Keep It Short

There are many great tips for public speaking. Coaches advise people to speak clearly, loudly, and with conviction. They remind their clients to maintain eye contact with the audience and to never use notes. But no greater advice you can give about public speaking than this: Keep. It. Short.

Brevity is not easy. It requires writing, editing, reading aloud, editing some more. The investment of time is well worth it. What’s the point of getting an opportunity to speak at an event of your peers or potential customers if your speech ends up leaving them running for the doors or even worse… unconscious?

As with many things in the world of meeting planning, audience engagement is key. You have a captive audience, physically right front of you but it’s your responsibility to keep them with you, intellectually and emotionally. How can you do this?

First, consider what you like when you are the one in the audience. When you are at conferences, what kind of presentations have stayed with you over the years? The best speakers are usually the ones who not only have great content to share, but they have also told their story in an amusing, engaging way. They have shared information and connected with the audience. They are never the presentations that go on forever, are they? The winning speeches are not the ones where someone drags on and on like you’re in a lecture in a dreary auditorium. You have to keep it new, and keep it moving!

After you have written your presentation, the first thing you have to do is edit. Edit again and then edit some more. Review your presentation and make sure you aren’t repeating yourself or that there isn’t any excessive material. Stay on a single message that you want to focus on and avoid including too much extraneous material that is not essential to your central topic. Also, consider recording yourself so you can hear how you sound. Are you going too fast or droning along? Pay special attention to your pace and try to keep engaged with your material. Read it aloud to a friendly ear who can offer some constructive criticism. Maybe someone else will notice something about your performance that you didn’t even notice.  Ask your audience questions throughout your presentation. It keeps them with you and you get an added bonus of getting a sense if you are getting your message across. Leave time at the end for questions and answers.

Another added benefit of keeping your presentation short is that you can help the meeting planners keep the event running on schedule!  They will love you for it!