How Speaking Gains Respect

In one of my recent sessions with a client who is the CEO of a large corporation, he shared with me an interesting perspective on what he had learned so far. He said that even though he had always been able to be "quick on his feet" in various business situations, he found that running meetings and speaking to his employees required a slightly different skill set. He said that it has been extremely beneficial to have an expert like myself to consult with for such meetings. He has found it helpful to learn how to keep things on track, keep the focus on his listeners and not himself, and to have an outside perspective on how what he says could be interpreted. 

More importantly he said, "At first I didn't know how beneficial this would be. But after hearing your feedback on certain areas I can see how crafting what I say and working on how I say it can make a big difference. I've been able to carry this over into our company's website and brochures. I see now that it's important to work on speaking skills because it makes me a better leader."

You Don't Need a Prescription for Stage Fright

Not too long ago at my Toastmasters club a fellow member gave an interesting speech about her daughter. Apparently her daughter has horrible stage fright and hates to speak in front of any size group. The only problem is...she's a lawyer! She has to speak in front of judges, juries, clients, and her partners. Her mother has been trying for years to get her to go to a Toastmasters meeting to help overcome her fear, but the daughter replies, "Don't worry. I have a pill for that." Apparently she shared her fear with her doctor and he gave her a prescription for a moderate tranquilizer. On the bottle it reads, "take one pill one hour before public speaking".

When I heard this, I was shocked. The fact that this poor woman's stage fright is so bad that she will take a sedative be speaking is sad. (And my I say I'm ashamed of the doctor who gave her the prescription.) Stage fright is curable, and it doesn't take a pill to cure it. There are many methods to overcome the panic that people feel before speaking. Feel free to read my articles on breathing and relaxation before a speech. Every case might be slightly different. If you have any questions, please feel free to post them on the blog or e-mail me personally. I look forward to hearing your stories.

Think Like an NFL Legend

Earlier today I watched "NFL Legends" on ABC. The program highlighted the careers of top quarterbacks Payton Manning, Brett Favre, and Tom Brady. It was very interesting to learn how each of them developed their skills and work ethic to lead their teams to multiple Super Bowl Championships. At the very end, Tom Brady said, "People always ask me which ring is my favorite, and I always answer 'the next one'".

That statement, "the next one", is powerful. This is how professional speakers should view their business. Your favorite speech should be the next one. This mentality means that you're hungry to be successful. You can't wait to share your message with the next audience. This mentality propels you into a forward motion. There's no need to beat yourself up about a speech that went bad, and there's no reason to sit and reminisce about that perfect speech to the perfect audience because you're too busy thinking about your next speech to your next audience. 

This "next one" mentality will speak volumes about your work ethic. Once you've enjoyed giving a great speech, you're right back to work (training, so to speak) for the next great speech. You will never be standing still waiting for the speech to come to you. You will consistently be on the top of your game. 

So if you're a professional speaker, are you focused on "the next one"?

Will You Ever Be Happy with Your Speech?

A few weeks back I attended the speech of one of my clients. We had been working on a 15 minute speech, everything from the content development to the delivery. Once he finished his speech, he came to me and asked, "So, how was it?" I could tell he was nervous about my response. He obviously was thinking about when he stumbled over his words for a brief moment, and when he moved too far away from the mic, and many other little things that went wrong. I told him he did great. Sure there may have been a few problems here and there, but he got a great audience response and right after a speech is no time to dissect the problems.

When you give your speech, you should immediately treat yourself. Give yourself a pat on the back, go out and get some ice cream, anything! But do not think about all the things that went wrong. No speech is perfect and you will never be 100% happy with your speech. You may get close, but something always could have been just a little bit better. Give yourself the time to be happy with your accomplishment. You can review it and do a postmortem the next day. 

Speeches are meant to be a work in progress. Timing can be perfected. Physicality can be improved upon. But the point is you did it! You were successful! No matter how many mistakes happen, if you get a positive audience reaction, you did a great job. Take joy in it. Then improve it tomorrow.