As every craftsperson knows, you’ll never get the job done unless you have the right tools. Why should public speaking be any different?
Let’s assume you have all the other necessary ingredients: knowledge of your topic, passion, and commitment to your audience, a strong message, and solid preparation in terms of organizing your material.
Where do you go from there?
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Your Must-Have Tools for Public Speaking
Here’s a peek inside my speaker’s toolbox—a collection of components I think are necessary to be an influential speaker. There are 10 items included here. I consider each of them a valuable tool for going beyond the everyday and becoming more memorable in terms of speech performance.
You’ll notice that there aren’t any public speaking web sites included. That’s because I think that those sites—the ones that include hints, lists, and articles on public speaking—are personal in terms of what they have to offer. You may love some of them and dislike others; and the next person may have exactly the opposite opinion. So by all means, visit the sites that you find worthwhile.
Here are the essentials that make up my toolbox:
Video camera. You may hate seeing yourself on video; but you still need to make this powerful tool your friend. It’s part of what I call having an out-of-body experience: perceiving yourself the way others do. You’ll also find the before-and-after aspects of your performance to be a confidence-building experience!
Mirror. A mirror is helpful in terms of body language, but not in the way you may think. Don’t use it to watch your gestures—if you do, you run the risk of making them planned and mechanical. Use it instead to observe your facial expressions. Audiences gain a wealth of information from what your face and the expression in your eyes are up to. Learn whether your face is sufficiently expressive. If you’re stone-faced when you speak, start to bring facial expressiveness into the act.
Audio recorder. Use an app on your laptop or smart phone, or a digital voice recorder. Your voice is the most flexible tool you own for public speaking, and you need to make it a central part of your performance repertoire. Unexpressive voices not only lull audiences to sleep; they also diminish the impact of important points, which should sound that way. In telephone conversations and phone conferences where visuals are absent, your voice is much more critical to your success as a speaker. So remove those visuals yourself and use a voice recorder to improve. Here's how to improve 7 of the most common speech problems in business.
Straight-backed chair. Some of the important conversations and presentations you’ll be involved in will take place while you’re sitting. The elements of body language and nonverbal communication aren’t any less important in these situations. Practice sitting up straight, with your backside off the back of the chair. Place your hands on the table, one on each side of your materials (don’t place them in your lap or clasp your hands so that they form a barrier). Lean slightly forward to show you’re interested in the dialogue taking place.
Lectern. Whether you call it a lectern or podium, it’s one of the two public speaking implements I call The Devil’s Tools (the other is PowerPoint). A worthwhile piece of furniture for holding speaking notes or protecting you from rotten fruit thrown your way, the lectern is, without doubt, a physical barrier. Learn to avoid grasping the edges with white knuckles. Most of all, practice backing up a step and gesturing naturally. A lectern shouldn’t make you statue-like and uninteresting visually.
LCD projector. You need to become familiar with two aspects of LCD projectors: the audio connection and the cables involved for visual projection. (If you’re a Mac user, you’ll need adapters for a VGA or HDMI connection.) If you speak a lot, you should own your own projector in case your venue doesn’t have one. And by all means, familiarize yourself with the “Magic B-button” when you’re using PowerPoint. You’ll find an explanation of this marvelous tool in my book How to Give a Speech.
Hand-held microphone. This item can be filed in the “You Never Know” folder. There may be times when a microphone is necessary because of the size of the performance space, and you’ll be handed one just before you begin. That is, not every host organization will have a lectern microphone or lapel mic. When I coach clients for wedding toasts, we often practice using a hand-held mic because that’s what will be provided at the reception. Get an inexpensive model for your toolbox and become comfortable using it.
Water. Your voice box and throat need to be adequately hydrated. If you have speech anxiety, one of the physical symptoms you experience may be a mouth on loan from the Sahara Desert. Get in the habit of sipping water in your practice sessions. You can even use water strategically! When you’re asked that bear of a question and your mind is screaming “How do I answer that,” take a sip of water, which will give you that precious few seconds of thinking time you need.
Silence. Yes, put this in your speaker’s toolbox! You can’t see it (though you and everyone else can hear it), but it’s one of your most powerful speaking tools. You need to use it in three situations in particular: (1) to allow the important thing you just said to be absorbed, (2) to build anticipation, and (3) when you transition from one main point to the next. I’ll let all that sink in for a moment. Like to know more? Click on this link to learn 5 ways to use silence as a public speaking tool.
A worry stone or talisman. This tool—a smooth stone or stick which fits comfortably in the palm of your hand—will soothe you and keep you centered as you think through your talks. It also gives a small physical dimension to your thought processes—an essential element of embodied cognition, or using physical movement to aid your thinking.
In next week's blog, I'll discuss actions you can take to add to your toolbox. From web sites to podcasts to building a library of essential books on public speaking, you'll find more valuable information on improving your awareness and skills. Be sure to join me then!
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