Looking for quick credibility? Talk the talk.

John Hoeschele, Creative Director

If you're like most professionals, you've had occasion to listen to (maybe endure?!) a dozen or more 'talks' in your career. Also like most folks, chances are you've also asked yourself: "I wonder if I could and should do a talk like this on what I know?"

Well, I'm here to tell you that you not only can -- but you probably should -- make the effort of doing some talks (aka: lectures, speaking engagements, speech, presentations, etc.) in your work life. Bonus: Even if public speaking does rank 13th among human fears ("glossophopia"), it's way easier than you might think to tee this ball up and give it a whack.

The 'why' of it is threefold.

First and foremost for the marketing-minded, public speaking is good exposure for your company. (This assumes, of course,  that your subject matter will relate to what you actually do for a living and that your audience is a match for your topic, too: Meaning, it's probably not a nifty idea for a patent attorney to speak about bathroom tiling techniques at a circus-clown convention.) By exposure I mean credibility, brand awareness, word of mouth, and possibly even lead generation.

Second, being able to state and substantiate that you're a public speaker and subject matter expert is broadly good for your professional reputation and specifically good fodder for your resume and LinkedIn profile. (That's not to say you should list every gig on your resume; rather, just list public speaking as a skill and -- yeah -- keep a separate log of your talk topics and venues, for your or your employer's future reference.)

And, finally, it's just good practice for those common occasions when you may be asked to rise-and-shine verbally, be it business contexts like company meeting, sales presentations, department meetings, or company open houses -- or extra-curricular talks occasioned by volunteer activities, schooling,  weddings, or (sadly) funerals.

As for the 'how?' I'll list the basics here and keep them super simple:

1) Set your goals. Are you presenting to establish corporate credentials in a new product or service sphere? Generating and cultivating prospects? Increasing your own public speaking skills? (Nothing wrong with that!) Write down any and every objective you have, and be sure to revisit them throughout planning and authoring process to make sure you're not wandering into the weeds.

2) Pinpoint your topics. First, what process, product, problem, or subject do you know well enough to chat about comfortably and at length, including fielding questions that may arise from the audience? Next, narrow it down to something digestible, compelling, and (ideally) original, since presenting on a topic that's too broad or cliche is a one-way ticket to Yawnsville. (A handy idiom to keep in mind: Leave a message, not a mess!) And, finally, continuously revisit the goals you set at the onset. Here are a couple examples of super-narrow-topic talks, that help make the point:

• Example 1: Here's a video of my colleague, HP Ostergaard, from my days at Anaren -- now an SMS client -- speaking about Doherty Combiners to an audience of microwave/RF engineers in the Richardson RFPD booth at MTT-S 2012. (Thanks to PR efforts ahead of time, we got a solid turnout and reviews, even if the average Joe or Joanne has no idea what HP's talking about!)
  
• Example 2: Here I am doing a brief TEDx talk about the merits of re-imagining our nation's historic cemeteries. (Context: I chair my local cemetery's Board of Trustees as a volunteer; it's more interesting and less creepy than it would seem, trust me...especially since we're putting the concepts I outline in my talk into practice!)
  

3) Identify & solicit suitable audiences. At a topmost level, this means revisiting who your company's regular 'targets' are -- and then researching and reaching out to audiences comprised of said targets, such as trade associations or interest groups. Also note that I used the plural form of "audience": That's because there's a distinct possibility you can re-present your material to multiple, similar groups. For instance, if you're a wealth management expert presenting to one Rotary Club, why not make the same presentation to the one in the next zip code?

4) Write your presentation(s). Keep in mind these rules of thumb:

• write and stick to an outline: it'll help you stay on topic, structure and narrow your content, and keep you drifting into tangent-land
• your talk should EDUCATE not SELL. In other words, let your expertise and know-how do the selling for you... If there are any lava-hot leads or new-biz opportunities out there in the audience, they'll come up to you afterwards or you can root them out afterwards via what should be your post-talk follow up
• include contact info at the beginning and end of you talk (name, tel, email, website, and any social media icons that make sense for reaching you)
• keep it short, using the simple equation of 1 slide for every 2 minutes of presentation time, keeping your introduction to 60 seconds and making sure you also allow 10-15 minutes for Q&A at the end of your presentation
• if you're using PowerPoint, only include 3-5 bullets per slide...and those should be very short/punchy
• speak to each slide, don't read it verbatim
• include visuals to break up the text and help keep people awake; oh, and never mind the fancy animations unless you're super-good at working with them and able to use restraint... first, they can be distracting rather than enhancing and second they represent one more thing that can go wrong in the IT or AV department
• use examples, stories, case histories, cautionary tales, and pertinent anecdotes to bring your subject matter to life
• similarly, using a prop of some sort can also be useful, be it something you bring with you or something already in the room
• laugh, smile, enjoy yourself -- and your audience is more likely to do likewise. Oh, and if you'll be poking fun at anyone or making jokes, make sure you're the butt of your hilarity and not the guy with the unicorn tie in the front row...easy target though he may be ; )
• absolutely encourage and take questions along the way: This helps keep your audience engaged and has ancillary benefits like giving you time to catch your breath/take a sip of water, to mentally 'prep' for the next slide and calibrate with the clock, to check on audience comprehension, and to generally 'be human' vs acting like a crazed presentation drone just released from the labs at DARPA

5) Prepare, prepare, prepare! Both by writing your notes/script (SMS can help with that, btw!) and doing dry runs with willing test audiences.

6) Lock down logistics. Who is providing the screen, the laptop, and the projector? Will there be IT or AV support on hand? Should you send your slide-set ahead of time for pre-loading or are you expected to bring it with you on a memory stick? What's your plan B if the power goes out or there's some other insurmountable technical glitch (aka: at least bring one print out for yourself, if not handouts for all)? 

7) Help your host organization promote your talk before and afterwards. And, for goodness sake, make sure someone takes a pic or records your presentation for immediate (meaning social media) or future use. Otherwise your effort is literally here today, gone tomorrow.

8) Show up early, make sure you're cued up, feel free graciously skip the meal if it helps you stay focused, take a deep breath, and rock it!

Some final quick tips:

• write up a quick 30-50 word bio and summary of your talk, as it will help your host-group (a.) promote the event and fill the seats and (b.) give the person introducing you fodder to work with the day of
• be sure to thank your host at the outset of your talk
• when using statistics, case histories, or other outside content (including graphics), it's always good practice to cite your sources -- a practice that has both the advantage of proving you're plugged into and informed by the outside world and an honest player vs. a shameless cribber!

That's all there is to it. Now get out there, clear your throat, and talk the talk! -- JH

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