re: "Speaking to large groups" knower abouters

I stayed buzzed during speech class. Helps a lot and I eventually had no issues giving speeches sober.

I know it's not the best advice you could receive.

quote:

---

Don’t hold paper or note cards in your hands, rather, have a podium or something similar you can support your hands on. Mine Trimble when I’m presenting and it makes me feel less confident/credible

---

Public speaking for some is a nightmare. My wife is that way. I can’t really say way, but I’ve never had an issue with it. It comes naturally to me.

Most people touched on what got me through public speaking, although the biggest crowd I spoke to was 75-90 people.

In my earlier talks, I would find 3-4 people to focus on, one on the left, one on the right, 1-2 in the middle. Make sure they are in different sections (some front, middle, back...) and just jump from side to side trying not to focus on the larger group.

Do NOT read the slides, unless it's a major point you need to emphasis. Assume everyone in the audience can read.

If you have a cheat sheet, do not read from it. Only use bullet points (since you have a PP that should be your bullet points) to reference and make sure you hit all of the material. If you write out your presentation, at some point you will find yourself reading it.

The more you practice, the more you will know what you're saying. You already know the material, now it's about how to present it. Will also help the umm, uh, you know... or whatever tic you use

What is the root cause of your nerves?

The easiest advice to follow would be to acknowledge your nerves at the very beginning of your address. Make it funny. Let that be your starting gun to just dive into the material you know you know.

Be yourself. I'm incredibly nervous to speak to larger groups, every time. My root cause is I always feel like I'm supposed to perform in some way. But when I tell myself to own it and just be myself, a lot of it takes a backseat to the content.

Some folks don't like it because they don't feel authoritative and they feel fraudulent. In that case, you need to convince yourself that the audience are idiots on the topic, are desperate for the information you have, and will be appreciative.

If you hate it because you don't like the attention, convince yourself nobody is really listening or paying attention.

Picture everybody in their underwear. Seriously, I’d look out in the audience at propel I know fairly well and then speak to them, so to speak. That’s all I have for you!

Helpful tips I’ve learned along the way:

Breakdown your material as best as you can into “sections”. Intro center stage, move up and left to talk about the first section, then progress to the right of the stage as you work through the other “sections.” Closing, return back to center stage. This gives the audience visual cues and provides you with structure and helps to remember the various parts of your speech if you practice it this way.
If your presentation has 3 “sections” it’d look like this. Intro center, 1st section front left, 2nd middle stage, 3rd front right of stage and then return to center for conclusion and questions.

If you’re not comfortable, say it. It’s quite alright and most people feel the same. It’ll help you relax and is usually good for a few chuckles to open.

As you speak to the crowd, focus on the TOPS of peoples heads instead of trying to make eye contact.

Eliminate or reduce the “uhhhhs”, “you knows” and “like” as you practice your presentation. These filler comments can distract you and the audience.

If you can, add a few “raise your hand if you’ve dealt with X” to engage the crowd if you want.

Hope the above helps you out. The first few sentences will be your toughest as you get up there. You will naturally “settle in” after there, so knock that out the park and you will be smooth sailing from there.

GOOD LUCK!!

quote:

---

I usually jerk off before, during, and after I give a speech

---

So that's what the podium's for?

I used to do it all the time, I always tried to lighten the mood, do anything to make it memorable, doesn’t have to be a joke, it’s hard to get people laughing out of aisles, just something that’s kinda funny, ironic etc. maybe a slide or something, anything current, it just relaxes people and typically me as well.

Introduce yourself, people often just jump into the material

Don’t try to cram in two much, 15 minutes with questions is plenty, that’s a maximum of 15-20 slides maximum

What are your 3 man points? Why should they care etc

You want to be memorable, that alone makes you unique

We all have 2 innate fears, reptiles, and public speaking. You have to overcome both.

People like story’s, narrative, I am not great at telling them in person but killer in speeches etc.

To me, Jesus had a great message to any speakers, use analogies etc. He explained complex things like the Trinity by an analogy.

What’s your topic? Maybe I can help

quote:

---

I'll be up for about 20 minutes. 10 to 15 slides in my deck.

---

Without knowing the full details of what you're presenting, that feels like a lot of slides.

You're looking at less than 2 minutes per slide, so it'll be more like reading off the slides, which you don't want to, then just riffing about the stuff you want to talk about.

Is it possible to reduce the number of slides? And just use bullet points on the slides and then use your knowledge to talk through the details of each bullet point.

The 2 main rules of public speaking:

1. Never insult the Jews
2. Tell an interesting story