Jackie Cameron - Coaching and Communication

I was speaking to a local branch of Rotarians on Monday about the work I am doing in public speaking training and coaching young people in business projects. I had been given a 20 minute slot but the other business of the meeting had run over and I realised that the audience would probably prefer if I took only 15 which would leave time for questions.

Ironically one of those questions was -  is there a case for keeping a speech short and to the point?

Personally, having been in way too many audiences when the speakers have gone over time and their content wasn’t that interesting in any case. There are situations and topics where  short and impactful is by far the best option. Of course you need to discuss this with your host first so that they are not left with a gaping hole in their schedule! A while back I was offered the chance to speak for 15 minutes to ask for sponsorship for a charity walk I was doing.  I suggested that 5 minutes would be enough . The host was delighted as he was torn between giving me the opportunity and wanting his team to be back at their desks doing meaningful work! My 5 minutes was fine - I got my message across without unnecessary detail ( which I would have had to use to pad my time out) and I got over £1000 in sponsorship! Result!!

So how can you make a short, memorable speech?

1 It goes without saying that before you start you should be clear about the message you want to get across

2 Start with a great attention grabbing opening statement or quote, explain what you are going to talk about, split the middle chunk into 3 parts  and link your ending to your initial quote/statement

3 Allocate a time to each section - 2 minutes here, 3 minutes there ( and add it up!!) If it is already more than your allotted slot - what can you leave out?

4 When you have a speech that will fill the time allotted look at what could reasonably be left out without changing the impact -  and have that as a fallback.

5 When you are waiting to speak observe your audience. Add something about what you have noticed to link what you are going to say to them. And if they are already restless and yawning think how much more they will enjoy your short and meaningful talk.

6 Remember the audience does not know what you are going to say until you say it - so if you leave something out they will be none the wiser!

BUT, and this is really important, don’t be tempted to start with “I will be quick..” or ” I realise you are keen to get home…” Remember short and impactful….those statements will immediately diminish the value of what you have to say.

A big word of encouragement. For those of you out there who think they  would prefer to stick pins in their eyes than speak in front of an audience start small with a 5 minute spot in front of your own team, family, friends and get some feedback. Then go on from there!

As is often the case a post by Steve Roesler at All Things Workplace got me thinking. I love his work. Take a look .

Steve raised the issue of the impact of the  language you use. Often it is the inclusion of one small and apparently insignificant word that has the biggest impact.I met a guy yesterday who introduced himself as “just a student”! What is wrong with - “I am a student”? As a coach I am possibly particulary sensitive to the use of words. I look out for ” I will try to ..” instead of “I will…” as a clue to - or indeed a statement of - someone’s intentions. Oh and watch out for “I need to..” which says something quite different from “I want to..”

And then there is the use of negative language and phrasing . I was coaching someone for interview recently. We were looking through the list of essential experience in the job specification. ” I don’t have experience in that” she said to me as she pointed out one area (out of about 12). So # 1 - she was obviously not going to point that out at the interview herself (and her CV was silent on it) and # 2 - if she was asked about it directly in the interview  she would respond with  how she was a keen and quick learner evidencing it with stories of how she had taken responsibility for gaining  required expertise in other areas - without the use of one negative word. It’s a challenge but worth thinking about. One tiny “no” or “not” can make a can make a huge difference.

And a final thought about the use of words like “nightmare”,  ”tragic”, “horrific” . If they are part of your day to day vocabulary how on earth can you describe something truly awful?

So on this sunny Thursday I urge you to think about the impact the words you use have on what you mean to say. Have fun!

I went to the 21st Anniversary celebrations of something called “So you think you are funny” - a competition for stand-up comedians held as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. A large number of the winners and finalists over the 21 years performed -which made for a long - and in the main - fun evening! My cheeks still hurt from laughing so much at the final act where Jason Byrne conducted a crazy spoof of Riverdance ( he is an Irish comedian)..visual comedy really does it for me!

I have been reflecting this morning on what we can learn from those comedians and apply to public speaking and here goes with some thoughts

1 Know your audience  - some of the comics chose to comment and make fun of Scottish traits. With a largely Scottish audience in a comedy situation this went down well.  I think we Scots are good at are laughing at ourselves. But there were a couple of tumbleweed moments though …

2 Timing is everything -the timing of the punchline if you are telling a joke. These guys had it off pat which is a good thing if they want to make a living from comedy. But the other aspect of timing is keeping to the time slot allocated. Over- running is fine if your content has your audience hanging on your every word or rolling in the aisles ( though the organiser/ host may not think so). The shuffling of feet and general discomfort should be telling you to stop - as well as frantic signals from the wings!!

3 Tailor your content - It was an adult audience and they knew what to expect. In fact I expect that if the content had not been controversial and near the knuckle they would have been unhappy. This - coupled with #1 - can make or break the engagement with those you want to entertain or influence.

4 Use visuals - and  I don’t mean Powerpoint.  In the 3+ hours of the show I realised that I laughed a lot but even more so when there was a visual aspect to the performance.  The final act spoofed the Irish Dancing show “Riverdance”  and I was rolling about laughing. Clever use of words also appeal to me. Variety in any speech/performance will give you more chance of hitting the bulk of your audience.

5 The power of the pause  - some comics do this wonderfully. They say something and then - pause - to let what they have said hit home. Sometimes it is a play on words and takes a second or two to hit home with the audience. Then the laughter starts.  In public speaking a pause can have a similar impact even if you don’t expect ( or want ) a laugh from your comment.

6 Audience participation  - a few of the acts involved chatting with members of the audience and “inviting” their participation.  Maybe they were plants - but no matter. It worked well. Hecklers were also dealt with effectively!  If you do want the audience to get involved with your presentation or speech have a fallback position in case they don’t want to play! …(and hopefull hecklers won’t be a problem.)

7 Laugh at yourself I love it when a comic says something really funny and they find it so funny too that they laugh . Billy Connelly is the master at this. He cracks himself up sometimes and laughter is infectious.  Some people are naturally good at telling funny stories and for others it might not work. But if you do decide to include some humour in a speech be prepared to laugh with the audience if it goes well and at yourself if it doesn’t . Either way should gain you fans.

8 Update your content A couple of the comics won almost 20 years ago and I am not sure what kind of show they do now but they did not compare favourably with the style of the most recent winners ( in my view - it’s all a matter of taste). But I have seen really famous comedians do  shows with content I have heard before. It must be really hard to keep everything new and shiny but ultimately a tweak here and an addition there could make the difference. Some presenters are known for their specialisms - as are after dinner speakers - and the best have new or updated content in what they deliver.

I thought I would finish with a joke…..then I thought better of it!

Happy Friday!!