To Overcome Speaking Fear, Throw Away Your Mask

Let’s face it—for audiences, the message and the messenger are usually the same thing. You are the message your audience receives as much as anything you say. So you’d better be aware of the impression you’re broadcasting!

First, understand that you're a natural performer. As sociologist Erving Goffman reminded us in his 1972 book, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, each of us plays many roles in our daily lives.

We shape ourselves, that is, to meet the needs of the audience we’re with at the moment. The “you” shopping in the supermarket, for instance, is a different person from the “you” on a first date, or the one explaining to your boss the reasons you deserve a raise.

This knowledge, that we play different roles even in a typical day, should be a liberating thought. By acknowledging that a speech situation is simply one of the many “performances” we give every day of our lives, we can embrace each such opportunity instead of fearing it.

In other words: there really is nothing unusual or momentous about speaking in public. We’re always giving some kind of performance or other in our lives. Public speaking just gives us the opportunity to do it all with a bit more pizzazz!

Reveal Your True Self

One of the fascinating things about speaking in public is that it reveals so much about who we are as human beings. Even as a former actor, I would have to work ferociously hard to hide my true nature when I talk to people about something that really matters to me.

And if I did, all of my focus and concentration would be directed inward instead of where it needs to be: on keeping my audience actively engaged with my critical message.

The problem with being this comfortable with self-exposure occurs when we perceive a speaking situation as something “different” and intimidating. That’s when we become nervous and afraid; and in response, we slip on our presentation masks or don our invisible protective armor.

In other words—we temporarily become someone we really aren’t. And audiences sense it immediately.

We need to throw away the mask, to let our true self come through for our sake and our listeners’. We need, in other words, to remain vulnerable.

You may think that’s too hard a task to accomplish in front of other professionals and perhaps complete strangers. But the opposite is true. Being honest with an audience makes everything easier on both sides.

Hiding from who you really are is much harder work for you and your listeners.

 

Putting Public Speaking Fear Into Perspective

Speech anxiety can affect your personal and professional career. It also makes public speaking less fun! Also, of course, you may miss out on work opportunities, get less sleep, and be generally more unhappy with your speaking assignments.

All of us need to come to terms with our speech phobia. Here are some ideas on how you can do that.

Physical and Mental Effects

Many people suffer a physical response to public speaking fear. A heart that races, a shaking voice, excessive sweat, a mouth that's dry, and the belief that you'll forget what you want to say, are manifestations of what happens when speaking anxiety has established its grip on us.

Other mental effects include a dialogue we have with ourselves inside our head. When that happens, we have a hard time concentrating on our message. Some of the things we say to ourselves include the following:

“I'm not a good speaker.”

“My nervousness is visible.”

“I'm sure I'm going to forget my content.” And:

“This is so unpleasant, I want to get to the end as quickly as I can!”

Does any of this sound familiar?

Worst than that is just trying to avoid speaking in public altogether. That's a serious response because we then start to make choices that negatively affect our career.

Of course, some nervous is actual helpful. It gets us ready for the "big game," and lends energy to our speaking style since we're highly activated. It's only when that energy tips over into excessive activation that fear begins to rule the day. That's when we begin to think irrationally.

Put Your Public Speaking Fear Into Perspective

In such thinking, we imagine things that just aren't true. Our anxiety and nervousness doesn't mean, for instance, that our audience is judging us because of our reaction. Chances are your listeners don't even see how nervous you are!

Your performance isn't necessarily linked to your nervousness either. If just a few people in your audience are resistant to you, why not concentrate on speaking to all the other people who are either neutral or actually are listening?

We're always our worst enemy, but audience generally are on our side. They are there to listen, and are usually interested in what you're saying.

Public speaking fear may have you thinking negatively, but the real situation is almost always better than you think. So remember to put your public speaking fear into perspective.

Broadcasting Complete Confidence as a Speaker

Try this simple experiment: Stand and expel all the air from your lungs until they are completely empty. What did that action do to your posture?

You probably assumed a concave and “caved in” appearance, making you appear weak and irresolute. Now, slowly fill your lungs up to their full capacity. . . . Did that straighten you up? Do you feel more capable, prepared, and stronger? I bet you do — and I guarantee that’s how your audience will perceive you!

You just used breathing, posture, and stance to change your level of credibility and authority with an audience. Incredible, isn’t it?

Let’s talk some more about how the use of space, along with pacing, can affect your listeners’ perception of you as a speaker of consequence and power:

Commanding Space as a Speaker

As a presenter, you must not just occupy space, but control it. Most of us get too wrapped up in our content — and our nervousness — when we speak in public. If we think about physical performance at all, it’s to reflect how uncomfortable we are in front of all these people, and to wish we knew what to do with our hands and arms.

