6 do's and don'ts of public speaking

By Steve Strauss

Q: Steve - I hate making presentations in front of people, but I have to. I saw you recently and thought you were a pretty darn good speaker. What's the secret? -- Tiffany

A: Well, first, thank you for the kind words.

It is true that giving presentations is just naturally easier for some people than others. For instance, one of my daughters is a ham who loves to be in front of an audience while the other hates even the thought of public speaking. Most people fall somewhere in the middle.

That said, it is also true that giving a good presentation is a skill that almost anyone can learn.

So here are my top six presentation dos and don'ts:

Do: Be yourself: Actually, you want to be your best self. Let your personality come through. Share something real about yourself, either in words or delivery, that you connect to people. When you connect with people, you make a difference.

Too often, people giving business presentations think they need to act or speak in a certain way, a stiff way. That's a mistake. Of course you must be professional, that is a given, but just remember: Professional is not the same as boring.

Do: Try to be like George Carlin: No, I am not saying you need to be funny like him; very few of us could even attempt that. Rather, you want to be as polished and well-rehearsed as he was.

How could he remember those long, wordy bits of his, line for line? The same way he got to Carnegie Hall—practice. That is what you must do, too.

You must think through your presentation, write it and rewrite it, and then practice it some more. No, you don't want to sound rote, but you do want to be overly-prepared.

Being more than ready serves two functions. First, it will help ease your jitters. Second, it will enable you to give a superior talk.

Which brings us to our first don't.

Don't: Use slides with too much info: The rookie mistake, and the one far too many amateur speakers make, is that they fall into the trap of simply reading their slides.

Doing so will put your audience to sleep.

Beyond that, your slides should accentuate your talk. They are not supposed to be the talk. Remember this too:

Too much information on a slide allows people to tune out

Not everyone learns by reading. I recently reviewed a great book called Brain Rules: What Every Presenter Needs to Know. There are tons of good takeaways from the book, but a key one is this: Visuals (pictures) are often a better use of PowerPoint space than anything else.

Do: Remember it's about the audience, not you: Having slides that people can easily comprehend is just part of a larger issue. Your speech should not be used to reveal how smart you are, how much you know, your great vocabulary, or how incredibly funny you are.

Your speech is your moment to teach the audience something new. Help them understand a concept, etc. If your commitment is more about that than proving yourself, if it is more about them than you, they will get how talented you are.

Do: Have something unique to say: People do not have to sit through your presentation to learn what it is you are speaking about. They can read about it. They can search for it online.

Sure, they may have to attend your presentation, but you will make it a memorable experience if you offer insights and tips that they otherwise would not know. Maybe it's a fact that contravenes conventional wisdom, or an unusual quote, or even better – a personal story you tell. Whatever it is, make it unique.

Don't: Fall in love with the sound of your own voice: Droning on too long, or even speaking powerfully too long is just plain wrong. Respect your audience. Notice their cues. In the immortal words of Bobby Womack: "Leave them wanting more and you know they'll call you back."

And if you will excuse the shameless plug, if you need a speaker, you might want to check me out.