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I was at a wedding last summer in the mountains of Colorado.
During the rehearsal dinner, a friend of the groom named
Matt got up to make a toast. He talked about when he and
John (the groom) first met in college and the kinds of asinine
conversations they used to have. They would adamantly debate,
over a bevvie of Coors Lights, whether a grizzly
bear could beat up a polar bear, how long it would
take them to chew a slice of bread or how much money they
would need to be paid to eat a bowl of live cockroaches.
He then told the guffawing audience how his friend changed
when he met the bride, Karen. How he had matured, developed
a bit of culture and even, if you looked closely, showed
signs of emotion from time to time. The toast literally
made us laugh and cry, and the speaker did so in
a way that was comfortable, entertaining and meaningful at
the same time.
Always intrigued by good speakers, I went
up to him after the dinner and asked him how he got to be
so good. He told me that he used to be terrified of speaking
and had, in fact, given up promotions at work because it
would have meant an occasional presentation. He finally had
enough of this and decided it was time to develop his speaking
skills. He took classes in public speaking, read books and
joined a Toastmasters club to practice. And sure enough, his
speaking steadily improved to the point where he
could give such a stirring and entertaining toast.
If you're like Matt and hate to speak in front of
groups or simply want to improve your skills, there's
good news for you. Public speaking, like so many
other skills, is learnable. In the same way that one must
study a foreign language and then practice it to be proficient,
one must learn how to public speak and then practice it
to make it stick.
By some evolutionary mishap, I came out one of those people
that enjoy speaking before groups, and I now help clients
develop this skill for a living. I work with companies like Merrill Lynch, Adobe, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Kaiser
Permanente and Levi Strauss & Co. to help executives deliver outstanding presentations.
The articles on this site will help you learn such skills as:
- The Mental Challenges of Public Speaking
- Personally Connecting with Your Listeners
- Dealing with Your Nervousness
- The Power of the Eyes
- Effective Body language: What to do
with your hands, stance and movement when speaking
- Using Your Optimal Speaking Voice and
Avoiding Verbal Crutches
- Keeping People Interested by Using Quotes, Jokes
and Anecdotes
- Practice, Practice, Practice
- What To Do and Not To Do With Visual Aids (PowerPoint,
flipcharts, handouts, etc.)
- What People Remember Most: Opening and Closing
- Skillfully Handling Q & A Sessions
There are three keys to developing your skills as
a speaker:
 1.
Knowing how to present
2.
Knowing how you currently present
3.
Practicing
These articles will help you with #1. It's up to you to
work on #s 2 & 3. So if you want to learn to
give a toast like Matt, deliver a strong
group presentation or simply be able to stand
up at a meeting and express your ideas, keep reading.
Good luck, and good speaking.
Robert Graham
Robert Graham is the Principal of GrahamComm (www.grahamcomm.net), a consulting and training company that helps clients increase their sales and deliver outstanding presentations. He can be reached at 415-652-0763 or Robert@grahamcomm.net.
Re-Print Conditions
We offer this article on a nonexclusive basis. You may reprint or repost this material as long as Robert Graham’s name and contact information is included. Robert@grahamcomm.net, 415-652-0763, www.grahamcomm.net.
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