I'm an introvert - yet I like public speaking so much that I do it for work and fun. In doing so I've defined three core tenets that I apply to all public speaking (and in this specific order!):
- Entertain
- Educate
- Be authentic
What Got Me Here
I started presenting tech topics to user groups in 2017 and have come a long way - now regularly speaking at small tech groups as well as major regional conferences such as KCDC, CodeMash, and more.
The Three Things
Over the years I've distilled successful public speaking down to three core concepts for success. Every new topic, every PowerPoint slide, every line of rehearsal - it all stays true to these three core ideas of successfully presenting to an audience.
1) Entertain
The goal of entertaining isn't to be funny (that's a whole other topic).
An entertaining presentation captures the attention of a specific audience and keeps it throughout. In other words: you should know your audience and why they came to your presentation. With this in mind, you can speak specifically to their interests, which should keep them locked to you throughout your time on stage.
Variety is also important: break your presentation into distinct sections, each with its own flow and relevant subtopic.
Part of entertaining an audience is to involve the audience. For me that means asking for feedback and questions throughout to keep them engaged and to ensure I'm on the right track.
An engaged and entertained audience will stick with you until the end.
2) Educate
Because I speak on technical topics (both personally and as a sale engineer), most of the time I'm trying to teach something to an audience.
But here's my secret: I don't need to teach something new or be an authority figure, but rather provide my own perspective on a topic. Above all else, my goal is to simplify complicated topics using my own experience so a given audience can understand them or see them in a new light.
- For example: my most-popular presentation is about asynchronous programming with JavaScript. Async programming is definitely a challenging topic, and there are hundreds of great tutorials online. However, I use readily-understood analogies (traffic, cooking, etc.) and short, simple examples that have helped many understand the async concept via a different perspective than most cut-and-dry code examples.
3) Be Authentic
Be yourself. Seriously.
While rehearsing a presentation, I routinely find myself searching for my 'stage voice' - you know, the authoritative and confident persona that will command respect and attention throughout a presentation.
As it turns out, my stage persona is usually me trying to cover for stage fright. And that always fails to work.
Audiences can easily see through a false persona. Don't read robotically from a script or slide. Don't sound like too professional and over-rehearsed. Be a person.
Humility goes a long way towards being authentic. It's important to remember to stay grounded and remember that learning goes both ways: even though you're behind the podium, you're probably not the smartest person in the room, so be ready to learn from your audience.
Take deep breaths, pace yourself, smile, interact with the audience, and always, always, always be natural. You'll feel a lot more comfortable and connect with more people in the room.