Yet powerful speakers go far beyond this elementary awareness of nonverbal communication. They understand how physical presence has a profound effect on our credibility and believability.

Speakers who “command space” in this way positively influence their listeners’ responses to them and their message. The more comfortable such speakers appear to be as they stand and move, the more audience members will identify with them. Conversely, of course, awkward speakers just make us feel awkward and a little embarrassed. And when we’re that uncomfortable with a speaker, we tend to resist the messages they’re offering us.

Good speakers, on the other hand, reach their level of comfort by occupying an appropriate amount of space. They strike a balance between diminishing their authority by folding in on themselves physically (crossing their legs or hands, holding their arms, hunching over), and gesticulating wildly or pacing back and forth like a caged animal (what I call “the motivational speaker syndrome”). They look natural to us in their performance space because they use that space appropriately and easily, without fearing it or using exaggerated energy.

You can experiment with what it feels like to stand and move powerfully as a presenter in this way: Pay attention to what it feels like for you physically when you’re doing something familiar and enjoyable. Commit those physical sensations to your muscle-memory. Now recreate them at will as you pretend you’re standing in front of an audience. You’ve just started the process of teaching your body to broadcast power, confidence, and enjoyment as a speaker.

Pacing Your Presentations

Just as we need to control how we occupy space, we must keep a firm grasp on time as an element of our presentations. On the most basic level, this means keeping to our agenda, so that we don’t lop off important parts of our talk because we’re up against the clock.

Here’s how ignoring that clock can bring you trouble: I once coached a partner and a vice president of a consulting firm, and then attended the conference the pair was speaking at. The partner (who presented first), couldn’t resist repeatedly going down the paths of questions that took him off his topic, until the time left for the vice president’s portion of their presentation had nearly vanished.

In my follow-up visit to their office after the conference, I kept a stern expression on my face as I walked into the partner’s office. From behind my back I produced a ruler, and said to him: “Hold out your hand.” He laughed and said, “I know, I know. I blew it.”

In your own practice sessions, get to know what 5, 20, and 40 minutes feel like in a speaking situation. And keep in mind that time is extremely subjective to a speaker — stretching out like salt water taffy or evaporating without warning — while remaining basically objective to audiences.

Finally, discover the joy of using pauses and silence. You may think these two tools are unnecessary stoppages thrown into the stream of your speech, but the opposite is true. Listeners need to take a “mental breath” now and again. It’s one of the ways you keep them attuned to what you’re saying. And of courses pauses are also necessary for your audience to absorb your most important points.

Let’s review: When you hold yourself and move with command, and show your listeners you know how to trust silence, you’ll be continually broadcasting confidence and authority. I for one would pay attention to a speaker like that.

(This article originally appeared in Dr. Gary Genard’s book How to Give a Speech, which is available at http://www.publicspeakinginternational.com/how-to-give-a-speech)

Visualize Your Own Success as a Speaker

If you have an important presentation coming up, it's natural for you to be worrying about it. But you shouldn't obsess about it! In fact, the more you dwell upon possible outcomes of your talk, the more likely you are to lead yourself into negative territory.

That's called a "self-fulfilling prophecy." 

Of course, thinking this way isn't going to do any good for your upcoming speech. So why not imagine positive outcomes instead of negative ones? Doing so is called practicing a "positive visualization."

I go a step further and label doing this a "Commanding Performance" (as in an award-winning movie).

This isn't a real movie, but a scenario you come up with in your head. Here's how you go about it:  You "see" the positive outcome of your speech or presentation beforehand. Then, when you deliver your actual speech, you're much more likely to end up with a beneficial experience rather than a negative one.

Simple, isn't it? Here are some more hints:

Be sure to include all the good things you imagine will occur when you speak: meeting your objectives, an audience that pays attention, people thinking of you the way you want them to, etc. (Since it's in your head, you have perfect license to do so!) Importantly, include how you feel about the situation. 

The amount of specifics you include is entirely up to you.

Here is a sample Commanding Performance I've created. The one you come up with will be entirely different, of course. Whatever the reality of your situation, try to make your "movie" as close to the real event as possible (given the details you know beforehand, that is).

 

Beyond Information: How to Connect with and Influence Audiences

Speeches and presentations offer uniquely rich opportunities to connect with and influence audiences. Every talk, pitch, lecture, or presentation is an occasion to change how people think, feel, and behave—or should be. Time and attention are extremely valuable commodities listeners spend in the hope that their investment will pay off handsomely. It’s our responsibility as speakers to meet that demand.

