html?cid=hmside1

Step Into Leadership

By in JHU, Leadership, Learning No Comments Tags: , , , ,

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On May 21, 2014, I was officially installed as the President of a Toastmasters Club. I was charged to lead a board of three other officers and a club of 20 total members. Prior to this, I had never been president of anything. I had no formal leadership experience. For the first time, people were looking to me for direction and decisions as we chartered the course of building a club from the ground up. This wasn’t just any club. It was a Toastmasters club.

Toastmasters  is a club that is devoted to building the public speaking and leadership skills of its members. I entered the club expecting to improve my public speaking skills, which I have. But I had no idea how much my leadership skills would grow. The Toastmasters Competent Leadership manual provided valuable guidance on leadership skills that I would put into action doing my work for the club.

I practiced giving constructive and encouraging feedback during speech evaluations. Leading the officers’ board gave me experience in delegation, active listening, and team building. In order to keep the club members motivated to participate in meetings, I worked to plan and implement surveys and an incentive program to ensure the needs of members were being met. Further, I actively sought guidance and constructive criticism from seasoned Toastmasters leaders.

The Johns Hopkins at Eastern Toastmasters club was created to extend learning from one-day workshops to ongoing, self-paced learning and development. If you are a JHU employee looking to advance your leadership skills in a safe and welcoming environment, I encourage you to visit a meeting to learn how Toastmasters can prepare you for your step into leadership.

If you are JHU employee, visit http://jhateastern.toastmastersclubs.org/agenda.html

If you are not a JHU employee and want to find a club near you, visit http://www.toastmasters.org/

 

Perks of Being a Wallflower: Not So Much

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Do you ever find yourself hesitating to speak up at meetings – especially ones where high-powered colleagues (or “higher ups”) are in attendance? Considering how much time you spend in meetings, maybe it’s time to get back on the dance floor. Here’s how.

  1. Choose a topic ahead of time. Pick out one item on the agenda that’s important to you and prepare in advance, so you’ll be ready to chime in when the subject arises. As you get more accustomed to talking, you can do this with several topics, but starting with just one will build your confidence. Also, review your notes from previous meetings to recall what gets talked about, what gets decided, and how you are affected. Context and focus will provide energy to your contributions.
  2. Be among the first to speak — ideally in the first 10 minutes — even if you’re just agreeing with someone, or adding a little more information to what someone else has said. Why? The sooner you contribute, the less time you have to generate self-doubt. When you hesitate, you will find it gets harder to break into the discussion.
  3. Ask questions. One of the easiest ways to get more comfortable with speaking is to ask others to elaborate on a point they’ve made that interests you. By probing a little more deeply into someone else’s comments, you’ll feel engaged and become an active participant.
  4. Don’t censor yourself. Commit beforehand to expressing at least one idea that pops into your head at each meeting without second-guessing yourself or pausing while you edit what you’ll say. Once this becomes a habit, your ability to jump into a conversation without preparing first will overcome any lingering fears of saying the wrong thing.
  5. Don’t give your power away. It’s common in meetings to defer to a boss, others higher up in the organization, or someone who intimidates you. However, you may be giving your power away in the process. Senior leaders notice when someone stands firm with his or her own ideas. Look for opportunities to showcase your strengths and competencies.

 

Fisher, A. (2013). Shy at work? 7 ways to speak up. Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2013/05/31/shy-at-work-7-ways-to-speak-up/

Garfinkel, J. A. (2011). Getting ahead: Three steps to take your career to the next level. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Helpful Tips When Preparing to Speak in Public

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Public_Speaking

Need to speak in public? Here are some tips to help you prepare.

Does clothing make the speaker?

Yes, it really does. While wearing a suit or a dress makes you look professional, sometimes your attire can put you in the wrong frame of mind. For example, if your speech is about something humorous, it might not seem so funny if you’re all dressed up. Think about what you are going to be presenting and dress the part.

Vocal variety and gestures

Vocal variety and gestures can add entertainment to your speech. To get people in the back rows to notice you, you should use exaggerated and animated gestures. Your facial expressions and gestures should stand out. Warm up your vocal cords by completing quick voice exercises. The exercises will help relax your voice, control your breathing, and assist you in projecting your voice. You can find voice exercises at www.toastmasters.org/199-YourSpeakingvoice.

Rehearse

Practice your presentation and record it. Watch the recording and analyze your voice volume and speed. Pay attention to your body language, gestures, and facial expressions. Do your facial expressions and body language match your message? Make any alterations you feel are necessary to help you deliver a confident and outstanding presentation.