Working the It happens all too often: a prestigious event, a glorious meal, a speaker so boring that five minutes into the speech, smatterings of conversation crop up at tables of impeccably dressed guests. By the time the speaker is done, nary a person is paying attention.
crowd is making
the grade
Fallacies about about
By Erika Engle
public speaking
Star-Bulletin"Nothing is worse," said presentation coach Pam Chambers.
Boring speakers can commit a number of follies, said Chambers. The speaker could have been "a droner, had a terrible monotone. He might have been standing behind the lectern reading his speech, which is a killer."
"Even as the chatting started," she said, "if he didn't do anything about it, like asking, 'Are you with me?' -- if he had paused expectantly, some people would have nudged their neighbors. Once the speaking is allowed, and the speaker doesn't do anything about it, it sends the signal, 'Oh, I guess we're allowed to talk.'"
Public speaking coaches and professional speakers agree that just because a speaker is the CEO of a big company does not mean he or she can hold the attention of an audience.
There are many common fallacies about public speaking, such as advice to start out with a joke to warm up the audience.
"Nine of 10 members of the audience are just fine," Chambers said. "They're already warm. Really, the one who needs to be warmed up is the speaker. The better way is to start with a story."
"If I am talking about public speaking," she said, "I would be smart to start out with how nervous I was, sweating bullets, talk about a specific event I can remember."
That technique gets the audience on her side, Chambers said, because they can relate and because it shows a speaker's vulnerability. Then she contrasts that opening by telling the same audience she decided to overcome that fear and is now able to speak to any audience with comfort.
"You want to show you're vulnerable and human, not above them. You want to get the audience on your side and with you, connecting and building rapport and relationships," said H. Stanley Jones, co-owner of Hawaii Speakers Bureau in Kapolei.
"Those first few seconds or minutes form strong opinions, and it's more difficult to change them than it is to create the right one to begin with."
Jim Varner, sponsor of Dale Carnegie Training of Hawaii and president of Jim Varner & Associates, said -- with a generous, smiling face -- that he is a big believer in enthusiasm, as was Dale Carnegie himself. The Dale Carnegie sessions, which Varner runs with his wife, Nancy, offers several programs, including one titled "High-Impact Presentations."
Professional speaker and former prisoner of war Gerald Coffee said it is rare that a corporate leader gets to his or her position without having to speak in public.
Verbal and written communication is "every bit as important as education, knowledge of business, sales techniques, logistics. It's every bit as important as actual corporate expertise. It's an essential part of leadership," he said.
A major hurdle for public speakers is overcoming fear. Chambers and others said the fear of public speaking outranks the fear of death on widely reported surveys.
"I know with every fiber in me that anyone can overcome that fear (of public speaking) if they are committed to their message," Chambers said.