Yet too many of us approach presentations from a weak starting point, believing that our job is to convey information. Even presentations that aim to educate, however, are not primarily delivering information, but only using information to accomplish a purpose. We really should be out to change people’s thoughts and behavior, never simply regurgitating facts, reading bullet points aloud, or expounding upon data in brightly colored graphs. When we make this mistake and think in terms of merely delivering information, “content” becomes king. The chances then become very good that we’ll spend most of our preparation time collecting data of various kinds.

To achieve true influence, however, we must travel beyond information to connect with audiences on a deeper level of shared human experience. Speeches and presentations are like theatrical performances—for they embody a sense of community. The feeling engendered between speaker and audience of “working together toward a common solution” is far more likely to achieve the result the speaker is looking for, while at the same time serving the needs of listeners.

Rather than focusing on conveying content, then, use your presentations to create a bond of shared experience. This means using techniques that allow you to establish a strong rapport with your listeners. You should always be looking for ways to reduce the emotional distance between you and your audience.

This article outlines three ways to achieve this level of rapport, and to foster a sense of community with listeners. Something should change for the better when you speak. What follows are three ways to more fully connect with and move audiences, and in the process, find your own voice.

Think in Terms of “You,” Not “I”

What does this mean?

Buddhist philosophy reminds us that for all of us, life is hard, and so is public speaking. Self-consciousness and nervousness are common when we present to groups, and for some of us, the sensations rise to painful and even debilitating levels. It is easy to turn inward when we feel this way, wrapping ourselves in our own uncomfortable situation and giving in to negative self-talk and fear.

But living in such an “I” universe can quickly become a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure. If our energy is directed toward ourselves, we’ll have none left to give to our listeners—the very people we’re trying to influence. What audience wants to be mostly ignored by a speaker?

The key is to direct all of your energy and efforts—everything you have—to reaching and establishing a connection with your audience. This means not only eye contact, but paying careful attention to the nonverbal communication coming your way, and playing off what you see. Keep tightly focused on your line or argument, or take a different tack if you see your listeners are confused or uncertain. Speak to them directly, asking a question or soliciting some other response if you sense that your audience is becoming disengaged, is zoning out, or otherwise losing interest. When your chief concern is the benefit your audience is receiving from your talk, you’ll naturally sound like you’re interested in them, because you will be.

How do you do it?

• Direct all of your vocal and overall energy outward toward your audience, none of it inward toward yourself. Watch, watch, watch what’s happening with your listeners: Do they get it? Are their eyes locked with yours? Are they making the connections between what you’re saying and their own world? Do you need to verbally make that connection for them?
• Activate your listeners. Remind audience members that they are the be-all and the end-all of this presentation: they are the reason you are here! Your audience should realize that passive attendance is not possible during your presentations. You can mirror physically the responses that they should have, so they can get it and go along with you. Remove physical barriers (such as lecterns, tables, and overly formal seating arrangements) between you and your listeners, and get close to them. Visit all parts of the room if you can—and if you can’t, do it with your eyes and arm gestures that “reach out” and toward that part of your audience.
• Say it: Use the word “you” rather than “I”; and “we” if it means you (speaker) and the audience, not your company. Present your argument in terms of the audience’s experiences and understanding. They will hear the language of true interest for them and their needs.

What are the benefits?

The number one benefit is reaching your listeners where they live and breathe! If I’m an audience member and you talk about what concerns and interests me, I will hear it in everything you say and show me—and I will respond. Now I’m tuned into what you’re saying!

When you’re on the right wavelength of focusing on your listeners, you sound natural, and your voice reflects your true feelings. Self-consciousness (and self-love) have their own sounds, and they are not pleasant ones for audiences.

Reminding yourself of how you want to help people also gives you the perfect through-line of your talk. Your logic and evidence become intuitive and powerful. It all becomes easier: when you’re in the zone of total audience focus, it actually becomes hard to miss, because what emerges in your speech flows easily and unobstructed and is concerned with others rather than yourself.

Another great benefit is that you’ll be diminishing your self-focus and increasing your audience focus with every word. In the best instances, you’ll be like a magician who achieves your own “disappearing act,” in which you fully become the conduit to your message. Since that message is meant only for your listeners, you’ll be laying down a rock-solid path to audience influence.

Be Conversational

What does this mean?

