SPEAK EASY: PERFECTING THE SKILL
HONING THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
Barack Obama. Oprah. Tony Robbins. What do they all have in common, aside from their legions of followers? They’re all excellent public speakers. According to Jerry Seinfeld, a lot of people list public speaking as their No. 1 fear, ahead of death. So, as he said in a stand-up routine, at a funeral, most people would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy.
But if you’re an entrepreneur, being a great public speaker is essential — and it’s not just about getting up on stage and presenting to hundreds of people. Entrepreneurs are constantly public speaking, whether it’s presenting to a boardroom full of investors, an office full of employees or a small group of board members.
I started speaking to groups about marketing and entrepreneurship when I worked for a startup in 2009, and have since joined the Speakers’ Spotlight speaking bureau, and have presented to crowds of up to 1,000 people in Toronto, Vancouver and Boston. As an entrepreneur, I also present daily to employees, clients and stakeholders. And when I wanted to level up my own speaking abilities, I turned to Speaker Labs, an upstart speaking- training company founded by Eric Silverberg and Eli Gladstone, former Ivey Business School lecturers and startup employees. The company launched in August 2016, and has since helped train executives at companies including Uberflip, Shopify and Influitive.
“There are many skills entrepreneurs require, but communication skills might top the chart,” Silverberg says. “Public speaking is simply communication skills at scale. At some point along their journey, entrepreneurs will need the support of investors, a team, a customer base — and likely all three. It’s in these scenarios that an ability to convey ideas meaningfully to groups of people becomes essential.”
Silverberg and Gladstone say great public speaking boils down to two simple things: great con- tent and great delivery. They also say that just like most people know how to lose weight but don’t actually ditch their bad habits, most people know the qualities of a great public speaker — variation of tone, body language — but find it difficult to put them into practice themselves.
“People often confuse great ideas for great content. It’s true that great presentations should include insightful ideas, but great content is about organizing those ideas in a thoughtful and fluid way that is easy for any audience to follow. The easiest material for a person to follow is a story, and great public speakers build their talks in story form,” Gladstone says. “That said, story- based presentations don’t deliver themselves. Great presentations include dynamic use of body language and voice — otherwise known as delivery skills. The key for great delivery is simple: variation. Loud and quiet, fast and slow, move around and stand still. Great content and great delivery are the foundations of great public speaking.”
If you’re looking to become a better public speaker — or you’re terrified of speaking in front of a group — the duo says there are three options for improving your skills.
The first is to get a trainer. Just as a personal trainer can help with diet and fitness goals, a speaking trainer can work with you to understand your motivations for speaking, the types of presentations you need to prepare for, and can help you confront and deal with any fear or anxiety around speaking.
Their second recommendation is to attend a class, whether it’s an introductory Toastmasters class, or a workshop held by a trainer. Not only do they help you learn new strategies, Silverberg says they replicate a public speaking environment, allowing attendees to practice the skills and get over their fears live. If you can’t find a group or workshop in your area, they recommend reading the TED Guide to Public Speaking, or studying the public speakers you admire, watching what they do and trying their tactics for yourself.
Finally, they highlight the importance of practice, which they say is essential to public speaking growth.
“The problem is most people think they need a large audience and formal environment to actually practice public speaking. Those opportunities can be few and far between. So, try to apply your skills during internal meetings, on prospect or customer calls, or even giving toasts at special occasions with family or friends. Every communication interaction is an opportunity to practice,” said Silverberg.
Those three “do’s” — find a trainer, attend a class, and practice, practice practice — can help you feel more comfortable on stage, but there’s also a big don’t: don’t let your visual aids ruin your talk. Gladstone says they see so many great speakers who lose their audience with visual aids that overwhelm. Avoid filling slides with bullet points, words, numbers and charts, all of which can be distracting. Just use images as a complement to what you’re saying.
“Ask yourself one simple question: Do I like looking at this? If the answer isn’t a resounding YES, your audience probably won’t enjoy them either,” Gladstone says.
Ultimately being a great communicator is essential for anyone, whether you’re an entrepreneur or not, so commit to improving your skills this year.
“If you want to be the best, you’re going to have to be a thought leader. To be a thought leader, you must move lots of people. The best way to move people is from the stage.”
THE BEST WAY TO MOVE PEOPLE IS FROM THE STAGE.