Speak with Impact

by Allison Shapira

  FINDING OPPORTUNITIES TO SPEAK

  We have daily opportunities to practice public speaking. If you’re more junior in your career, speaking up is how you build your visibility and reputation within the organization. If you’re a senior executive who is used to strategically delegating a presentation to others due to your own fear, the opportunities below give you ways to take back those speaking roles.

  Professional Opportunities

  Speak up in a meeting: The easiest and quickest way to speak in public is to speak up in a meeting or on a conference call. One senior banking executive I worked with said to me that, early in her career, she went to every single meeting ready to make a point. She prepared bullet points in advance so that when she spoke, seemingly off the cuff, she would feel and sound confident. That banking executive is now a model public speaker for her organization.

  Again and again, when managers send their direct reports through our training programs, they will say to me, “Look, if they’re in the room for a meeting, we expect them to speak up. Don’t just sit there in silence.” Recognize that if you are in the room, you may be expected to contribute.

  What if someone else makes your point before you do? In that case, you can simply refer to that person’s point and build on it. I call this “compliment and build,” and it’s a useful tactic for interrupting someone long-winded. Wait for that person to take a breath and then jump in to compliment him, build on his point, and take the conversation in a new direction.

  Volunteer to present at a meeting: No matter what industry you work in, meetings provide opportunities for people to present information to one another. Depending on your work culture, it’s either easier or harder to speak in front of colleagues. A lot of professionals will say, “I have no problem speaking to clients; I built my career doing that. But I’m terrified of speaking in front of internal leaders.” However, the leaders of that same organization will say to us, “Did you hear how nervously he presented in the last meeting? Does he speak to our clients like that?”

  No matter who is in the meeting, presenting is a terrific opportunity to build and demonstrate your knowledge. If you’re more junior in your career, let your manager know that you would like to present at an upcoming meeting. If you’re a mid-to senior-level manager or executive, you have an opportunity to model for your subordinates the behavior you expect. By speaking in these meetings, you are setting the tone and conveying the message you’d like them to convey to others.

  Volunteer to speak at a community event: Many companies we work with encourage their employees to participate in community organizations on behalf of the company. It’s a great way for those employees to promote a good cause while also increasing goodwill toward their company. Speaking to that community group on behalf of your organization gives you an opportunity to talk about something you truly believe in, while also finding a way to put a human face to your company.

  Speak at a conference: Whatever your field, from neuroscience to supply-chain logistics, speaking at a conference is a powerful way to elevate your own professional brand and also represent your company. You don’t have to be the keynote speaker! You can sit on a panel or lead a breakout session.

  Speak up at a conference: Come prepared to ask questions during a conference. It’s a great opportunity to practice your speaking skills and also build your visibility. Prepare a few questions based on the speaker or the subject, and choose one according to how the presentation goes. Someone could come up to you afterward and say, “I thought that was a great question. Can I speak more with you about this?” Or, better yet, “Can I hire you to help my company through the same challenge?”

  Lead a webinar: When your company doesn’t have a budget for travel, leading a webinar can be a great way to practice public speaking skills. Offer to discuss a recent project or a new development in your field.

  Speak to clients: If your role is more internal in an organization, look for opportunities to move into a client-facing role. Can you join your colleagues when calling on clients? Can you incorporate more business development into your role, where you leave the office and attend events? Your meetings with clients or prospects provide terrific opportunities to speak in public.

  Attend networking events: One of the easiest and most low-risk speaking opportunities is to attend networking events outside of work. Introducing yourself to others and talking about what you do is a great way to practice your public speaking skills. These events are also a terrific way to practice another very important speaking skill: listening. Many people hate networking events because they think of pushy salespeople selling something, or lobbyists promoting an agenda. However, networking events provide a great opportunity to get to know other people and be inquisitive about what they do.

  Professional associations: What membership associations do you belong to? Those organizations plan the regional and national conferences we spoke about above. When you take on a leadership role within those organizations, serving on the board or chairing a committee, you find opportunities to speak by moderating a panel or introducing a speaker. If you’re just starting out in your career, these associations provide terrific ways to build your network and connect with others in your field.

  Personal Opportunities

  Outside of work, there are just as many opportunities to speak in public.

  In politics: If you’re unhappy with the direction your neighborhood is going or the course your country is taking, get involved in politics and run for office. Not only are you actively taking responsibilities for your community, you will find endless opportunities to speak in public.

  In your religious community: Offer to lead sermons or read a portion of the holy text at your prayer service. This can be a meaningful way to practice your skills and also connect with your spirituality.

  In your alumni group: No matter where you went to school, your alma mater probably has an alumni association that holds events. Join the alumni association or attend meetings, and you will find opportunities to speak at events.