Few good speakers think in terms of “giving a speech,” and no great speakers think so. The mark—one mark at least—of great speakers is that they all sound completely conversational, no matter the size of the audience. Think of it from the audience’s point of view: Presentations (with a capital “P”) are rarely interesting; but a person of knowledge and passion talking to us about their area of expertise can be fascinating.

We have evolved as a species to talk to one another person-to-person or in small groups—think about our ancestors sitting around a camp fire, telling the story of the hunt. Public speaking to large audiences is a much more artificial situation. We naturally develop self-consciousness when speaking to crowds, stiffening up and becoming more formal in our delivery. It’s not a successful survival strategy, and it definitely undermines our ability to connect with listeners and tell an interesting story.

Staying conversational, on the other hand, means we remain in touch with a natural style of speaking that sounds effortless. Imagine you’re talking to a close group of friends about the terrific movie you just saw, or the fascinating person you just went out with on a date. Your entire presentation persona—your facial expressions and eye contact, movement and gestures, vocal coloration and every other aspect of your delivery—will naturally project what you’re thinking and feeling. You’ll come through honestly as yourself, not as someone trying to “be good” in a formal presentation.

This is conversationality, and it’s a world apart from the one-way blast of information that many of us subject our audiences to. Listeners can relate to us—and to the story we’re telling—when we just talk to them about a mutually interesting subject. We are at our honest best, and the audience responds easily, since no layer of formal presentation intrudes.

All of this is to say that the best speakers don’t sound any different in front of an audience, than they do when talking to a single person in an interpersonal conversation. The secret, of course, is that it’s still a conversation, even with a larger group of people.

How do you do it?

• Make eye contact. The eyes truly are the windows of the soul, and we connect with listeners intimately when we share this personal connection. Some speakers don’t like making eye contact with listeners because then they “lose their train of thought.” To which I reply, “Who is easier to convince, another human being or the back wall?”
• Let your voice “go all over the place.” Although this advice sounds slightly silly, I mean it: This is exactly what your voice does when you’re talking to that group of friends about that exciting movie or date. Release your voice from the confines of an “excellent” presentation. It isn’t excellence you’re aiming for (because that’s impossible to achieve by aiming directly at it); it’s connecting with your listeners. Don’t hold yourself in vocally, as many people do in professional communication. In particular, use the upper reaches of your pitch. We usually indicate something important by both emphasizing and raising our pitch on a word or phrase. Doing so gives your voice the “peaks and valleys” of conversation that perk up the ears of listeners.
• Tell stories. Call them evidence or testimonials or supporting material if you like, but always be conscious of the humanity involved in your talking points. Concepts, principles, and theories are fine, but they must be enlivened with the human element to make your conversation come alive. Stories accomplish that spectacularly.

What are the benefits?

People are always persuaded by genuineness and lack of artifice. Lincoln had it right when he gave his opinion about fooling some of the people all of the time, or all of the people some of the time. In public speaking, some people will be hoodwinked by a dazzling performance with little soul . . . but only for a while. Eventually, they’re figure out whether a speaker is talking to them from the heart, or simply giving a command performance. The sound of someone’s real voice—the conversation we have with them—is always the best indicator of their honesty and forthrightness. Even with con artists, sooner or later we figure out whether we’re hearing their real voice, or only a shallow and cynical substitute.

Appropriate pacing is also easiest to achieve when we “talk” rather than “give a speech.” One of the drawbacks to formal presentations is an ironing-out effect, in which the natural ups-and-downs of our speech are steamrolled away in our desire to be good and sufficiently professional. The real professionals don’t have to achieve any particular effect, however, except their own voice. If you know what you’re talking about, you don’t have to do anything except open your mouth and, well, talk about it.

Most important of all, you’ll look and sound like yourself if you focus on having a conversation with your audience. There is never a need to be as good as that excellent speaker you heard recently, or to be “better than you usually are” because this speaking situation is so important. You have been given this speaking assignment for a reason: You’re the only person who can give this talk in this way. That’s exactly who your audience needs and expects. The best way to give them what they need is to sound like yourself—the person they really want to hear.

Have a Discussion with Your Listeners

What does this mean?

Earlier in this article, I mentioned that speeches and presentations are a form of community: we bond with audiences and them with us as speaker, and we share an experience. If we’re speaking well, the audience and we reach an end together, arriving at our destination of shared knowledge and influence at the same time.

These facts are true because, in a sense, we are mutually solving problems when we present to audiences. Think of the way we typically approach a challenge as a group, from a neighborhood committee to a legislature: we get together and discuss the issues and possible solutions. Every speech or presentation embodies the same challenge: How can we as a group change our thoughts, feelings, or actions about this situation, so that a positive outcome emerges from this encounter between speaker and audience?

