If you've ever suffered through a long, boring speech that simply didn't work, you know how tough it can be on the audience. Torture is too gentle of a word. You're stuck in a chair for thirty minutes to an hour and can't leave.
How can public figures avoid being that boring speaker?
It's good to be trained and skilled at the three basic kinds of speeches:
1) Impromptu (no notes)
2) Extemp (some notes, an index card or talking points)
3) Full text (printed speech or TelePrompter).
Yet being able to do all three kinds of speeches isn't enough.
The longer and more important an event is for a public figure, the more they need to mix up those three methods.
This will scare a lot of people. Being up front of so many people is tough enough. Now you want me to switch things around, just when I got comfortable reading text or using the TelePrompter?
Yes. Here's why: being technically correct during a speech can still be boring.
Public figures are typically so concerned with not screwing up that they don't connect with the audience.
Turn on the television and you'll see this every day. An author gripping the podium as sticks to his text. A political candidate rushing through his stump speech, stepping on applause lines.
Too many presentations and speeches are monotonous and boring because the speaker rigidly sticks to the format and formula.
They step on applause lines. They rush through parts that should be slowed down because they get locked into reading at the same pace. They don't vary their tone, their volume and their intensity.
Mixing it up can fix those problems and help connect better with the audience.
The beginnings and ends of any speech or presentation should be impromptu.
Nothing is less sincere than a person reading "Thank you for having me here" off a page of text or a TelePrompter.
Thank the person who introduced you. Thank the audience for inviting you to speak. It's not rocket science. You don't need those words written down.
There'll be parts of a long speech or presentation that you're quite familiar with, and those are the times where you should leave the prepared text.
Go extemp or impromptu for those sections. If you know it well, that's probably because it's important. The audience will notice that you're the most confident and prepared for the biggest part of your presentation or speech, that you don't need to read line-by-line for that part.
That builds up your credibility and builds a better bond with the audience.
For tough or technical sections, sure, you need full text. But slow down. Way down. If a sections is hard for you, the expert who's giving the talk, it's even harder for audience members and the press trying to take notes.
Another way of mixing up a long presentation or speech is to ask the audience a question or two -- not at the end, but in the beginning or middle.
I didn't say let the audience ask you questions. Ask one or two questions of them, especially specific people you know in the audience, such as the person who introduced you. They already know that person. They say him or her talk, and that person is probably quite close to the podium.
Asking questions of the audience, even a single member of it, brings them in. Ask them simple things like, "Has this ever happened to you?" or have them guess when the answer to a question is counter-intuitive.
If you know the personal story of somebody in the audience that illustrates a point, use it. "Bob, how many years did it take you to build that canoe in your garage?" Bob says it took him seven years and he probably laughs about it. But you can use that. "He built every piece of that canoe. Cut it, sanded it, brought it to life. That's dedication. That's what we're talking about."
Another way of mixing things up is to move around. Far too many speakers are anchored to the podium by invisible chains.
Walk around. Leave the podium during key points.
Do whatever you can to make your speech or presentation exciting and interesting to the audience. This means taking risks. Your delivery might not be perfect. But the audience isn't looking for perfect delivery. They want a story. A human connection to a real person, not a speech-giving robot.
Think about all the times you've been the one sitting in that chair, listening to a PowerPoint slideshow or speech that never seemed to end. Do what you wish other speakers had done when you were sitting in the audience.
How To Prepare For Different Speeches