10 Myths of Presentation and Public Speaking

1. I’m better off winging it
   The problem with improvisation is that it’s terribly haphazard!  You’ll need some landmarks to stop you going off track.  A mind map can help to plan points without scripting.
2. I need to write out my full speech before I speak
   Do you?  What a hassle!  A script can take longer to write than notes and is much more difficult to edit.  Even more importantly, we don’t speak as we write:  the language may be different and sentences are usually shorter.  There’s more here about how you can keep on track without a script: https://frankiekemp.com/why-you-shouldnt-script-a-presentation/
3. …and then memorise it
   Hence the cause of crippling nerves and blanking out!  Make life easy on yourself: remember where you’re going and where you’ve been and you’ll find it easier to know where you are now without having to memorise anything
4. Nerves are bad for Presentations and Pitches
   Actually, if you can control your nerves instead of letting them control you, the nerves become adrenalin.  In time, you’ll learn to enjoy the freedom of speaking in public (yes, I did say ‘enjoy’!).   Techniques to do this, include breathing, anchoring and visualisation.  More about this in future blogs.
   
5. Make eye contact
   Merely looking up from your cue cards or taking a break from your PowerPoint is not making eye contact.  Getting a response from people by looking at them is.
6. Begin with a joke
   Unless you are a comedian, try something a bit safer.  There are other, surer ways to make your audience comfortable.  I’ve a whole load on my Spice Rack ™ when I train, but questions, pictures and stories are good starters. Humour is often in integral part of a familiar situation but shouldn’t be treated as a technique of its own.  Go here to find out how to use it: https://frankiekemp.com/the-surprising-tool-that-makes-your-serious-subject-stick/
7. You can’t change your voice
   Your voice is as unique as your fingerprint.  But you can change it by enlarging its scope in range, speaking on different pitches, making it resonant and using different rhythms, and clarifying your articulation.  It takes training and practice.
8. Always introduce yourself at the beginning
   Think of how many times you’ve been out  and got talking to someone.  10 minutes later, you realise you don’t know each others’ names.  A presentation or pitch works the same way:  first grab attention, then say who you are.  It also makes you calmer as it reflects what we naturally do when chatting to people.
9. ‘He’s a natural.’
   Just because a person has the ability to get up and talk before a group of people does not necessarily make this person an effective speaker.  If a speaker is effective, s/he has most likely prepared over a length of time, gathering creative, pertinent material that have personal importance.  Then s/he puts orders those thoughts clearly, using methods to engage an audience.
   
10. Squeeze your buttocks
    OK, maybe this isn’t a common myth but I heard someone suggesting this during a radio interview. How I wish he’d been on television so that we could see him walking around like he had a bad case of haemorrhoids.  The rationale for buttock squeezing is that it stops women getting shaky legs when speaking and men should squeeze their thighs, for the same reason.  The speaker obviously wasn’t a performer otherwise he’d have used some more useful methods.
    

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