We discussed a number of environmental conditions in Lesson 2 that can become a distraction to your audi-ence, and we made suggestions on how you can mini-mize or even remove those conditions. But to paraphrase poet Robert Burns, “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” No matter how well prepared you are, something unexpected is almost guaranteed to occur.
Mechanical devices are a frequent source of unwelcome surprises. The battery goes dead on your microphone midway through your speech; you flip on the overhead projector, hear a slight pop, and the bulb goes out; you fire up your PowerPoint presentation, only to discover that you copied the wrong file to your flash drive.
Being human is another source of unexpected entertainment. You lose your place in your notes and suddenly go blank, or you trip on the step up to the stage and fall flat on your face. When I was a graduate student, I was teaching a freshman English class one warm spring day, and things were going great. The stu-dents laughed heartily at my witticisms—a trifle more than expected, even—and every eye was riveted on me as I lectured. I had their undivided attention, and I felt quite good about my delivery that afternoon—until a student informed me as she was leaving that my zipper had been down the whole time. Oops. Feel free to not take yourself too seriously—to laugh at yourself, even.
We’re all human, speaker and audience alike.
–aVoiding diStractionS–
There are a million things that can go wrong dur-ing a speech, and the only thdur-ing you can do is to take it in stride and not lose your composure. Here are a few suggestions on how to handle the unexpected:
n Ask for help. You drop your notes or your overhead transparencies, and they scatter across the floor. Don’t panic! Calmly ask some-one in the front to collect them while you begin or continue speaking.
n Improvise. You did memorize your outline, right? Just continue discussing whatever point you were on, using part of your brain to calmly collect your thoughts on where you’ll go next.
n Make a joke at your own expense. The audi-ence is actually not hostile, and they’re not sit-ting there hoping that you’ll fall on your face.
They empathize with the stress of public speaking, and they’ll quickly join you in a good laugh—provided that it’s at your expense!
Never lose your cool and blame someone else. I actually did trip on a step going up to the stage once, and dropped my notes to boot. I collected my papers, walked to the podium, caught my
breath, and then said, “I meant to do that.” It wasn’t the greatest witticism ever recorded, but it was sufficient.
n Carry on and ignore technical problems. You can always summarize the slide that you’d intended to show if the projector isn’t working.
The visual aids were only intended to assist your speech anyway, so keep going with the main purpose of your being there—your speech.
n Act like Abe Lincoln. He didn’t have a micro-phone, yet he riveted his audience’s attention by projecting his voice. You can do the same.
n Adjust. Some microphones, for example, are very sensitive to popping, such as when you voice the letter p. If you’re hearing strange feedback, move back from the microphone or stop using it altogether.
n Plan ahead. As already stated, this is not fool-proof, but it definitely does help. Arrive early at the speech location and get to know the room and equipment you’ll be using. See Lesson 2 for more suggestions. The more you troubleshoot in advance, the fewer surprises you’ll encounter.
Exercise
Make a video of your speech, then analyze it for distractions using this questionnaire:
n What verbal mannerisms do I have?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
—Which ones might be distracting?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
–aVoiding diStractionS–
n Do I exhibit any of the following?
❏ Verbal filler words (ah, like, okay, etc.)
❏ Monotone
❏ Repetitive intonation (upspeak, etc.)
❏ Speaking too fast or too slow
n How will I compensate for these tendencies?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
n What physical mannerisms do I have?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
—Which ones might be distracting?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
n Do I exhibit any of the following?
❏ Touching my face
❏ Fiddling with clothes or jewelry
❏ Hugging myself
❏ Playing with objects, such as notes or a pen
❏ Facial ticks
n What can I do to compensate for these habits?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
–aVoiding diStractionS–
n What happened that I didn’t expect?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
—How did I handle it?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
—What other things might happen when I actually give the speech?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
n Keep your hands away from your face.
n use humor at your own expense, never at someone else’s. take the blame for the unexpected on yourself—even when it’s not your fault.
n Don’t speak too fast. When in doubt, it’s better to speak slowly than quickly.
n memorize your outline! if all else fails, you can still improvise to get the gist of your speech across.
tips
–aVoiding diStractionS
–aVoiding diStractionS
leSSon
Y
ou’re sitting in the front row of a large auditorium that is crowded with people. A woman is on stage introducing the keynote speaker: you! Your stomach is knotting up; your throat is scratchy; you feel sweat trickling down your spine, yet you are inexplicably chilly. What should you conclude from these strange symptoms?You should conclude that you are normal. Whether you realize it or not, nearly everyone gets nervous before speaking in public. I’ve been getting up in front of audiences in many different settings for more than 30 years, and I still feel my heart rate increase as the moment draws close. It’s such a common phenomenon that it even has a name: stage fright.
Indeed, we can learn a lot about stage fright from those who know it best, professional actors who literally get on stage night after night before a large audience. A professional actor will be quick to tell you that stage fright is a good thing, not a bad thing. It indicates that you want to do well, and that you’re taking the performance
LESSON SUMMARY
Everyone gets nervous before speaking publicly. The secret is not to avoid stage fright, but to use it to your advantage.
There are only two types of speakers in the world: 1. The nervous, and 2. Liars.
—Mark Twain, 1835–1910