PUBLIC SPEAKING

Ever felt nervous while delivering a presentation in front of 5 people? How about 20? Perhaps a 100? What about 1000 or more? Because I surely have! We prepare countless hours to present in front of a crowd, speak in front of the mirror, create que cards, rehearse with and without them, and/or memorize our presentation but still end up losing confidence and getting nervous when the lights shine bright. It doesn’t have to be that way, since it is definitely within our power to change the way we perceive our audience and the way they perceive us. We are fully capable of conveying the message we want and addressing our crowd with glowing confidence each and every time we deliver a presentation. Doing so can surely generate the results we desire and steer us in a direction of accomplishing our aims when presenting.

Max Beaumont, founder of Potato Chip Communications, helps individuals with their public speaking and communication skills through coaching and consulting. His presentation on Presentation Skills for Lawyers was very insightful and thorough in advancing my awareness on how to become a better public speaker and communicate more effectively with my audiences. Throughout his findings, he has come up with a few concepts that are sure to enhance one’s presenting and public speaking abilities.

Mindset

Max spoke on the importance of one’s mindset as a presenter. He said that in order to evoke confidence and energy, one has to focus on how they are helping their audience. This notion creates synergy between the audience and speaker, and your audience will pay attention to what you have to say because you are initiating a sense of care for them. In preparation for your presentation, it is essential that you constantly reflect on how you may be able to help your audience and convey this to them as well. This in turn reciprocates the same effect back and you are able to effectively communicate with your audience.

Body Language

In terms of communication, enough stress cannot be placed on the significance of body language. Max broke down the communication formula with words equating to 7%, tone equalling 38%, and body language being the highest totalling 55%. Our body language conveys more information about us than any other factor so we must pay attention to what we are ‘saying’ even though we may not say a word. Confidence through eye contact, gestures, posture, and your facial expressions will leave an everlasting impact on your audience and convey to them that you care and want to help them.

Audience Interaction

Another critical approach to enhance audience interaction is the remembrance of names. According to Max, name memory involves the following:

1. Have a Why
2. Be Present
3. Repeat Name Out Loud
4. Repeat Name In Your Head

By doing so, you are getting members of your audience directly involved in the presentation and establishing a personal connection.

Direct engagement with your audience group also involves asking questions and addressing them by their name. These questions should be relevant to your topic and easy to answer. When asking a question, limit it to a response of a simple yes or no.

Simple & Relevant Messages

As Max outlined, “If you confuse people, you lose people”. Due to short attention spans, keeping people engaged in your presentation is extremely difficult if you do not keep things simple. Avoid jargon and unnecessary words, use relevant examples wherever you can, and above all, simplify the message best you can. There is a reason Albert Einstein once said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough”.

Tone & Delivery

When presenting, be authentic and do not act as if you are a salesperson trying to sell something. Treat the presentation as a normal conversation with the audience. Be inclusive and use references your audience may know. This gains their attention and allows them to relate with you. This forms an understanding and when people sense that you understand them, they are inclined to listen to what you have to say. When addressing you audience, use familiar words and language that they are used to hearing.

Additionally, your tone is equally as important to delivering a powerful presentation. If you are monotone, your audience perceives you are boring, and they will probably disengage immediately. Genuine conversations have changes in pitch patterns and enable our audience to become more interested in our presentations. Your confidence and excitement is revealed through your tone and if you present yourself in such a manner, your audience will definitely feel it.

See It In Action

Incorporate these techniques in your next presentation and I guarantee you will surprise yourself with the results you encounter. Are you still not sure about how you can apply these methods for yourself? Come and visit Wolf Law Chambers for a presentation and see how we implement these techniques to perfection. Come out to 90 Matheson Blvd. West, Suite 101 in the heart of Mississauga to tell us about yourself and learn a few strategies for your next presentation. We are hosting an in-depth seminar on what a Law Society of Ontario audit looks like and how you can prepare your practice to be audit ready. We welcome you to RSVP for our Surviving the Audit event taking place on October 10^th, 2019 from 6-8 p.m.

-Narvir Goindi