Avoiding Disastrous Pitfalls When Speaking Before A Group

David W. Richardson, CSP

The big day has arrived . . .you're making a presentation to a key client, or perhaps to a high- level group within your company. You have practiced, practiced, and practiced, but be on the lookout . . . Murphy’s Law is ever present and often runs rampant when one prepares to step on the platform. “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”, and when it comes to speaking, Murphy was an optimist!

The Key to Success

It is obvious that one can rarely correct mistakes after they occur. You have to anticipate them in advance. That is why preparation is so important. This means every little detail must be attended to before you stand up to speak.

Undoubtedly the single biggest key to all of this is get there early!

I will never forget a major address I gave at a convention many years ago. The program was scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. The committee, good hosts as they were, insisted on taking me out for dinner. As naïve as I was in those days I went along; they promised to get me to the auditorium in plenty of time. Needless to say, we arrived just at the stroke of 8:00 and I was on.

Never again! Here are some simple rules I follow:

· Get to the room an hour before the program begins . . . not an hour before your speech, but an hour before the meeting begins.

· Stand behind the podium, get the feel of it.

· Determine that your notes can be handled effectively.

· Check the microphone, seating, heat, lighting, etc. with the meeting planner.

· Know where the fire exits and the bathrooms are.

· Discuss the number of attendees. If there will be fewer people than seats – tape off the back rows to create a more supportive atmosphere.

· Make sure all elements are conducive to a good presentation before your audience arrives.

We have concentrated so far on how to prevent goofs; now let’s examine how to cope with them if they do occur.

The four best ways to handle the situation when things go wrong:

1. Plan an "out" and use it.

While hopefully we will never use it, many of us have installed devices to allow us and our families to exit our home in the event of a fire. I have installed smoke detectors and placed a cable ladder under my daughter’s bed. One evening we practiced climbing down the ladder from the 2^nd floor. As I said, I hope we never use it, but we have an out.

As a speaker, what happens if the light on the podium goes out, the bulb in the slide projector pops mid-way through your presentation, the mike goes dead, the lights in the room go out? It can happen -- it has happened to me, but I always have an out. Perhaps some ad-libs, dialogue with the audience, etc. until the problem is resolved. Use your out.

2. Don’t let your audience know it.

If something goes wrong and there is no available out, the best thing to do, if you can, is to continue as though nothing has happened. For instance, when a juggler drops a ball, he casually picks it up and continues his routine. Did he intend to do this? Doesn’t matter, he continued without calling attention to his error.

In speaking, if your sequence gets a little out of whack, don’t say, “Oh, by the way, I meant to tell you this earlier”. Who has to know? Just go on about your business and tie it in later. After all, you are the only one who knows the sequence. The psychology of an audience is such that they want you to succeed. Why let them down when you don’t have to?

3. Make a gag out of it.

If you have no out, and there is no way to hide the problem, make a gag out of it. I like to leave whatever brief notes I might be using on the shelf under the podium rather than dig them out of my pockets. At one large event the speaker who preceded me did the same thing, and, you guessed it, he walked away with his notes as well as mine.

Under normal circumstances this would not have mattered, but I was supposed to recognize a total of 20 people in the room along with their accomplishments. I could not remember all the names which I had carefully written in block letters on my notes. I should have foreseen that this might happen, but now there was no way out nor any way I could logically cover.

I simply made a gag out of it, ”Hey John”, I called out “I know you can’t wait to hear my speech, but do you have to read it too? How about giving me back my notes?” -- not real funny, but better than going to pieces over it.

4. Don't lose your stride.

Just keep going. After all, you are the only one who really knows where the presentation is really going.

How to Avoid Losing Your Place

Here are a couple of foolproof techniques for you to try right away:

1. The magic sleep method –

Simply rehearse your speech aloud late in the evening just before going to bed. All night long your subconscious mind will be going over and over the speech. The next day the speech will be right on. How does it work? I can't begin to tell you, but it does.

2. The carousel –

Let’s say you draw a blank in the middle of your speech. It happens. This is when you use the carousel…that means, “go around again”. You simply repeat what you just said. The audience will be none the wiser, they will think you have done it for emphasis. Your mind has a couple of free moments to get back on track.

A little up-front planning can save you a lot of grief later during your speech.

Have people talking ever disturbed you while you are giving a speech or presentation? If you would like Dave's 20 tips on How to Control Talking & Interruptions, please fax a copy of your business card with your fax number and the word "control" written on it to (480) 451-9372 or send an e-mail with the subject line "control" and including your name, telephone number and company information to speaking@richspeaking.com.

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