I knew when I started Braid Creative & Consulting that I wanted to start speaking to other creatives about how and why I do what I do – and hopefully inspire them to live and love what they do too. Tara and I have this chalkboard system for activating some universal laws of attraction and tracking quarterly clients, projects and proposal requests. We also track our speaking engagements and guest blog posts.
For about a year we had three spots per quarter open for speaking and for about a year we only filled two or three of those spots total. That means we only reached 25% of our speaking goal. I think the universe was trying to tell us that we still had a bit more work to do before we could actually talk about it.
So fast forward to present day. In the span of two weeks we have had three different speaking engagements (a couple of them being more like mini workshops). And I love it. And I've learned a lot (mostly that I have a lot more to learn about speaking). When you see a skilled speaker you don't think about how much work goes into that hiccup-free delivery. They seem so natural and poised, like they just stepped up on stage with a mic... no big deal – but A LOT goes into even a five minute talk. Because more and more event organizers and conferences want to hear more from bloggers and creatives just like you, I thought I'd share a few tips I've learned for speaking.
1. Craft your talk like you would a blog post. Know what you want to say, write it out, edit & refine – then edit some more. Think of your talk more like a narrative and don't be afraid to make it personal. After all, who doesn't like listening to a great story?
2. Your images should add to the story. When you can use your slides as metaphors to deepen a concept you'll make more connections and create more "aha" moments with your audience. This is especially helpful if you're given a very short amount of time to present.
3. Don't self promote. There's lots of times to ask people to hire you. But during a talk you're job is to inspire – not acquire. (See how I made that rhyme, there?)
4. Practice, practice, practice. I practice my talks with my notes at least 12 times. Then I practice without notes another 12 times. You literally have to talk out loud as you flip through your slides to get muscle memory on your side. Another good trick is to practice right before you go to bed – then your brain will absorb what it needs to know in your sleep.
5. Then forget it. I'm still working on this one but the best way to sound natural is to forget the script. So you'll avoid saying "uhhh" but you still may use more natural words like "Okay, so then..." or "... that was so rad." Words that you didn't necessarily write in to the script but that make you sound like yourself.
6. Make them laugh. Sometimes I feel more like a comedian than a creative entrepreneur when I'm giving a talk. But when I can solicit laughs from the audience I feel comfortable and in my place.
7. Blow their minds way open. Stefan Sagmeister did this at Alt when he opened his talk with a naked photo of himself. (I wrote more about that here.) While I'm not quite brave enough, yet, to get naked in front of my audience I do like to share an anecdote about my sideshow brother who hammers nails into his head and swallows swords for a living. By blowing minds open it makes your audience so much more receptive to everything else you have to say.
8. Show up and be seen. I learned everything I know about this from Brené Brown's book Daring Greatly. Speaking is a super vulnerable thing – even for rockstars. Know that you're audience thinks you're being pretty brave just for showing up. And if you can be honest about typical jitters but still maintain your position as an expert your audience will lift you up with good vibes through your whole talk.
9. This won't be the last time. After one of my most recent talks I felt all "phew! That's over – let's move on." But on the car ride home my sister and I started talking about how we could do better next time. I started to feel all prickly and defensive... it's not that we were being super critical or beating ourselves up, but it's important to acknowledge that if we're going to be doing more and more speaking we'll need to hone our public speaking skills by talking about what worked and what didn't afterwards.
Do you speak often? Are you interested in speaking? Any tips or advice of your own?
Love this. As a teacher, that's one of the most frustrating aspects to get across: it takes so much time to create an effective, interesting, well-crafted lecture/lesson.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I'd add is to your #1: know what you want your audience to take away from what you say. It's great to know what you want to say, but if you don't put thought into what you want a listener to take from your talk, you may not get across all that you like.
Even though I rarely list objectives on the board, I nearly always do in my lecture notes. It helps me make sure I stay on focus, no matter what else I include.
The timing of this is fitting for me. I'm not thinking of speaking any time soon, but on Saturday I found myself speaking (with a microphone!) on a stage at a women-only hackathon, Lady Hacks in Philly.
ReplyDeleteI had seriously considered not going, and then not going back for the second day, but I did and it was wonderful. Remembering your advice on when and why to show up from the Personal Branding course was definitely a part of that for me!
I wasn't onstage long. It was just an informal explanation of our project from the hackathon, but it was still something I'd never imagined myself doing, so it felt really huge.
As always, thanks for the advice! :)
I adore this!
ReplyDeleteI definitely want to get into speaking in the near future, maybe in a year or so. My brand and business will be growing in some major ways in the next year with the goals being < starting getting jewelry manufactured < get more small wholesale accounts < open a boutique < start expanding my brand to include other accessories and clothing < develop a large wholesale line < start going to trade shows < take over the world and do it with love and compassion.
I am passionate about my business and expanding it, but even more than that, I want to empower women to not only pursue their dreams but heal from their hardships at the same time. The best way to move forward is to allow oneself to heal by pursing compassion, health, and inner acceptance and love first. I want to spread that message, a balance of personal pursuit and career pursuit. and I hope I can involve speaking into my goals in the near future!
xo Moorea
I adore this!
ReplyDeleteI definitely want to get into speaking in the near future, maybe in a year or so. My brand and business will be growing in some major ways in the next year with the goals being < starting getting jewelry manufactured < get more small wholesale accounts < open a boutique < start expanding my brand to include other accessories and clothing < develop a large wholesale line < start going to trade shows < take over the world and do it with love and compassion.
I am passionate about my business and expanding it, but even more than that, I want to empower women to not only pursue their dreams but heal from their hardships at the same time. The best way to move forward is to allow oneself to heal by pursing compassion, health, and inner acceptance and love first. I want to spread that message, a balance of personal pursuit and career pursuit. and I hope I can involve speaking into my goals in the near future!
xo Moorea
Great timing for this post! I have my next speaking engagement in three weeks so its helpful to hear what's worked for you. My one tip: read your audience. If they seem to be getting disinterested or bored, bring some energy to YOUR voice. Engage them, ask a question, and if you want them to put up their hand, put up your hand. Just like smiling when telling a joke, they'll follow your lead. Good luck with your talk Kathleen!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Picky - to know ahead of time what you want your listeners to walk away with. Kind of like what you do Kathleen in your content - how do I want them to feel? What do I want them to do? What do I want them to know?
ReplyDeleteThe practice is huge. Something that flows on paper may not flow so well when you are speaking it.
And if you have a good beginning and a good ending, people will forgive you if things go awry in the middle a bit!
I agree with all your tips. I remember in University we had to do presentations all the time and you got really into it and used to it so after a while it got easier. Yet I think the practice part is key to it.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy speaking to people and telling stories, taking them on a journey so to say.
I think one of the most important things is to be yourself and not try to be all business-y or trying to talk like somebody else. We can draw inspiration from other people who we admire but should have our own way of expressing. That's what people like most and that's when we connect.
LOVE YOU, POWER-WOMYN!
ReplyDeleteExcited for all the marvels you are creating in this world, and so delighted every time I saw your gorgeous self pop up in Instagram wearing a Block Shop scarf. It was MADE FOR YOU.
xo. lil