How to stay calm when speaking to a big audience
Recently I gave a talk on ‘How to generate excitement among business stakeholders by telling compelling stories in the early stages of development process’ at Product Drive Virtual Summit. After the session, I was asked a question. I figured that this question would make for a good discussion post. I was asked how I was able to give my presentation in such a calm and professional way despite performing in front of hundreds of people. So I decided to share what my answer was and still is.
The first thing that explains my speaking style is who i look up to as role models. I am a huge fan of both former president Barack Obama and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner. I have read or seen just about every speech, talk or book from the pair of them. Though I admit, my singing isn’t quite as good as President 44. Therefore I try to mimic their speaking styles, when they pause or use hand gestures, in order to get a similar flow to my own.
The next step is an important one, especially for any sort of public speaking. Even students can benefit. Rehearsal. We can’t all be Robin Williams after all. Rehearsal makes sure that you can speak with confidence, because you are confident that you know what to say. Keeping post-its in sight for phrases that I want to emphasize on helps too.
Finally, asking more questions than responding to them can really make the difference. Sometime back, me and a friend at work were analyzing “value per words spoken” by our company’s leadership for fun. We tried different ways of tracking and the ones who came on top were asking more questions than they were answering in a conversation. I try and apply the same to my communication. It gives me more control and keeps me calmer. Rather than having to think of a response to every question, I can keep my own thoughts in order while they answer.
As Mark Twain said “There are only two types of speakers in the world: the nervous and the liars.” Being nervous doesn’t mean you can’t keep calm. And now I’ve shown you my way of staying calm while speaking. I hope this gives you some help and inspiration on how you can improve as well!
If you’d like to listen to my talk, please visit the following link below:
