Tips for Giving Smoother, More Successful Speeches

IN THE TRENCHES

By Alison Stein Wellner

When Mimi Bliss took the podium two years ago at the annual volunteer-appreciation luncheon for the Monroe Harding Children’s Home, in Nashville, she faced a formidable scene: an audience of 150 volunteers and supporters, gathered at an event for an organization that was then in the early stages of a turnaround and searching for new board members. Her task was to energize her fellow volunteers. She had 20 minutes.

However, since Ms. Bliss is a speech consultant who often works with nonprofit organizations, she was not in the least bit daunted. “I told three brief stories of teens I’d worked with personally as a volunteer, and the impact they’d made on my life,” she recalls. “I had a strong emotional connection to these teens, and I had to pause at one point because I thought I might cry. At the time, I was mortified and horrified about feeling emotional during a speech, especially because I thought I was a ‘pro’ and shouldn’t be emotional,” she says. Clearly, though, her speech was effective: After the applause died down, she says, two members of the audience agreed to join the board of directors on the spot.

It doesn’t take a professional to deliver a speech that works as well as Ms. Bliss’s did. Whether it’s a presentation delivered to a conference room of 20, or a keynote speech delivered to a ballroom of 2,000, anyone can give a successful speech — with a little work. Here are some tips for smoother speechmaking, from charity managers who’ve logged their share of podium time:

Know the audience. Before drafting a speech, it’s important to think about who is going to hear it, says Helga West, founder of Witness Justice, a nonprofit organization in Washington that works with people who have suffered violent crime. A presentation should fit the atmosphere, age, culture, and perspective of the audience, she says. A fund-raising report given to a room full of accountants, for instance, requires an approach that is different from an outreach pitch to a group of teenagers.

As an example, Ms. West points to her own experience in preparing a presentation for the 2001 National Youth Summit on Preventing Violence. Because she knew that she would be talking to an audience of teenagers, she skipped the statistics, and instead started to gather stories of teenagers who were effective in creating and communicating about community movements to prevent violent crime. “Since teens fall victim to crime more than any other age group,” she says, “I really wanted to share what was not only interesting and shocking, but what could be helpful for the survivors that were there.”

If speakers aren’t sure about who exactly will be in the audience or what their expectations will be, it’s best to ask, she advises: “I always ask a lot of questions about who will be attending and what the organizers believe the audience will want to learn and walk away with.”

Keep track of time. Before preparing a speech, find out how long the presentation is expected to last. “You lose points with the audience for every minute over the allotted time period,” says Ms. Bliss. “It’s rare that your presentation is so compelling that people put aside their need to eat lunch or take a scheduled coffee break.”

Start strong. Because successful speeches depend on making a good first impression, spend a lot of time planning the first few minutes of a speech. A speech’s beginning needs to engage the audience, and set the stage for what’s to come. There’s no one right way to do this: Some successful speakers start with a joke, or a compelling story. One foolproof method is to ask the group a question that can be answered with a show of hands. With advance research, a speaker can mention specific audience members by name in their opening remarks — in a flattering manner, of course.

Seek audience participation. Once a rapport has been established with a crowd, keep the connection going by peppering the talk with more audience interaction. “By engaging the audience, they automatically become more vested in what you are saying because they are a part of it,” says Ms. West.

Speak, don’t read. Memorize the beginning and end of a speech, Ms. Bliss advises, but ad-lib the middle. She recommends boiling down the presentation into a few key points, and speaking conversationally about each point.

A speaker should never simply read from a script, warns Joshua S. Wyner, chief program officer at the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, in Landsdowne, Va., a grant maker that awards college scholarships. “There is no surer way to put your audience to sleep than to read from a script,” he says. “Why would anyone want to come and hear someone — other than perhaps a poet — read something to them that the audience member could read themselves?”

Practice. Of course, it’s much easier to read from prepared remarks than it is to speak extemporaneously, so the best speakers build in plenty of practice and rehearsal time — in front of mirrors, in front of colleagues, in front of a video camera — until they feel confident about their speeches. Careful preparation and rehearsal take commitment, but it works wonders for calming the roller-coaster stomachs, sweaty palms, and quavering voices that plague the ill-prepared.

Take it easy. It’s worth noting that even the well-prepared can face an attack of the nerves when the big moment arrives to take the stage. To alleviate anxiety, forget the oft-repeated advice to picture the audience naked, advises Ms. Bliss. (It’s hard to imagine what could be calming about standing in front of a room filled with naked people.) The best advice to cure tension, she says, is to mingle with the audience, and spot a friendly face in the crowd, preferably one that will beam and nod at the speaker during the presentation. Professional speakers call these “positive listeners.” If it’s impossible to get to know the audience ahead of time, or if the crowd is small, try to plant a few friends or colleagues in the audience. Glacing at them can help a speaker feel energized during rough spots in the presentation.

Check out the site of the speech. With a speech prepared and well rehearsed, and a strategy in place to calm jittery nerves, further ensure success by arriving at the speech locale early, if possible, says Rich Bogovich, energy campaign director at Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade, a nonprofit organization in Madison. “Find out where you’ll be standing, if there will be a microphone and so on,” he says. This sort of preparation will make any speaker feel more comfortable. Also take any opportunity to practice hooking up equipment, such as a laptop computer or a slide projector. Nothing is more rattling than a technological glitch a few seconds before the start of a presentation.

Show enthusiasm. When the presentation starts, don’t be afraid to let some passion shine through, says Mr. Bogovich. “Speakers are often at their best when talking about a subject they care deeply about, that’s very important to them,” he says. “People who work for nonprofit organizations are typically in that position, which gives them an extra advantage during presentations, even if they’re inexperienced.” In addition to passion, don’t forget to make eye contact, he advises — and never forget to smile.

Finally, keep in mind that every successful experience builds confidence and makes speakers more skillful, says Mr. Wyner. “When I left my law firm to run a nonprofit, I was mortified of public speaking,” he recalls. “Today, it is second nature. The only difference is that I now speak in public more often.”

Tell us your stories about preparing for — and giving — speeches in the Share Your Brainstorms online forum.