Prepare well to speak well

A wise person once said, “it’s easier to find a new audience than a new speech.”

We can all be mesmerised by presenters at a conference who bounce around the stage, speaking effortlessly, with no notes, but with buckets of pathos or humour or both.

The trade secret is that speech has been buffed, polished and almost certainly presented a dozen times previously.

There’s more than a touch of show business about presenting well. You need a good script (think key messages) and commitment to rehearsal.

Knowing how to prepare properly, and doing that work, leads to stronger performance, without the nerves.

Ever watched the TV hosts talking comfortably in front of a camera? They have a prepared script.

Ever noticed how masterfully football commentators seem to capture the big moment before kick-off? It’s scripted, with careful preparation in the days leading into the match.

Even the end of the match can be scripted, with a handful of scenarios developed.

If someone is speaking comfortably without a script, it’s because they’ve given the same speech or a version of it, plenty of times before.

So when you are called up to speak, the considerations are:

• How important is this opportunity?
• Who’s the audience?
• What do they want to hear and what do I want them to hear?
• Do I need a script? Or do I know my messages well enough to speak off the cuff or with a merely a few notes?

How long should you need to prepare? That varies according to the audience, the occasion and the message. But if it’s a new speech, the usual answer to that question is… longer than you might think.

Three Plus media and presentation training sessions teach business professionals how to prepare properly to speak well. Good processes lead to reduced nerves and strong outcomes. Three Plus also works with business leaders to help them prepare for conference keynotes, senate estimate hearings or significant corporate events.