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Mastering the Art of Public Speaking
“A talk is a voyage with a purpose, and it must be charted. A man who starts nowhere, generally gets there,” Dale Carnegie wrote.
Indeed, preparation is the key to delivering powerful speeches.
More importantly, it’s a way to overcome perhaps the greatest challenge associated with public speaking: fear of failure.
It is this fear that discourages many company executives from making presentations and diminishes the effectiveness of their speeches. Compelling speakers communicate with energy, excitement and enjoyment of the process.
In this issue of Connections, we’ll discuss ways to not only become better at public speaking, but also to find greater pleasure in the experience.
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Speaking of Success
To become better speakers, company executives need to come to terms with the fears that are a natural part of the process. As Emerson said, “Fear defeats more people than any other thing in the world.”
A few points about overcoming fear:
- Fear of public speaking is common. College studies indicate that almost 90 percent of students enrolled in speech classes suffer from stage fright.
- The reason most people are afraid of public speaking is that they don’t do it often enough. The best way for you to overcome fear is to increase your number of speeches.
- Experts say the most common reasons people experience fear are insecurity and self-consciousness. Understanding the root of these fears will help you to handle them.
- Nervousness is nature’s way of preparing people to face challenges. Symptoms like accelerated heart rate and shortness of breath are signs that your body is preparing for action.
- Many of the world’s most powerful speakers and performers never completely lose stage fright. They channel their energy into presenting a powerful, dynamic speech.
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Headliners
Dale Carnegie, in his book The Quick & Easy Way to Effective Speaking, offers communication techniques to help individuals sharpen their public-speaking skills. Here are a few tips outlined in his book:
- Prepare thoroughly.
- Immediately grab your audience's attention. "I once asked Dr. Lynn Harold Hough, formerly president of Northwestern University, what was the most important fact his long experience as a speaker has taught him. After pondering a moment, he replied, 'To get an arresting opening, something that will seize favorable attention immediately.'"
- Begin by citing an incident or giving an example. "I know of no more compelling method of opening a talk than by the use of a story."
- Arouse suspense. "Here is how I try to arouse suspense in my lecture on 'How to Stop Worrying and Start Living.' I begin like this: 'In the spring of 1871, a young man who was destined to become a world-famous physician, William Osler, picked up a book and read 21 words that had a profound effect upon his future.' What were those 21 words? And how did these words affect his future? These are the questions your listeners will want answered."
- State an arresting fact and dive into your story. "If you want to interest your listeners, don't begin with an introduction. Begin by leaping right into the heart of your story."
- Ask for a show of hands. "The technique of asking for a show of hands gets a priceless reaction known as 'audience participation.' When you use it, your talk is no longer a one-sided affair."
- Use statistics judiciously because they can be boring.
- Promise to tell your audience how it can get something it wants. "All too often speakers neglect to tie their topics to the vital interests of their hearers. Instead of opening the door to attention, they slam it shut with dull openings that trace the history of the subject matter or laboriously dwell upon the background necessary to an understanding of the topic."
- Summarize your speech.
- End with a call to action. "Ask them to do something specific. Don't say, 'Help the Red Cross.' That's too general. Say, instead, 'Send your enrollment fee of $1 tonight to the American Red Cross, 125 Smith Street, in this city.'"
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Interesting Reading
Show Boat: Managing A Major Event 
Managing the media center for a major event requires special skills. Take the world's largest consumer boat show for example. How do you effectively and successfully handle more than 1,000 requests for media credentials and coordinate hundreds of press conferences and media interviews in six days? Preparation and flexibility are two key components. The annual Miami International Boat Show & Strictly Sail hosts more than 150,000 visitors over a six-day period every February. With more than 2,300 exhibitors, the event covers 2.3 million square feet of exhibit space at three locations.
On-The-Job Training
Events like the Miami International Boat Show & Strictly Sail can be overwhelming to the uninitiated PR staffer. Because of the long hours and sheer size of the boat show, the media center is staffed with five to seven PR practitioners who work 16-hour days to coordinate press conferences, interviews and live broadcasts as well as to manage the activities of the show's two media centers. This offers junior staffers the opportunity to be involved with an exciting event and gain valuable experience in media relations and event planning.
Managing A Successful Media Center
Paying attention to details and careful planning can make any media event a success. Media coordinators for the Miami International Boat Show & Strictly Sail begin preparing for the event eight months in advance. They recommend following these tips for managing a successful media center:
- Establish meaningful relationships with the media.
As with any successful media relations strategy, you must identify your key media targets and learn as much as you can about the journalists and each publication's editorial focus. Read each reporter's most recent stories to help you identify the appropriate story elements the reporter needs to complete his or her story. Beginning six months prior to the event, gather exhibitor information - new product launches, media kits, photos - and develop a variety of story ideas for a range of reporters and media outlets.
For example, entertainment and lifestyle reporters from around the world come to the Miami show to see the latest, most expensive and most unique boating products or to report on the show's special events, which have included celebrity guest appearances. Business reporters look for financial facts that convey the state of the boating industry or the show's economic impact on the South Florida region. Boating reporters want information about exhibitors and new products. No matter what story angle you develop, be sure to always supplement story ideas with an at-a-glance fact sheet about the event. The more information you can provide a journalist, the better.
