吃瓜头条

If you think public speakers and communication coaches agree on everything, think again.

Throughout my 15 years running communications workshops, I鈥檝e received pushback on some of my recommendations鈥攂ut I always welcome questions and challenges. If we coaches aren鈥檛 open to learning and evolving, we underserve the leaders, clients, and students we support.

Here are 10 of my recommendations that get the most pushback, and why I stand by them.

1. Don鈥檛 perform.

   Presenting and performing are very different approaches. Presenting focuses on your point and your delivery, while performing focuses on your image and your talent.

   That鈥檚 why we typically say speakers 鈥渄eliver鈥� speeches, not 鈥減erform鈥� them. Actors, magicians, and singers entertain. Speakers deliver ideas.

2. Follow up stories with the point they illustrate.

   Some consultants say a well-told story conveys its own point, but I disagree.

   Just as you should always explain the conclusion of data, you should reinforce the point of a story with a simple follow-up like 鈥淭his story illustrates 鈥︹�� or 鈥淭his case study proves 鈥︹��

   A story about a failed launch is memorable, but unless you clarify the takeaway鈥斺�淭his story illustrates why we now always test the concept before releasing it鈥濃�攁udiences may remember the story but miss the lesson.

   Ultimately, you want your audience to remember your point more than your story because your biggest goal isn鈥檛 to be riveting, it鈥檚 to be relevant.

3. Don鈥檛 write out speeches word for word.

   Unless you鈥檙e giving a keynote, a highly technical speech, or using a teleprompter, having a word-for-word script is usually a disadvantage.

   First, using a full script puts your brain in 鈥渞ead鈥� mode, not 鈥減resent鈥� mode, diminishing your passion and emotion unless you鈥檙e a trained actor.

   Reading also creates distance between you and your audience, and memorizing a speech can backfire catastrophically. For instance, your brain might go blank as you try to remember the exact phrasing you wrote.

   Finally, know that your writing and speaking voices sound substantially different. If you speak in your writing voice鈥攚hich is usually more academic and less conversational than your speaking voice鈥攁udiences may perceive that voice as artificial and pretentious.

4. Don鈥檛 preplan gestures or vocal variety.

   Yes, you should use functional gestures and avoid monotone delivery, but let your passion and conviction drive those decisions naturally in the moment versus planning them ahead of time.

   The more you manufacture these moments in advance, the more robotic and forced they will seem.

5. Raise your volume.

   Research on vocal perception consistently shows audiences perceive louder voices as more confident and authoritative, something I see every time I run a simple exercise in my workshops.

   I ask a volunteer to say their name and a point 鈥渦ncomfortably loud.鈥� I then ask the other attendees to share how their impression of that speaker changed. Every time, they describe the speaker as not just more audible, but more confident, authoritative, knowledgeable, and assertive. Whether or not speakers feel that way, they project those positive attributes when they increase their volume.

   Your biggest goal isn鈥檛 to be riveting, it鈥檚 to be relevant.

   Is this advice unfair to soft-spoken people? Perhaps, but there鈥檚 no arguing that louder volume signals energy and confidence, and even a small increase makes a difference.

   My female clients sometimes share a fear that increasing their volume will make some perceive them as aggressive. But mistaking assertion for aggression when women speak is a sexist bias that speakers should ignore, not accommodate.

6. Not every 鈥渁h鈥� or 鈥渦m鈥� is a problem.

   I鈥檝e softened my stance on crutch or filler words over the years because some vocal imperfections can increase perceived authenticity.

   Filler words like 鈥渁h,鈥� 鈥渦m,鈥� and 鈥渟o鈥� only distract if they become noticeable. For me, the most valuable information you can get from a speaker who uses crutch words is knowing which filler words they most often overuse鈥攏ot how often they utter them. Knowing this makes it easier for speakers to reduce the most glaring fillers.

7. Bullets on a slide are fine.

   Don鈥檛 dismiss a template just because it鈥檚 old. Bullets still improve clarity so long as you use five or fewer bullets per slide and simplify the text in each to convey only the most essential words and ideas.

   Also, some members of your audience process visual information better than they can process spoken information, and benefit from seeing the points you鈥檙e saying. (I鈥檓 one of them!)

8. The most important element on your slide is the title.

   Where does your audience look if they鈥檝e lost track of your point? How do they keep the 鈥渨hy鈥� of your slide in mind? The slide title鈥攖he header of your slide鈥攕hould answer both questions.

   Broad slide titles like 鈥淗istory,鈥� 鈥淒ata,鈥� and 鈥淧artners鈥� don鈥檛 work hard enough. They merely categorize, not convey, the point of the page.

   • Instead of a title like 鈥淗istory,鈥� think, 鈥淭hree Decisions That Shaped Our Growth鈥�
   • Instead of 鈥淒ata,鈥� think, 鈥�24% of Readers Regularly Read Digital Books鈥�
   • Instead of 鈥淧artners,鈥� think, 鈥淓xtending Our Reach Through Strategic Partnerships鈥�

9. You鈥檙e NOT afraid of public speaking.

   Surprise! Most people aren鈥檛 afraid of public speaking itself; they鈥檙e afraid of embarrassing themselves in front of others, which is why you may be just as afraid of singing or telling jokes in public.

   Understanding this distinction matters because it moves the challenge from an innate flaw (鈥淚鈥檓 a terrible public speaker鈥�) to a buildable skill (鈥淚 need to increase my confidence鈥�).

10. Public speaking is not a soft skill.

    Until humans evolve to communicate telepathically, oral communication will always be a vital skill. Through public speaking鈥攊n a room or on Zoom鈥攚e communicate what should happen, why it matters, and how to deal with it. That鈥檚 important stuff, which is why鈥攚hether you鈥檙e leading or learning鈥攜ou should always be open to improving.

You may disagree with some of these recommendations鈥攁nd that鈥檚 fine. The goal of communication coaching isn鈥檛 to end debate, but to keep refining the ideas and tactics that help audiences understand, remember, and act on your point.

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