Talking at listeners certainly won’t get us anywhere! Yet how many presentations have that feeling about them: a one-way monologue in which audiences are expected to be passive and to soak up a constant stream of information aimed their way? Who can benefit from such a dynamic? And who in the world would be interested in hearing such a talk?

Yet day after day, in every industry or endeavor, presenters subject audiences to performances that hardly acknowledge them as partners in a topic of mutual interest. How much more successful we will be by giving listeners the impression that together we are confronting a matter of concern and importance.

Naturally, in any discussion the participants need to be engaged and heard from. And this is a critical part of going beyond information to connect with and influence listeners: We must consciously think of ways to engage audiences when we speak to them.

Remember the cliché of brilliant professors who haven’t a clue as to how to reach college audiences. That story reminds us that the possession of knowledge is useless if the hearts and minds of listeners aren’t sufficiently engaged to receive it.

How do you do it?

• Don’t let your audience be passive! “Discussion” means just that: Invite responses if the size of your audience and your subject matter permit it. If not, “touch” your audience frequently, by reminding them how the point you’re making applies in their world. “You’ve all seen this in action”; “Your team deals with this all the time with customers”; and “Paula reminded me before we started today that this was something we should cover”—remarks like these constantly bring your listeners back into the discussion, where they belong.
• Think in terms of talking with groups the same way you do with individuals, coming down from the heights of formalized presentations to a more relaxed and spontaneous approach. Just because people are gathered in a group doesn’t mean that our interaction with them should change. The more we think in terms of giving a prepared set-piece of a presentation, the more we’ll be divorcing ourselves from the time and the moment and the people in the room with us.
• Ask small questions. Whenever we ask a question—rhetorical or otherwise—each individual in our audience responds the same way: by getting ready to answer that question. Tossing questions to an audience is a sure-fire way to remind them that they’re part of this discussion, not passive pseudo-participants. “You know what I mean, don’t you?” “Haven’t you experienced this in sales calls?” “Let’s discuss that last point, shall we?” “Everybody with me so far?” Ask small questions like these to set up participation. Okay?
• Relish the story of each main point before you go on to the next. Don’t let this rich material fly by, especially if you’re feeling anxious and want to get this presentation over as soon as possible. As an example to illustrate this point: When we attend amateur theatrical productions and are bored with what we’re seeing, it’s not because the actors are dragging out scenes—it’s because they’re not taking enough time. We easily sense the superficiality of the performance, and we prefer a deeper involvement on their part. When you as speaker spend sufficient time on your stories, each of your main points will be like a different song on a CD, or a single gem in a beautiful necklace.

What are the benefits?

Rehearsed presentations can easily acquire a “canned” quality; but discussions usually sound fresh because we never know who’s going to say what, or when. When we have a discussion with our listeners, we mimic this dynamic because we are in the moment. We are present, discussing things with real people, in real time. A worthwhile discussion has the sense of variety, and a back-and-forth quality that draws people in. Yes, speeches consist of mostly verbal contributions by the speaker and nonverbal ones from the audience. But if you can create the sense of a discussion as I’ve talked about above, your presentation will be more immediate and involving for your audience and their interest will soar.

Finally, it’s much easier to bring your true voice into play when you’re concentrating on talking to a person rather than a crowd, i.e., having a discussion. By “voice” I mean not so much your actual speaking voice—though that’s of great importance, of course. I mean your presentation persona, including your ability to talk to audiences with immediacy and presence.

Remind yourself of the great opportunity you have to discuss something of importance with these people. Chances are you’ll hardly be able to wait to begin, and when you do, your audience will relish every moment.

How to Be a Powerful Speaker

It's easier than you think to be a powerful speaker.

Speaking powerfully matters greatly, of course, in the professional world. Even though you may possess great expertise, you'll be judged on your speaking skills if in fact you're involved in public speaking.

That's to say, in your audience's mind the message and you will be the same! That's good news--otherwise you could just stay home and email your presentation to everyone.

It's helpful, therefore, to think of yourself as a performer as well as a communicator. That's the person who has thought carefully about how to be a dynamic speaker; and of course, that's the person audiences will most enjoy listening to.

Below are three specific areas of "performing" as a speaker that you should also keep in mind:

1. Your Competence. It's not enough to be an expert--you have to let listeners know about that expertise.  If audiences understand your level of knowledge and experience, they will simply trust you more. If you trust in your ability to get your passion across to others, it will in fact come across! Every one of us is at his or her best when we talk about something that matters to us deeply. But audiences can't figure that out through osmosis. They need you to tell them, in effect, that you're worth listening to.