- Simplify your process for handling media credentials.
For an event the size of the Miami show, the credential process begins months in advance. Distribute media kits with credential request forms to journalists who work with long lead times at least four months prior to the event. One month prior to the show, send media kits to journalists with shorter lead times, including local and national broadcast journalists as well as to reporters with local newspapers.
Make use of the Internet and post a credential request form within the media center of your trade show's Web site. By issuing the majority of credentials prior to the event, media coordinators spend less time managing long lines of reporters on-site, especially on the first day, and they are provided more time to develop relationships with reporters and coordinate on-site interviews and show coverage.
Inevitably, there will be some journalists who register on-site. To avoid long lines and frustration, have floaters work the room, mingle with journalists and provide information and material while they wait in line. You've heard the phrase, time flies when you're having fun. That's the idea here.
In addition, it's important that journalists who request credentials on-site add their contact information to a sign-in sheet in the media center. The names and addresses of these reporters should be added to your database of media representatives to receive credentials in the mail prior to your next annual event.
- Have backup plans.
Meticulous planning can help avoid crises. Journalists' deadlines can change at a moment's notice, and media coordinators should have more than one client spokesperson available at any given time, including a bilingual spokesperson. It's important that media coordinators be prepared to handle last-minute media requests and participate as spokespeople in on-the-spot interviews as required.
Occasionally, a VIP or celebrity will attend your trade show unannounced. Your event coordinators must swing into action and organize interview requests, press conferences and, often, additional security as needed. Your media coordinators must also provide reporters covering the VIP visit or celebrity press conference with key messages and quick facts about your event to ensure that coverage of the I celebrity news does not overshadow your event.
At the 2002 Miami International Boat Show, Nick Carter of The Backstreet Boys held an impromptu press conference to announce the launch of his off-shore racing team. The show's media coordinators acted quickly to alert local media of the event and manage the rush of broadcast crews and print journalists who arrived at the convention center to cover the 30-minute event. Most importantly, the show's team of media coordinators provided reporters with an at-a-glance fact sheet about the show. As a result, every national and international article, wire report and broadcast segment about Carter's press conference included reference to, and details about, the Miami International Boat Show & Strictly Sail.
- Be Accomodating
Journalists are most responsive when their needs are met. The media center should be designed to ensure complete media comfort, including easy access to the show floor, a quiet area to coordinate interviews and, if your event covers multiple locations, specially designated media shuttles that run throughout the day.
Be sure to stock your media center with media kits about your show and its exhibitors. Include an over-sized bulletin board that provides an at-a-glance overview of daily events and activities, including news conferences and product demos, as well as special announcements from the show organizers. Make sure you have sufficient phone lines, computers and fax machines available to journalists who need to work quickly to meet their deadlines. Also, keep a surplus of supplies for reporters on hand, including notebooks, pens and paper clips, as well a complimentary show tickets that reporters can pass along to their families and friends.
With a strong team, preparation and flexibility, any trade show can be a successful media event. Remember to think positively and be prepared for the unexpected.
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Making it Happen
When Thorp & Company began working with Hybrid Networks in 2000, the former Silicon Valley-based maker of fixed broadband wireless equipment was struggling through a crisis in public confidence, fighting back from being delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market and wrestling with credibility issues among customers and investors. To make matters worse, Hybrid also was undergoing an SEC investigation. Thorp & Company’s challenge was to restore public confidence and position Hybrid as an industry leader.
Thorp & Company counseled Hybrid to increase its contact with the media, the public and Wall Street, focusing on promoting its product line and tech savvy while preparing to be relisted on Nasdaq. For the company to regain the public’s trust, its executives had to become highly visible.
To help accomplish this, Thorp & Company worked closely with the company’s executives to develop presentations to re-establish relationships with key industry analysts and investors and promote Hybrid’s fixed broadband wireless technology to the trade media and the general public.
Preparation was key. Thorp & Company organized intensive media training and message development sessions where Hybrid executives learned how to answer difficult questions, reiterate main message points and describe their success. The strategy included positioning Hybrid’s technology as the best wireless solution available to bring high-speed Internet access to homes and businesses.
Thorp & Company also prepared communications materials, including news releases, Powerpoint and Flash presentations, fact sheets and other background information. Thorp & Company scheduled Hybrid’s quarterly conference calls with analysts and equipped Hybrid’s executives with detailed scripts and answers to difficult questions. These efforts were complemented by a speakers bureau and tradeshow program.
The result was a successful relisting announcement with media coverage that focused on Hybrid’s accomplishments and its prospects for the future. Overall results were equally impressive. During the first year of the program, Thorp & Company secured more than 200 news stories for Hybrid – an average of four media opportunities per week. Hybrid was featured positively in 33 articles in the top-five trade publications, and the company secured significantly more positive coverage than its main competitor. Most importantly, Thorp & Company’s efforts helped to improve the company’s reputation among potential customers and investors and restore the company’s credibility.
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