(Posted on behalf of Bill Sheridan…)

If you are like many entrepreneurs, your initial reaction when asked to make a public presentation is to find a reason not to do it. Big mistake.

There is no better way to increase your visibility and credibility boosting your self-confidence than accepting the invitation and preparing your talk. I go so far as to say that you should be searching for ways to get up in front of people.

Following are suggestions to make any speaking event a resounding success:

Learn in advance about your audience. What do they expect to hear from you? Is the group comprised mostly of men or women? What is their common denominator? What is the estimated number of people who will attend? What are their ages? Will you be on stage before or after a meal?

Find out all you can about the meeting room. Is there a podium and a microphone? If you are going to use A-V equipment (e.g. PowerPoint) is there a screen and projector available. Will there be someone there who knows how to set it up and use it? What about size (is the room appropriate for the number of attendees)? ALWAYS have a back-up plan in case the equipment fails. I have coordinated hundreds of meetings and spoken many times so can assure you that technical problems will arise. It behooves you to have a Plan B if the projector doesn’t project or the PowerPoint doesn’t point! I repeat: Technical problems will arise so be prepared.

Know within a five minute span how much time you will have at the podium. You need to know whether they are expecting 30-minutes or an hour from you. It makes a huge difference on what you choose to include or delete from your talk.

Ask about appropriate attire. As a general rule, it is safest to dress one level higher than your audience. When I was in charge of company-wide meetings for a previous employer, we told the speakers that the audience would be dressed in ‘business casual’ but encouraged the presenter to wear a suit.

Be VERY careful of using jokes. Frankly, most people are not good at telling them and they are rife with danger of offending someone in this age of political correctness. I’ve witnessed a CEO literally turn off the microphone in mid-sentence when a paid professional speaker began telling inappropriate stories. The presenter was led off-stage and the CEO apologized to the audience.

Decide about handouts. What are you going to give attendees (if anything) and when are you going to do it? Some presenters want PowerPoint copies handed out in advance so the audience can follow along. Others don’t want material stealing their thunder or audience members moving ahead of the slide on the screen. In effect—you can lose control of what they see and when they see it.

Will you take audience questions? This is a very touchy subject. In a small group (5-10 people) it might be okay to answer questions as you go along. Larger audiences probably call for taking them at the end or not at all. Anticipate challenging or hostile questions in advance so that you are not taken completely off-guard. Know how you will handle a Chatty-Cathy who wants to grab the spotlight.

Practice. Practice. Practice. And when you finish doing that—practice some more. If you have access to a video recorder, tape a rehearsal in order to see yourself as your audience will see you. If you don’t have access to video–buy a $30 tape recorder and at least listen to yourself. Oh, and did I mention that it would be a good idea to practice?
More on public speaking in future essays.

Bill Sheridan—Sheridan Writes
See my bio under Guest Authors

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