  When I first moved to Washington, DC, I joined the Harvard Kennedy School DC Alumni Council and spent two years as its president. I gave opening remarks at every single event we held, from an informal breakfast at the National Press Club to a high-profile panel at the National Archives. It was an incredibly effective way to build my profile in Washington, practice my skills, and create long-lasting relationships with friends, colleagues, and prospective clients.

  In your issue area: Do you have a child with special needs or do you come from an underrepresented community? Are you a lifelong member of an advocacy organization? Joining or leading an organization that represents those issues gives you opportunities to speak up and contribute to something you believe in.

  Join Toastmasters:3 Founded in 1924, Toastmasters International remains one of the best ways to practice your public speaking skills.4 During regular meetings held around the globe, Toastmasters provides a safe space for practice and feedback in a comfortable, supportive environment. Join the club and attend meetings or, better yet, run for a leadership role and you will have an opportunity to speak at every single meeting. Joining Toastmasters was the first thing I did when I started a job that required public speaking skills and I continue to recommend it to clients and friends.

  Give a TEDx speech: We’ll talk below about how TED has changed the field of speaking. For now, if you have a message you’d like to share with others, find a locally organized TEDx event and contact the curator.5 The audition process alone will help you hone your skills and your message. My TEDx opportunity came in 2014 and became an amazing reputation-building event. In fact, it was the first time I combined the topics of music and public speaking, kick-starting a new direction for my business and an impactful message for my audience. You can watch that speech at www.speakwithimpactbook.com.

  LEARNING FROM OTHER SPEAKERS

  Start to take notice of other speakers. Who do you think is a powerful speaker, and why? Do yo
u resonate with his message? Does she appear genuine and authentic? Does his sense of humor make you laugh and keep you engaged? Take note of the qualities you like in the speaker.

  You’ll also notice that there are a lot of lackluster speakers out there. As you listen to them, unpack those negative qualities. What bothers you? Does she sound bored and uninterested? Does he appear unsure of himself and his experience? Does she look at the floor instead of at the audience? You can learn a lot from speakers you don’t want to emulate. We often pick up the speaking styles of the people around us, for better or for worse. One man I coached spoke with a flat and monotonous voice. When I asked him why, he said, “Well, that’s the way my boss speaks.” When he realized that assumption, he was able to unlock the natural range of his voice.

  Look at the experts in your industry, your religious and political leaders, or TV personalities, and evaluate why they are effective or ineffective in their speaking. At the end of my workshops, I provide notepads for people to take notes on the speakers they hear. They can also use those notepads to get feedback from colleagues when they give a speech. Download a sample at www.speakwithimpactbook.com.

  The Phenomenon of TED Talks

  Begun in 1984 with a focus on Technology, Education, and Design, TED has become an annual conference showcasing innovative speakers and ideas from around the world.6 In 2006, TED started posting its talks online, which exponentially increased the number of people who could watch and learn from these speakers. In 2009, TEDx became a vehicle for independently organized events under the TED umbrella, spawning a whole new wave of talks and making it easier for both speakers and audience members to attend.

  I won’t go into what makes a good TED talk, since there are already great books on the subject. One of my favorites, which I’ve used in my course at the Harvard Kennedy School, is Talk Like TED by Carmine Gallo.7

  I mention TED for two reasons. First, it provides an endless resource for watching speeches online and learning from speakers. Do you need something to do during a quick break from work? Watch or listen to a TED talk. Second, TED has changed the way people listen to speeches. TED talks have shown us that you can deliver a powerful message in eighteen minutes or less (which makes sense, given that the average adult attention span is up to twenty minutes);8 this is just as important in a work presentation or community event. TED talks have shown us the power of personal stories to help an audience understand an issue. TED talks have given us permission to speak like real people: in a conversational, personal tone instead of using professional jargon and complex terminology. In fact, the elements of a good TED talk are simply the best practices in public speaking overall.

  As a result of TED, audiences have realized that speeches can be both educational and entertaining. We no longer expect boring lectures; we want speeches to keep us engaged even as we are informed. I believe TED talks have changed the expectations of audience members around the world.

  CHAPTER 2

  Start with Strategy

  The Three Most Important Questions to Ask Before a Speech or Presentation

  PREPARING TO SPEAK

  Let’s assume you have a speech or presentation coming up. You’re sitting at your desk, scratching your head while looking at a blank screen or sheet of paper, agonizing over what to say. The closer the speech date is, the more pressure you feel. The more important the audience is, the more pressure you feel. All that pressure is enough to make your mind go blank and your heart beat fast. It’s almost as if you’re experiencing the same fear you’d feel standing onstage.

  Let’s take a step back.

  I’m going to walk you through a series of steps that will guide you painlessly and efficiently through the process of preparing for a speech, presentation, meeting, or phone call. By using this structure, you will find your motivation to speak and kick-start your creativity.

  Before you start writing, identify the context of your speech.

