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We debunk some commonly-held myths
about effective
delivery skills.
September 2006
Volume IV, Issue 5
YOUR GUIDE TO SECURING THE POWER OF PERSUASION
COACHING SERVICES TO IMPROVE PUBLIC SPEAKING, PRESENTATION & COMMUNICATION SKILLS
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Don't Distract Me...
I'm Trying to Listen to You
If I were advising a candidate, I would say, 'Don't be so eager to be bright and quick and clever. Be you, try to be honest, speak with all the candor you can muster, and say it the way you'd say it to your family.
- Peggy Noonan,
Author and Former Presidential
Speechwriter
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While flipping through the Sunday talk shows last weekend, we noticed something a little
annoying. The politicians, newsmakers and anchors all sounded the same. The majority of
the participants seemed to cock their heads in the same way, use the same language and
the same tone at the same moments in their sentences.
At some point in time, it seems that someone decided there was an absolute correct way
to speak in public, to be interviewed in the media or to deliver a business presentation.
And since that point in time, there have been countless books written and classes taught
giving us firm and unforgiving lists of delivery “Do's” and “Don'ts.”
When conducting a training class or a coaching session, there is a series of questions
we always enjoy asking: “How many of you have ever had presentation skills training
before?” A few hands always go up. “And how many of you have ever read a book
on public speaking, business presentations or effective communication?” More hands
go up. “What is the first thing you remember from that class or that book?” The
answers are always similar:
- “Don't put your hands in your pocket.”
- “Use hand gestures.”
- “Don't move around too much.”
- “Tell a joke.”
These answers are curious to us, for two reasons. First, it's shocking how little substance
most people retain about a critical professional skill that, collectively, we spend millions
upon millions of dollars each year to improve. Secondly, and more importantly, the tips
many people do remember often have little to do with our ability to successfully sell our
product or secure support for our ideas (financial and otherwise).
In other words, most people tend to remember the advice about where to put their hands,
yet the substance of our message and our ability to speak clearly and articulately are
far more critical to our success.
Often, people sign up for a communication skills class in order to obtain a tangible
list of what to do and what not to do. But in The Latimer Group's opinion, no such list
of specific, unalterable reminders exists. You might be thinking, “Well, sure it
does. I got one from the last class I took.” But just because you have a list in
your possession does not mean that everything on it is unalterable. Despite what you may
have heard before, there is very little about communication delivery that is set in stone.
The bottom line is this: In almost all situations, substance matters more than
style. The content of your message and the way you structure it are far more
important than nuanced delivery skills. And the most important aspect of your delivery
is that you develop the confidence to be yourself.
In our client work, we have seen very dry, seemingly boring speakers be very effective
in communicating a persuasive message. And we've seen seemingly dynamic and entertaining
speakers lose their audience after they realize there is no substance behind the style.
In previous issues of The Beacon, we have focused on the content of your message
and how you can maximize your persuasive leverage. In this issue, we will debunk four common
delivery myths and replace them with three key themes to remember. Keeping these themes
in mind will make it easier for you to communicate without worrying about that perfect
joke or keeping your hands out of your pockets.
Common Myths on Delivery Skills
- Myth #1: Be funny and always start off with a joke. If
you've never told a joke in your life, please don't start now! You'll come across as
unnatural. Remember: Be authentic to your personality, position and message. If you are
a practiced and effective joke or story-teller, and it's appropriate for your audience,
then tell a joke that segues to the subject matter you're about to discuss. But if you
are not funny, don't tell jokes… please!
- Myth #2: Strong gestures and body language add energy to
your speech. Not always! They can be very distracting. You should choose
your hand movements carefully and only use them to punctuate key words in your presentation.
Otherwise, you may distract your audience away from your message. Do what's natural
for you, not what someone else says you “should” do.
- Myth #3: Never put your hands in your pockets. If
you're going to jingle your change or keys in your pocket, true. If you are more comfortable
keeping one hand in your pocket, and it’s not distracting, no problem.
- Myth #4: Always use powerful eye contact. We
definitely recommend some eye contact in order to engage your audience and assess their
reactions, but there is no one correct amount of it. There is nothing more uncomfortable
than the forced, extended eye contact with one person at a time. The audience member
will start to squirm, and that's not effective.
We are not suggesting that anything goes when presenting. Quite the contrary. Delivery
skills do matter, and it is possible to deliver badly. But we believe that content matters
most, and that delivery is a very personal thing. No two people speak exactly the same
way. The worst thing a coach can do is attempt to make everyone sound the same. We have
seen people clumsily using hand gestures and others awkwardly putting their hands in their
pockets. We have heard people be effective with a booming, theatrical voice, and others
be just as effective with a more soft-spoken, matter-of-fact tone. When it comes to actual
delivery skills, what matters most is that you develop the confidence to speak in your
own voice and with your own style.
Here are the three most important themes we would like
you to remember:
- Be authentic. Each of us speaks differently
and has different mannerisms. Your delivery of your message needs to reflect your
position and personality - and be authentically “you.” We risk reducing our
own credibility when we clearly adopt a different persona in front of an audience. How
will they know what is real and what is not real?
- Do not distract. Is there a litmus test that
can be applied to evaluate effective delivery skills? Yes, and it is a simple one: “Are
you distracting your audience?” If the answer is “yes,” then
modify the distracting behavior. If the answer is “no,” then you
are already in the ballpark of being a strong and persuasive communicator. If
you don't know whether you are distracting or not, ask a colleague for their
honest opinion - and be ready to hear it.
- Make your message memorable and digestible. As
a society, we are overwhelmed with information, data and content. As a result,
the speakers who make their message the most memorable and the easiest to digest are
usually the most effective. Deliver a clear message that is easily understood with shorter
sentence structure, simple noun-verb construction and in the active voice. We do not
advocate “sound
bite” communication,
but we do suggest making life easier on your audience. In turn, you will be more
effective and persuasive.
The delivery aspects of public speaking are a form of performance art. And like any other
spoken art, your performance is variable. Some days you will feel better than others. Some
days your voice will be strong, you will be energized and you will look forward to your
performance. On other days, you may be distracted, tired or sick, and your performance
will suffer.
While delivery is variable, preparation of the message should be a constant. When using
the GAP METHOD, we are always in control of setting our GOALS, learning about our AUDIENCE,
and mapping out a logical PLAN to persuade. And therefore, like anything else that is performance-oriented,
if we control the constants and prepare as well as possible for the variables, more often
than not, we'll be successful.
Dean M. Brenner
President |
Marni H. Lane
Media Specialist |
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© 2006 The Latimer Group. All Rights Reserved.
Dean M. Brenner -
The Latimer Group: 203.265.4344.
Feedback or comments: dmbrenner@thelatimergroup.com.
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