I’m not the best speaker, but I do it a lot.
I didn’t realize for a while that as a pastor, I speak more publicly in a year than most people speak publicly their whole lives. That’s a sobering thought. Because of this, I am always looking for ways to be better at public speaking.
I think the moment we feel that we’ve mastered something, that’s when we’re closest to become ineffective at it.
Here are some of the most recent things that I’ve learned, and if you have a presentation, this may help you. We present more than we think. You might not have 100 people in front of you, but maybe you just have three. It’s your job to make them care about what you’re saying.
Here are some things:
1) Get right into it. Yeah, this is new for me. When I’ve opened my sermons before, I felt the need to welcome, talk about what we are going to talk about, then get into it. I’ve found that 90% of what I said at the beginning is pretty useless. I’m saying this for me, not you.
What’s useful is saying something that makes them want to know how it ends. Or, something that makes them lean in. That’s a good way to start. They’ll wanna pick it up. A joke. A statement. A statistic. Something catching.
2) Smile more. I have been watching myself on video for a while, and I noticed that my face sometimes is very unapproachable. It’s always devastatingly handsome (sorry folks, can’t cage that beast), but it’s sometimes uninviting.
I want people to want to watch me and my facial expression, not feel judged or uncomfortable. Therefore, operation friendly-face is underway. I smile more, but I’m not trying to be weird or anything.
3) Use less notes. When I first started speaking, I’d manuscript my talk (meaning, every single word was written out, even pauses), but over the years, I’ve used less and less notes. Now, I’m down to one page, I’m trying to get it to a half page. That’s my goal. My ultimate goal is no notes at all. But I’m going to climb up this mountain gradually.
I’ve found there is almost a mathematical correlation between my level of comfort delivering a talk and the amount of notes I have. It’s not what you think. The LESS notes I have, the MORE comfortable I feel.
4) Make eye contact. I have typically looked towards people when speaking – like I’d stare at the window just behind them for focus on the back of the room, or look slightly up at the lights. Recently, I’ve been looking at people in different parts fo the room. Again, I’m not trying to be weird or anything. I’m trying to engage them.
So if you catch me looking desperately into your eyes, know that it’s just my technique and applaud me without being offended or wigged out.
Those are four right now. In time, I’d like to write more on this subject. What are some of your best speaking tricks?