2. Establishing Rapport. Let audiences know that you share their values. People tend not to warm up to speakers who they think are vastly different from themselves. When you can, let your audiences know that you share common experiences or values with them.

3. Delivery Skills. Every audience will be judging you--whether you like it or not, and whether they know they're doing it or not. They will have preconceptions, which you will reinforce or contradict by how you look, sound, and behave. It just makes sense, then, that you demonstrate that your skill in speaking to others equals your knowledge and value system. When you speak dynamically, it's much easier for any audience to think of you as a powerful speaker. That's a simple concept, but it's absolutely true.

Audiences, then, are looking for a speaker who is credible, confident, and committed. Combine those qualities with an an energetic delivery, and you’ll be well on your way to gaining a reputation as a powerful speaker.

Great Speaking? – It's About Performance Over Content

Are you married to your content instead of your true love, your audience? Too many public speakers are guilty of this crime of passion. To be in love with your information instead of your listeners is to ruin the marriage of content and influence that makes any presentation a success.

Like many hopeless lovers, speakers can be too easily dazzled by the obvious and the pretty: the selling points and bullet points that they’ve tenderly selected for their presentation. “But this is a labor of love,” we can hear them saying. – “This proposal is exactly the way I want it to come out!”

But audiences don’t want perfect information delivery. They want a meaningful relationship with the speaker, and ideally, a positive outcome from the encounter. Regurgitating information in the face of this need is simply an embarrassment. We need to move listeners when we speak. Yes, our content is part of that equation. But there’s infinitely more needed in terms of rapport and emotional connections than can be supplied by our PowerPoint slides.

Think of it this way (and this distinction is critically important if you speak in public): A speech or presentation is a shared experience, a small example of community, in which you and your listeners make an interesting journey together.

You need to prepare for that journey by thinking about how to project such a relationship. When you spend all your time sharpening your information recital, you’re leaving that relationship up to chance. Doesn’t this sound like a recipe for disaster? After a certain point, in other words, you must forget about gathering and shaping content, and begin to rehearse your performance.

Here’s a simple formula to keep in mind: Rather than spend 100% of your time amassing content and 0% time (or close to that) practicing, make the ratio something like this:

40% creating content, 60% practicing

This sounds radical to you, doesn’t it? But remember this: You are already extremely strong on your content. It’s the reason you were hired for this position; that you spend every business day working on these issues; that you’ve been selected to make this presentation, in fact. Whether you’re aware of it, you already have content coming out of your ears!

What you don’t have if you’re a typical speaker is a maximum level of comfort on your feet, and a knack for conversing with audiences as if that’s the most natural thing in the world. You’re up there to give an oral performance, for goodness sake, not to recite facts and figures like a recorded voice on a GPS!

Strengthen the area where you’re probably weakest. Your strengths won’t disappear in the process.

Spend quality practice time—and a quantity of it as well—learning to be comfortable with audiences. Stand and move in space. Try out gestures. Solidify your eye contact. Use stories and illustrations to give your concepts a human dimension. Sometimes those stories will come to you on the spur of the moment. Use them! Develop your ear to the point where the casual conversational you (the interesting-sounding one) sounds no different from your presentation persona.

The more comfortable you are talking to people, the more you’ll feel like yourself saying the things you’re passionate about. In no time at all, you’ll find yourself loving your audience instead of your content.

Guess how your audience will respond.

The Successful Candidate: Using Speeches to Gain Voters' Trust

In politics, every voter looks for a candidate in whom he or she can believe. And candidates can win voters’ trust in many ways, some of which have more to do with whom the voter is than the candidate.

One principle always hold true, however: every constituent must be convinced that he or she is seeing a real person on the stump. You may make the ballot through political insider skills, but what voters want is someone who shares their values. Your "pitch," in other words, is yourself.

This article outlines three simple rules for building such trust with voters through speeches.  These are the communication skills that lead to effective communication in the political arena. These rules should be easy to follow, because they involve simple but powerful techniques of effective public speaking.

1. Establish a dialogue with listeners

Did you know that we transmit 55 percent of our message through body language and other visual clues, 38 percent from vocal quality, and only 7 percent from content?  Obviously, good presentation skills are essential for any persuasive speech.

All this means that 93 percent of what’s getting through to the voter has everything to do with how you look and sound! It even works on camera in media training. 

I saw this in action in debate prep sessions in the political campaign of state Rep. Martha Fuller Clark (D–NH), running for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District. Clark’s closing statement just wasn’t catching fire. I advised bringing some physical gestures to her remarks.  She repeated the speech, this time pointing with her index finger every time she said, “I will always... ” The difference in her effectiveness was dramatic.