  •Where will you be presenting? Is it a conference or meeting? Where geographically will it take place? Imagine the venue and the setting to put yourself in the minds of your audience members.

  •When will it take place in the overall agenda? If you are the first speaker of the day, your energy will set the tone for the entire day. If you are the last speaker of the day, you have to keep up the energy in front of a tired audience who wants to leave early to beat the traffic and go home (we’ll talk about how to engage the audience in Chapter 5).

  •Who else is speaking? If you’re speaking on a controversial subject, will other speakers refute your point of view? Conversely, how can you differentiate yourself from other speakers at the conference?

  At one conference I attended, a magician persuaded the audience to play a trick on an unsuspecting volunteer by convincing the volunteer that he had vanished onstage (he hadn’t). Ironically, the very next speaker was an expert in trust building, something we very obviously had not done in the previous situation. That’s an example of poor advance planning.

  A few more questions about the context of your speech:

  •How long will you have to speak? Five minutes, thirty minutes, or an hour or more? The duration will help shape your goal.

  •Will your speech include time for questions and answers? If so, Chapter 10 will help you prepare.

  •What does the organizer expect from your speech? Sometimes the organizer’s expectations differ from yours. Make sure that your expectations are in alignment. I will normally ask a meeting planner, “What do you want the audience to do, think, or feel as a result of my speech?”

  While the above questions are intended for a conference, they apply to a meeting as well.

  The answers also help you prepare to be flexible. Having sat through numerous meetings, I know that those speaking toward the end will have their speaking time squeezed as the meeting runs late. One of my clients mentioned that she knows this will happen, so she comes prepared with a “back-pocket edition,” a shortened version of her presentation. This lets her calmly and smoothly deliver the most critical information instead of rushing through the entire presentation like an actor accepting an Oscar, racing to include all her thank-yous in her Academy Award speech as the music starts to get louder and louder.

  Now that you have the context firmly in your mind, it’s time to kick-start the creative process.

  There are three questions I ask myself before I write any speech or presentation or prepare for a difficult conversation, a client pitch, or speaking up in a meeting. They are so critical, I call them “the Three Questions.” They are:

  1.Who is your audience?

  2.What is your goal?

  3.Why you?

  The Three Questions are not the structure of your speech; they form the strategy of your speech. They warm up your mind and unlock your creativity so you can choose a subject easily and organically. These are the questions that overcome writer’s block.

  1. WHO IS YOUR AUDIENCE?

  “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head.

  If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.”

  —Nelson Mandela1

  Before you can decide what to say, you need to know whom you are addressing. Your audience can be one person in a corner office, fifteen people in a boardroom, or five hundred people in a ballroom. Are they peers, direct reports, or your company’s leadership team? What is their professional background: Are they parents, business executives, or lawyers? Are they all of the same nationality, or are they a diverse group? Do they have the same specialized education as you? Oftentimes, you will have numerous types of people in the audience, but you have one target audience.

  Now ask yourself who else might see this speech if it’s posted online.

  We can no longer assume that what we say in a room will stay in that room. An offhand comment in a closed-door meeting can be made public and have disastrous effects. Look at 2012 American presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s statement dis
paraging 47 percent of Americans to see how one comment can elicit major debate.2 Words matter, and they can easily be taken out of context or become the unintended message of your entire campaign.

  What Language Do They Speak?

  Once you identify your audience, you will know which language to speak. I don’t mean which foreign language, although that may certainly be a factor. I mean: Do they speak the specialized language of your industry, of your culture? Will they understand your jargon or acronyms?

  Think of how many terms exist in your industry or even within your company. If you use the word “development,” will your audience know if it’s about real estate, international aid, fund-raising, or software? If you use the acronym SME, will your audience know if you are referring to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises or Subject-Matter Experts? If people in your audience are unclear as to the meaning, they probably won’t raise their hand to ask. Who wants to risk looking foolish in front of their colleagues asking a question they “should” know the answer to? They’ll be so distracted by their own feelings of inadequacy that they will have disengaged from the speech. This doesn’t mean you need to get rid of acronyms altogether; simply explain what they mean the first time you use each one.

  Will Your Quotations Resonate with Them?

  When we speak in a house of worship, it’s customary to quote religious scripture. When we give a political speech, we often quote political leaders. The audience and context of the speech dictate our use of language. Quoting a source the audience admires is a great way to build rapport.

  At the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, we use the term “across the river” to refer to the Harvard Business School, which sits across the Charles River in Allston. We often use that phrase to describe the difference between business and government: “Well, here at the Kennedy School we look at economic conditions from a policy perspective, but ‘across the river’ they do things differently.” These phrases have a clear meaning to those “in the know” and can promote a sense of unity and camaraderie with the audience. But outside that circle, those phrases can feel exclusive or confusing.