Hi and welcome or welcome back. It's issue #50 of The B-School Hub

Read time: ~5 minutes

There's no shortage of tips out there on becoming a better speaker.

And many of them are right on the money.

They often focus on the technical, fundamental skills of public speaking. You absolutely need to develop these.

Today though, I'd like to highlight some lessons I've learned over the years that I don't commonly hear people talking about. These are things that can really help you take it up a notch.

Let me know if you find them interesting and helpful.

But first...

Meme Of The Week.

This one feels right since today's topic is public speaking.

Ok, let's jump in...

Make It Matter

How many speeches or presentations have you heard over the years where it seemed like even the presenter was bored?

One easy way to become a better speaker is to find ways to get interested in your topic.

Now, I get that some topics are dry.

In those cases, try to focus on how they're valuable for the audience. Maybe the material is not that exciting but it's critical that the people you're speaking to understand it.

That will make it more meaningful to you and I promise that will come across to your audience.

It might even affect how you structure the speech and the landmarks you provide for your audience.

Phrases like "this next part is going to matter a lot for you because..." for example. Most people in your audience will recognize that even if they're not really fired up about the material, they need to get tuned in for that part.

Making the content relevant and meaningful for you and your audience is an effective way to help prepare and deliver a more interesting speech.

Learn From Your Audience

This one is really simple but I'm surprised how rarely it comes us.

One of the measures of how well you do is the audience reaction. There is so much information there but people don't often take full advantage of it.

Adam Grant is a professor at the Wharton School at UPenn.

But he's not just any professor. Among other accolades, he's been recognized as Wharton's highest rated teacher.

His teaching career however, didn't start out this way.

Initially, his evaluations were as terrible as you could possibly imagine. He got feedback like...

So how did he go from this to people loving his lectures?

Well, lots of things but one that I'd highlight is that he watched his audience carefully for when they were reacting well to something he'd said.

If something was consistently getting a good reaction he'd try to figure out why and do more of it.

Daniel Pink, prolific author and speaker, did something similar when he was a speechwriter for Al Gore.

He'd watch the audience with a copy of the speech in hand.

With that he'd make notes on what was landing and what wasn't.

But you don't need to be a famous author or professor to take advantage of this. Simply pay attention to what's getting a good reaction, think about why that's the case and do more of it.

If you have a friend in the audience ask them to pay attention to it as well.

They can let you know what worked after your speech or presentation.

It's powerful, free and easy to implement.

Turn Pre Speech Nervousness Into Excitement

Famed author/speaker/coach Tony Robbins tells a fascinating story about two famous musicians he worked with and what they experienced just before a show.

One described having sweaty hands, an upset stomach and their heart racing.

The other described sweaty hands, a nervous stomach and their heart racing.

Pretty similar sensations right and, frankly, it sounds pretty bad.

What matters though, and there's plenty of evidence I've seen over the years to support this, is how they chose to describe what those feelings mean to them.

The first explained how their stage fright made it difficult to go out on stage.

The second was Bruce Springsteen who explained how he took those feelings as a sign he was ready to go on stage and couldn't wait to get out there and play for his fans.

Their physical symptoms were almost identical but the story they told themselves was completely different and that was the key difference maker.

It may feel difficult at first but the ability to reframe things is HUGE.

You can alter how you react and perceive things based on the story you tell yourself about them.

Nervousness and excitement are pretty similar biological processes.

Pick the one that's most empowering and describe the feeling that way.

It's your choice.

Forgive Yourself

This almost certainly applies more broadly but let me just talk about public speaking or presenting for the moment.

Most people, including great speakers, have made mistakes or done things in presentations that they'd love to have back for a do-over.

It's really freeing to be able to forgive yourself for mistakes and reframe them as a way to get better.

I recently read a great quote from psychologist Dr. Ben Hardy where he makes the point that you aren't the same person now that you were then.

You've seen the mistake happen.

If you know what the mistakes were, that's great news because you can prepare so you won't make them again.

Now you may look at this as psychobabble nonsense, but forgiving yourself for public speaking mistakes is like releasing yourself from a cage.

Suddenly your range of options is massively expanded.

It even manifests physically. If you're playing back that mistake in your head and reliving it, you're probably breathing shallowly and your body is tense.

As you change your mindset around that experience in the past, forgive yourself and learn from it, you'll find your physiology can change.

I literally just experienced it while writing this.

I was thinking of a recent situation that I wish I could re-do and consciously had to remind myself that I know what my mistake was, knowing and fixing it will help me to be better and that I needed to forgive myself.

I didn't even notice that I was breathing shallowly and was tense.

It's crazy I know. As soon as I went through that mental exercise and forgave myself, suddenly my body released its tension and I started breathing more deeply.

Bottom line - you aren't perfect. Forgive yourself, learn and get better.

Closing Thoughts

There are so many layers to becoming great at public speaking.

Hopefully the ideas I've shared with you today make a difference for you. The best way to make sure that's the case is to implement them regularly.

As you practice them, they'll become second nature to you.

Write in and let me know how they're working for you. I'd love to highlight some of you and your wins in future newsletters.

How Can I Help You?

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That's it for this week...don't be shy to reply if you have any questions.