Are you ready to deliver your lecture?Nearly three decades ago, I was organizing a National Conference on education. One of the invitees for this two-day conference was the Director of one of the most privileged institutions of higher learning in the country. As I escorted him in the morning from the airport to the Hotel where he was supposed to stay, he asked me some details about the conference. When I told him that the total number of participants was close to three hundreds and he was supposed to address them in the second session on the first day as already intimated through my letter, I found him completely upset. “Three hundreds?” he wondered. “I thought the audience will be around thirty or close to that. How do you expect me to address such a big gathering?” His anxiety level shot up and one of the clinical psychologists who was accompanying could smell the stress he was experiencing. She was helpful to deal with him. He was unprepared for the same. Later the session proved to be a disaster. The audience were absolutely annoyed with the quality of the content and the delivery. Probably, they did not expect such a performance given the name and profile of the organization he was heading. While I certainly acknowledge and salute him for all his achievements and scholarship, he did lack in one of the vital aspects of public speaking.
Walking on to a stage and delivering a lecture or giving a talk, calls for a high degree of sensitivity. One may think that adequate knowledge of the subject alone is sufficient to be there, but it indeed, is not true. The art of gravitating the audience, to keep them attentive, to make them listen to the core and critical aspects of the theme, to provoke them to think purposefully, and to ensure their reasonable participation in the discussions if any, is indeed an intelligent task. Attending several conferences over decades worldwide, I have seen how even well-informed people, people who enjoy popularity, people with eminence in different walks of life including researchers and authors of branded books do not leave any lasting impression due to some insignificant mistakes or show some kind of casual attitude to a few basic things that keeps the audience at a distance. The words of George Bernard Shaw could make us think “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
1.Your attire matters.
Though I held a view for several years that the attire of an individual has nothing to do with the quality of the presentation or the receptivity of the audience, I learnt over the years that it does have a role to play. The kind of impression it creates on the minds of a few hundred people sitting over the auditorium is significant. Edith Head, an eight-time academy award winner for the costumes in the film industry, says “You can have anything you want in life if you dress for it.” The attire needs to be appropriate both to the occasion and the topic one is expected to speak. Cultural and geographical relevance, and sensitivity of the attire to the theme always adds value to the individual and to the occasion. While it is certainly not necessary to be gorgeous and display arrogance of affluence through the attire, even simple costumes are indeed well recognized provided the individual is otherwise authentic. "To me, clothing is a form of self-expression -- there are hints about who you are in what you wear,” says Marc Jacobs, who runs a fashion company.
2.Your body language matters.
Extensive research done on the body language of the people shows it leaves a great and long-lasting impression on the audience. It is important for regular speakers on the stage to take some fundamental lessons on the body language to be used on the stage and for the subjects. Apart from the body profile and use of the various parts of the body, the position to be taken, the connect one establishes with the audience, the display of emotional content both in the subject and to the emotions of the audience is important. Conflicting body language or that which is culturally, socially and professionally inappropriate to a given geography and culture, might not only bring down the glory of the verbal communication but might create an aversion to the individual and the organizers. According to R.W. Emerson “When the eyes say one thing, and the tongue another, a practiced man relies on the language of the first.” it may not be necessary to glow on the face, but it is important to be appealing facially with smile, look and eye movements. There are times when even the speed, frequency and the repetition of body postures might decline the value of the presentation and one could become a comical character. The following words of William Shakespeare in his book Troilus and Cressida, speaks volumes of a person’s body language:
There's language in her eye, her cheek, her lip,
Nay, her foot speaks; her wanton spirits look out.
At every joint and motive of her body."
–William Shakespeare
Yes, in a good speech, or a delivery, every part of the body of the individual communicates an intent, a purpose or a message.
3. Understanding the Psyche of the audience
“It requires wisdom to understand wisdom: the music is nothing if the audience is deaf” says Walter Lippmann. Audience at different geographies, cultures, subject groups, age groups have various levels of knowledge. understanding and psychological profiles. It is important to acquire the previous knowledge of the same in order to position the content, the references, the styles and the emotional content of the subject matter, No presentation should carry in its content, style and method insinuating references, points, observations, opinions and comments that could impact the self-esteem of a group or challenge their faith and practices. In general, the content should be free from bias, reflect only historical or scientific facts, philosophies, principles and practices that are universal alongside the commentaries of the speaker, unless otherwise the topic is specific to challenge an existing proposition. An effective speaker moderates, modulates and mesmerises the audience by standing on a level playing ground rather than displaying his or her intellectual propensity. Says Michael Faraday “The lecturer should give the audience full reason to believe that all his powers have been exerted for their pleasure and instruction.” At the same time, the difference between a debate and a talk must be clearly understood and put in place.
4. The Delight of verbal communication
Keeping the audience gravitated to the theme depends on the verbal communication of the speaker. Though the content, the facts, the systems and processes or the principles narrated during a presentation cannot be changed and should lie within the universe of the theme, the ability of the speaker to fill the core content with insightful experiences that are close to the expectations of the audience, the interesting references relating to the topic, the choice of words-simple but forceful, the wit and wisdom used in the articulation of the concepts and themes do play a significant role to enhance the experience of the audience. “Excellent communication doesn’t just happen naturally. It is a product of process, skill, climate, relationship and hard work”, says Pat McMillan, author, CEO It would be nice to choose the references from a wide variety of disciplines, events, situations so that the audience do not judge the speaker as one with limited subject knowledge. Says Dale Carnegie, in his book on “effective public speaking – “There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts: what we do, how we look, what we say, and how we say it.”
5. Dealing with the content
Oftentimes speakers tend to demonstrate their authority in the subject by an extensive as well as intensive content design which is considered as an overdose for a limited time. Such contents create boredom sooner than later. The audience tend stay put due to some compulsions, but do not enjoy the delivery. The speaker should take care that there is no bias on any content delivery, it is all inclusive and does not create any incorrect judgement and is fair and authentic. Care should be taken to avoid statements that are not gender neutral and does not infringe upon any lawful and constitutional privileges, rights or practices of any part of the land. A good presentation has few words on the screen but has visuals and other inputs that draw the attention of the diverse types of audience behaviour. The speaker should ensure that all that is said and shown is authentic, factual and he understands the depth of the content. The content should be free from intellectual property infringements and gives acknowledgements wherever necessary.
6. Time Management
Time Management is indeed an art. It calls for effective planning. Proverbially, it is said that if we don’t manage the time, it starts managing us. An intelligent speaker articulates his or her presentation in such a way that they are just ahead of the time. “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe,” said Abraham Lincoln. Seeking extensions or permission to continue for more than the allotted time might be granted by the organizers, but it does create a mental fatigue in the audience soon. Planning the beginning and the ending of any discussion is necessary to ensure that whatever profile is created about the lecture is not destroyed by any abrupt or unprofessional ending. While a few speakers tend to rush through the last few minutes of the presentation to show their intent to complete whatever they have prepared, the audience do take note of one’s lack of application of mind during preparation.
There are several lessons one would learn as one gets on to the stage. Every lesson is precious, contextual and invaluable to sharpen the skill of public speaking.
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