Public speaking can strike fear into the heart of the bravest among us.  There we are – singled out, with all eyes on us, our palms are sweaty, butterflies dip and soar in our stomach, and our heart is beating so hard we’re sure everyone can see our shirt palpitating to the rhythm in our chest.  Good God it’s terrifying! So how do the pro’s do it?  They thank their host, dive passionately into their subject matter, make a few jokes, wrap it up, and stride off the stage.  How can they walk up there seemingly calm, cool, and collected?  

Becoming an excellent public speaker (like anything) takes a lifetime to master so don’t expect standing ovations by tomorrow.  However, by implementing a few of these principles you’ll be building a foundation of excellence in your public speaking that will aid you for years to come.

Principle 1: Center Around One Big Idea.

Believe it or not, most people don’t have too little to say, but rather too much; this is especially true if you’re someone who doesn’t get to speak in public very often.  As you sit down to prepare you’ll find that all these various ideas, stories, directions, connections, and keen insights are popping into your brain and you might be tempted to say them all.  ”How could I possibly leave that stunning insight out?” you exclaim.  Here’s why, if you try to say everything you’ll end up communicating nothing.  Remember, there’s something beautiful about simplicity and clarity.  It’s a breath of fresh air when someone walks to the stage and says “Here’s the one thing I want you to walk away with”.  Right off the bat you’ve communicated to people why in the they should listen to you and assured them that your’re not about to waste their valuable time.  As you prepare for this speech the mantra rolling around your head should be “What EXACTLY am I trying to say?”.  That will help everything in your presentation, from the introduction to the conclusion, have a laser-like focus.  It’s sort of the difference between hitting a home run and laying down 5 or 6 bunts.  

Principle 2: Speak With Passion.

If you don’t care about the topic at hand why on earth would anyone else?  If you’re speaking out of a sense of duty or obligation it only communicates to your audience “honestly, this doesn’t really matter to me and it shouldn’t to you…feel free to tune me out because I’m wasting your time anyway.”  The greatest speeches in history resonated and became catalyst’s for change because those delivering them did so with extreme passion and conviction.  Just watch the “I Have A Dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr.   Is there any question he has a passion for this subject?  Of course not, it’s like he feels this down to his toes, he believes what he’s saying is important and that those in attendance need to listen.  

Of course you may say, “Well I would be passionate if I were speaking about eliminating racism, global poverty, or the aids crisis, but I’m not, I’m just an accountant presenting the latest financials to the execs at Corporation ‘X’.  My topic is boring and uninteresting and I can’t change it.”  I sympathize with you, but it’s no excuse.  You absolutely must find the reason it matters.  Why are you being given twenty minutes of valuable time?

If you already have a passion for your subject that’s great!  Don’t hold back.  Feel it down to your toes, let it light up your eyes, and give a sense of urgency to your voice.

Principle 3: Get Your “PING” On.

In her book RenGen author Patricia Martin discusses the theory of where original ideas come from.  She writes the following.

Scientists have studied the changes that take place in brain function when subjects are presented with something unexpected… What if I put an object in front of you that you have never seen before? In that case you will search your memory and ask it: ‘Where have I seen something like this?’ No answer. You will keep searching your brain, checking the nooks and crannies of your cortex.  All the while you are rapidly forming an assessment of whether this thing could harm you.  Unsure, you may begin to invent a way of classifying or understanding the object.  You might refine it by fusing it with a known object, thus inventing something original.  This is how we generate new ideas. We search for what I term potential inspiration for new ground- or P.I.N.G.  The richer our storehouses of images and memories we have to PING against, the more combinations of answers and solutions we can conjure.

I believe that as you craft a presentation you are doing some major ‘PING-ing’, so to speak.  You are pulling from the storehouse of experiences you’ve had, books you’ve ready, blogs you frequent, weird places you’ve been, interesting conversations you’ve had, etc.  If you haven’t interacted with other people’s ideas very broadly then it’s quite possible that your ability to PING is pretty limited.  If you took the time to watch the “I Have A Dream” speech above you may have noticed that Martin Luther King Jr. had seriously interacted with the Old Testament of the Bible and the ideas of pacifists like Leo Tolstoy and Ghandi.  In other words, his speech wasn’t created in a vacuum, but was profoundly enriched by thinkers that had gone before him.  The lesson for all of us here is that we need to experience broadly, read widely, and think deeply to create speeches that stir people.

Wrap Up

To listen to some of the world’s greatest communicators head on over to TED.com.  For a wonderful book on preparing and delivering dynamic speeches check out Ken Davis’ book “Secret of Dynamic Communication“.