2. Reveal who you are

This advice may seem to contradict traditional political wisdom. But think about the people you really trust. Do they seem to be hiding their true motives? Wearing a mask? Pretending to be someone they’re not? Constituents will only believe in a political candidate if they think they’re seeing the real thing on stage or in front of the camera.

You already possess the ideal vehicle for delivering this side of yourself to voters: the sound of your voice. When you commit fully to the truth of what you’re saying, listeners will hear it immediately. Now you’ll be using persuasive techniques to convince voters, not simply delivering a good speech.

3. Connect your voice to your emotions

No political strategy is more valuable than this. The best storytelling technique is to let your voice reflect your feelings about the things that matter to you and your constituents. Allowing your vocal style to reflect your emotions should be one of your strongest attributes as a candidate.

One of my clients, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R–Alaska), introduced a bill on the Senate floor concerning the salmon fishery. The legislation would make an enormous difference to her constituents, and Murkowski clearly felt strongly about its passage. Yet her speech couldn’t sound like “mere” policy—it had to reflect the senator’s deep personal commitment to the legislation. And that’s what we worked on in her delivery.

So how do you achieve this level of vocal expressiveness? Begin by listening to yourself on a tape recorder. Are you expressive or do you speak in a monotone? Do you hear “peaks and valleys” of pitch inflection, so listeners will stayed tuned?  These are critical techniques of nonverbal communication--the kind that convinces audiences!

The longer your speech, the more important such vocal variety becomes. Otherwise audiences lose their attentiveness. What good is it to speak on issues you really care about if your vocal style is turning voters in another direction?

Anecdotes and stories are ideal for achieving such vocal variety. But they must have a different flavor from policy issues in the same speech. That’s the strategy I used with U.S. Rep. Mike Capuano (D–Mass.), who tells a wonderful story about a sailing trip in which the Coast Guard offered unanticipated but very welcome assistance.

To build trust with constituents and win elections, then, reveal yourself and your passion through your voice. Politicians have sought votes using this formula for ages. As an effective tool of elections, it’s never changed. As always, it comes down to showing people that they are the reason you’re running for office.

Death of a Conscience: Rep. Weiner’s “Naughty Tweets” Press Conference

The words said, “I am deeply sorry.” But the media and millions of online and television viewers heard: “My feet are to the fire. Let me say what I have to say and get out of here as quickly as I can.”

Rep. Anthony Weiner’s “Naughty Tweets” press conference yesterday was the latest installment in Washington’s sexual follies. This performance was long on media-inspired mea culpas, however, but short on sincerity. We knew that by the voice of the speaker, or rather, we never heard his voice at all.

The Pack Was Left Hungry

The leading actor in yesterday’s drama was late in arriving, and the reporters could only roam the room restlessly, murmuring. When the sacrificial lamb approached the stage, they followed hungrily, in a pack. But what they found was lean fare, and unsatisfying.

In all speeches and presentations, visuals and vocals dominate. What audiences see and hear reveals practically everything they need to know about who you are as a speaker and how you feel about yourself and your topic. Yesterday, Mr. Weiner gave all of us virtually nothing to see. He read from notes, hardly glancing up at his listeners, without any facial expression. There was no visual component to give his presentation life.

Words, Words, Words

In Hamlet, Polonius asks: “What do you read, my lord?” Hamlet, feigning madness, answers: “Words, words, words.”

Like the troubled prince, Rep. Weiner gave us nothing else. Reading emotionlessly from a manuscript, he left his audience without anyone actually talking to them.

The expressions were standard-issue: merely correct phrases, hollowly spoken: “inappropriate conversations,” “explicit nature,” “sadly,” “I haven’t told the truth.” And even more noticeably empty of emotion: “I’m deeply sorry,” “I apologize,” “deeply ashamed,” and “my terrible judgment and actions.”

The more we read on stage, the less we say. And relating more strongly to a manuscript than an audience will never bring us sympathy. When we lead with our voice rather than our script, however, allowing our feelings to emerge as we speak slowly and meaningfully—when we speak from the heart—an audience will respond with genuine feeling and, sometimes, with affection.

189 Words Sounds like a Lie

Would you race through a written statement if you had something heartfelt to say to loved ones you had let down? Apart from Mr. Weiner’s expressionless delivery, his pace let us hear his lack of sincerity.

To place his performance in context, I compared his speaking rate (i.e., words per minute) with four other prominent Democratic speakers: Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Barack Obama, and Barney Frank. I included Mr. Frank specifically because he is a conspicuously rapid speaker.

