At its core, for effective public speaking to take place, seven elements need to be considered:
1. The speaker
That, of course, is you! One downside of technology is the minute we say the word "presentation," everyone hauls out their slide deck. But Powerpoint is not the content — you are.
2. The message
A coaching colleague once challenged me, stating, “If you can’t define it in a single sentence, it isn’t clear enough.” She was right. Although public speaking often contains many messages, you must be clear up front about the one topic that brackets them all. What do you want your audience to take away from your time together?
3. The audience
This is the most vital of our elements (next to you, of course). Do some audience research beforehand to determine if there is a common audience ‘type. This will help you tailor your message. For example, speaking to young prospective employees requires a far different approach than a positioning pitch to a mature client board.
4. The channel
In the presentation coaching of the past, we focused on body language and non-verbal cues. The goal was to ensure that what we were saying aligned with what our body was saying. Today, we are often meeting virtually or presenting from a seated position. The challenge, now, is to allow our tone, our pitch, volume and facial gestures to tell the story of our presentation.
When we are physically present, our posture and gestures add to the mix. Visual aids can be part of the mix, too. They should complement the message, rather than dominate it.
5. Feedback
Communication has not taken place until the feedback loop has been completed. Feedback may be gauged by the questions one receives or perhaps a side conversation with an audience member after the session.
Nonverbal cues, however, are present from the outset of a presentation. From the eye contact of an audience member, to shuffling in the seat, or a frown on an audience member’s face, an in-person audience is rich with in-the-moment feedback.
6. Noise
Temperature, lighting, sounds, or poor acoustics are all referred to as external noise in our speaking environment. I have often been distracted by the ringing of a cell phone, someone scrolling through email, or a conferencing facility that did not allow me to see the eyes of my audience.
Internal noise, on the other hand, refers to confused messaging or a lack of clarity in what the speaker is trying to convey.
7. Place
When preparing for a high stakes presentation or proposal pitch, it is always advisable to scout out the venue beforehand to allow for optimal positioning and comfort. Encountering a data projector without the necessary connections or an audio system that doesn’t support the video you wished to stream is always nerve-wracking — and no fun to find out just before a presentation.
