Take Notes! (To Your Presentation)

One class I teach lasts four days and has two textbooks with a total of over 600 pages.  At the end of the class there is a 25-question post-test.  We prep all week for the test, but it is open book.  I'll bet you can guess what happens on the last day.  That's right.  A few of the students don't study so they try to find the answer to every question somewhere in the two books, while the majority of the class sits and waits for them to finish.  Do they pass?  Usually, but it's a painful process.

This happens because they rely too much on the pages in front of them.  Don't make the same mistake when you speak.  Take your notes with you as a last resort and a prop.  I like to write out a thesis sentence at the top of a 4x6" card in Sharpie, then write the keyword from each of my main points below, and finish with a sentence from my conclusion at the bottom.  This gives me just one card to carry with big letters I can read even if my glasses are smudged.  I sometimes prop this on something near me and the audience does not even know I have it.  Once in a while I will take my glasses off while turning to face the other side of the auditorium, and I can still glance at the card long enough to remind myself of my next point.

Here is my recommended way to use notes:  Make sure you know your material, then boil it down to a few notes you can read with a quick glance.  Even if you do forget a bit of your speech, you want create a long pause trying to find your place in copious notes.  This kind of confusion only creates more stress for you, and makes your presentation seem choppy or disjointed.  There is no substitute for knowing your material, but notes that are ready to move you along are a great confidence booster.

Release Your Mind from Unrealistic Goals

I hope this is one of the first posts you read when you come to my blog.  I am going to give you all types of guidance, knowledge, tips, and tricks that will help you grow your confidence but believe with all my heart that if you start out by thinking along the right lines you will hit the ground running.

In my experience, which includes teaching speech to hundreds of adult learners, the idea most people have is that speaking involves writing out a presentation word-for-word, memorizing it, and then delivering it almost verbatim.  If this is what you think you need to do you may be anxious as well. What I want to do here is outline a different approach. My goal is to lift a lot of that burden right off your shoulders.

The first notion you should let go of is the goal of giving a word-perfect delivery of some written out message.  The longest part of you speech should be a conversational delivery of your main points. If you plan on conveying meaning rather than memorized text you will be more relaxed, sound more relaxed, and connect more fully with your audience.  You will also be able to practice your speech in more ways.

For a minute let’s pretend that you have a great plan in place for your introduction and conclusion.  All you need to do is make sure you are ready to present your main points. You will need to practice the entire body of you speech, but you can get extra practice in by reviewing your main points quickly when you are not tied to a specific wording.

One of the problems of memorizing a speech and delivering it exactly as written is the fact that often if you lose your place you will have a hard time picking up again.  You will listen to yourself, counting on each sentence to remind you of the next. This is not a good way to calm your nerves. If you rely on a few sentences to carry a meaning you can build around then you simply have to track “I’m on my second point”.  Let’s look at how simple this approach can make your plan. Imagine that you will be giving a talk to persuade your listeners to avoid smoking. You might gather statistics, definitions of health conditions, anecdotes of people who have enjoyed quitting, and other support.  But you could boil down your message to three sentences as main points:

You should quit smoking for your health.

You should quit smoking for the health of those you love.

You should quit smoking to save money.

That’s a pretty easy bit to memorize.  These points should be enough to get you going.  Obviously if you have gathered facts about the health risks of smoking you will know to mention them with the first point, and statistics on the costs of smoking would go with the third.  You see how a strong simple structure like this can hold things together in your mind.

I’m not done simplifying yet.  Notice that all three of those points have similar wording.  You could just say “You should quit smoking to save your health, family, and budget,” making the three points into keywords.  The secret to making this work is to know something about your subject, so that anyone of these sentences reminds you of the things you know.

Do you see what freedom this brings you?  Imagine that you are disagreeing with a friend about which restaurant to buy lunch at.  You would make the point “I don’t want to eat at Bleccho’s, the last time I got sick.” If your friend persists you could and “And besides, they’re too expensive.”  All stuff you already knew, brought to mind as needed by the situation. There is really just a short leap from this little argument to a short persuasive speech. A third friend comes along and wants to know that you are discussing.  Now you do give a short speech. It goes like this:

“We are trying to decide where to eat.  She wants to go to Bleccho’s but I don’t.  I got sick there last time and couldn’t eat anything else for three days. And it costs way too much.  I spent fifteen dollar there last time for a sandwich with some chips. I think we should go to Fumigan’s.”

You are already fully capable of giving speeches about things you really understand and care about.  Keep this in mind as you prepare. Hold yourself to some good standards as you prepare, just make sure they are the right standards.

In-depth Resource

Let me start off by saying that I am an not Amazon Associate.

This is a book that was sent to me for review by the publisher when I was teaching communication at a private college, and I was able to compare this text to others.

Speak Up! has gone through several editions.  It is conversational in style, with many line drawings as illustrations and examples.  There is a lot to learn from the illustrations alone.  I found myself drifting from one to the next and picking up concepts quickly.  Yes, It is easy to read, but does go in depth into technical details.  If you would like to get into the technical details of speaking with a book that is clear, this is the one.

Speak Up! contains a lot of practical material, and if you want to buy just one book on speaking then move on to other things, this is the one.

The Sweaty Palms

It's your turn. You couldn't get out of this. You've been asked to speak, or show everyone that card trick you learned at home, or report to the executives on the status of your project. You don't like it. You're not alone. I've had college students finish a speech and rush out of the classroom to throw up somewhere more convenient. There are two things that help alleviate most of this fear, and the students who overcome their fear will attest to these methods. 

 First, prepare. Yes, I know there is a website filled with fair-to-good advice that advocates minimal preparation, but this is a bad idea for most speakers. When you really know your material cold you will be able to deliver in a much more natural manner. You won't spend your mental energy on recall, but on expression. When you think you have your points memorized you are ready to start another level of rehearsal. You can reach the stage where your main points are as easy to recall as your name, address, and phone number. This will create confidence for you and release you to began experimenting with your delivery style. What freedom! 

 The second point is one I haven't seen on websites or in textbooks, but it's a key strategy. Make sure your focus is on your audience. Let's say you are standing up in front of a group to explain to them the importance of a healthy diet. Is it important that you speak flawlessly? The priority is the health of your listeners, right? You have valuable information for them. If wearing a silly hat with carrots and tomatoes all over it would convince them to eat more vegetables wouldn't you do it? So stop worrying about how you are percieved and focus on the needs of your listeners. If you are truly prepared, this change of focus can quickly calm you down. As an untalented, untrained choir member who has had to sing solos in nursing homes before I can vouch for this approach. Yes, there are other items that will help you overcome your fear of standing up in front of a group, but these two are the most basic, and the best starting point.