The average American speaks at 120 to 180 words per minute. Here are the speech rates for the politicians I compared to Rep. Weiner:

• Harry Truman (“Lobster Speech”): 145 words per minute
• John F. Kennedy (April 21, 1961 press conference): 116 words per minute
• Barack Obama (December 7, 2010 press conference): 149 words per minute
• Barney Frank (January 9, 2009 press conference): 193 words per minute

And Rep. Weiner’s speech rate at his Naughty Tweets press conference? -- 189 words per minute. I also compared this rate with an earlier speech of Mr. Weiner’s on the House floor (“Weiner rips Republican Party“), and found a speech rate of 169 words per minute.

Speech rate alone does not determine truthfulness or sincerity. But racing through a confessional speech at a clip that exceeds the national norm is odd, to say the least. Without pauses to indicate reflection, or to allow your deep emotional commitment to sink in; with only the shallow cadences of someone reading a script, an apology will sound perfunctory and hollow. Such was the case with Rep. Weiner, who allowed words on a page to smother his conscience.

General McChrystal’s Lesson in Dealing with Print Reporters

When the news broke that Gen. Stanley McChrystal was being fired by President Obama, I was conducting training at the U.S. State Department on how to deal with the media. My yearly Media Training course is for senior-level diplomats at our embassies and consulates abroad. The two-day course covers aspects of appearing effectively in the media, as well as handling oneself in the face of reporters’ ploys and tactics.

On Day Two, I discuss the differences between television, radio, and print journalism. I also point out the unique perils of speaking to newspaper and magazine reporters. It was at precisely this point in the workshop that the McChrystal news broke.

What a teaching opportunity!

Adding to the relevance of the breaking story was the fact that two of the workshop participants were posted to the Middle East-Southwest Asia region. These are diplomats for whom events in Afghanistan have a direct and immediate impact.

So what is the lesson I teach regarding handling oneself with a print reporter? There are three critical concerns:

Print Media Have Time to Burn (You)

Print reporters usually have more time to spend with sources than T.V. and radio journalists. Broadcast deadlines are relentless and fixed: If the news breaks today, then the story must be fully in place for the six o’clock news, the on-the-hour radio broadcast, the signature political show on cable, or the Sunday morning talk shows. The 24-hour news cycle is voracious. It demands tasty tidbits and the freshest ingredients for its entrees, and it will not hesitate to suction all such fodder into its maw.

Newspapers and magazines create banquets with slower-cooked, richer dishes. Print journalists often have the time to conduct research on their subject or interviewee. They may be part of a “spotlight” or investigative team that works months on a story. Since they don’t face La Broadcast Dame sans Merci, print reporters can often afford time to educate themselves on a story—and subsequently may question their sources more knowledgeably and precisely.

Print Reporters Can Hang (You)

Here, perhaps, lies the greatest danger for sources, as Gen. McChrystal and his subordinates learned to their sorrow. Because their stories are often more in-depth than those on television, radio, or online, print journalists have fewer restrictions on the amount of time they can spend with sources. They can hang. The Rolling Stone reporter who wrote the McChrystal article, for instance, spent parts of an entire month with the general and his staff.

When reporters and their sources hang out together, they don’t spend all of their time in hard-backed chairs in an office, or folding stools in a military tent. There will be lunches and dinners; time spent chatting in local watering holes, remarks made while waiting for taxis or drivers to arrive.

The Game (You) Is Played Differently

We naturally trust people more if we spend a lot of time with them. But print journalists have the added advantage of disguise! Television and radio personalities constantly remind us who they are visually: They bring with them camera operators, sound technicians, boom microphones, recording equipment and sound booths, and most obvious of all, broadcast trucks.

The print reporter carries a humble notebook, or nothing at all. No “on” or “off” switch reminds us when the recording stops. It is when the sit-down interview ends, in fact, that the source is at greatest peril. Unless one requests a ground rule of “off the record” at this or any other time, and it is accepted by the reporter, you must assume that the interview is still going on.

It is often when the reporter and source have strolled out of the interview room and are chatting of other things, that the unguarded remark that should never have been uttered is expressed.

Jimmy Carter may have lusted in his heart for other women and left the rest of us blissfully unaware of the fact, but he volunteered the information to a Playboy reporter after their interview was “over” and the reporter was leaving the Carters’ home.

As famed media adviser Roger Ailes reminds us, “Recognize that any time you are in the presence of a newsperson, the conversation is fair game for the record.”

Wouldn’t you agree, Gen. McChrystal?