Public Speaking Poll

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I'm generally a pretty shy person. I'm not the "Social Anxiety" type... more like "Socially Awkward"

My new job has put me in the position where I'm actually doing some public speaking.

I graduated this past December with an undergrad degree in Elementary Education. I didn't get any job offers for a teaching position and only got two round two of interviews for one position. Apparently they were getting 100+ applicants for most openings in the state.

Over the last couple weeks as part of my current job, I've spoken in front of all the principals from the Madison School District. I hadn't interviewed with any of them, so there wasn't any awkwardness there, but it was a rather intimidating experience for me.

There were 60 principals there along with maybe 10 other people in the room for support.

This morning, I presented some material in front of 50 principals and 50 other people from those schools. There were the same support people there as well, so I'll guess 110 people.

I think I did alright, but this certainly isn't something I pictured myself doing.

I was wondering what ATOT's experience has been with public speaking. I know there are a lot of people here with a wide range of social confidence, and I have to assume that public speaking can be a pretty terrifying topic for some people.

So, whats the deal, ATOT?
Your largest group? How did it go? Tips?

 

[AstroManLuca]

Damn, I voted wrong. Voted for 11-25 thinking I had only ever spoken in front of small college classes, then remembered one time I spoke at a dinner with probably 76-100 people there. Oh, and it was in China, and I recited (badly, probably) a traditional poem in Chinese after saying a few things in English. They loved it. Helped that I had some alcohol in me.

 

[spidey07]

Franchise meeting, had to be well over 1000. But most times under 200 I'd say. I actually like presenting/public speaking. Some good tips are to learn about body language and how to use it. I don't really think about it now and my hands/movements just kind of flow. A good way to stay engaged is to move around some and maintain eye contact in one spot or even a single person as you make a point (say 5+ seconds) and then move to another.

Oh, and project your voice, don't look down and speak clearly and don't go really fast unless you're trying to make up time. Pause for 4-5 seconds after a point you really want the audience to get or remember.

 

[Cogman]

I've addressed groups of over 120. The worst part is how you make yourself feel about it. Most people are pretty forgiving to a public speaker. For me, I tend to add humor to address to try and lighten the mood, it doesn't take much to have a crowd of people in your back pocket.

There are a few things that separate a good speaker from a bad one.
1. DON'T READ the address. Whatever you do, don't do this. The more you read the worse it will look. Heck, even if you memorize the entire thing, it is far better then reading it.
2. Look up at the crowd. Try as hard as you can to keep the amount of time reading your notes at a minimum. People like a speaker who looks at them and hates one that can only focus on the podium. By looking around the crowd (Don't single out an individual either) you create more of a human feel that people like.
3. Stay in whatever time constraint you are given. I don't care how excellent the subject is, my mind basically checks out when their time is up. If you have no time limit, great, if you have one, stick as close to it as possible.
4. If you have slides or whatever, make sure that you know how to use the tech you are presenting on. Nobody likes to sit around for 20 minutes while the presenter say "Hold on just a second.." Prepare ahead, and if possible, test out your slides before hand on the equipment you will be presenting on.

These are some common mistakes that I've seen when addressing large groups. I might add more if I can think of any.

Overall, I consider myself a fairly good public speaker. I know how to get a crowd engaged and laughing (a good thing). While every speech I've given hasn't been golden, A fair amount have gone exceptionally well.

(just thought of something)

If you are addressing a small group of people. Asking questions is ok. If it is a large group, forget it. I struggle with good questions to be honest. However, I generally try to keep them on subject and make sure they aren't too hard or too easy. ( A good question addresses what you have talked about already, without being blatantly obvious)

 

[JulesMaximus]

First thought I responded 11-25 because I've done this many times but I've actually spoken in front of over 150 people a few times.

 

[esun]

I've taught some classes and workshops with I'd say around 30-50 people in them. To me it's not necessarily the number of people that can cause nerves to set in, but the nature of the presentation. General tips though:

* Prepare well. If you're thinking about the content you are already in trouble because you need to focus on communicating it rather than what it actually is.
* Relax and speak slowly. If you think you're speaking too slowly, speak a little slower and go with that speed.
* Voice inflection. You need to use your voice to add interest to any presentation. Monotone will put everyone to sleep. If you don't sound interested, your listeners won't be interested.
* Volume and eye contact. Make sure everyone can hear you, and make sure you make eye contact with people, front to back.

There's really not much "theory" behind good public speaking than that. It's really about practicing to get good at all of those things that is difficult. If you're nervous, as soon as you stand up to speak you'll forget to do every one of those things listed above. Feeling comfortable is really the key.

 

[EvilYoda]

I used to travel as a spokesperson and narrator...so that could easily get into a few hundred. These days, when I'm facilitating a class, it tends to be more like 30-60. The biggest event we have going on in the next year is written for waves of 96, so it's pretty manageable.

Your style is all your own and if you're just giving a presentation to a crowd instead of trying to have them learn something, your ability to be different can be limited. As everyone will tell you - the audience can tell how well you know the material. The company I work for specializes in robust and engaging facilitation, so we do a lot of active stuff. As spidey said, if you can move around, do so. And I'm not talking about the pacing back and forth that you always see, I'm talking about walking into the crowd, standing behind them, letting people on the front, left, right, middle, and back feel like you're talking to them. "Talk TO them, not AT them."

It's always come pretty naturally to me, so it'll take time if you have a fear of this sort of thing.

 

[Deeko]

hmm I was best man at my brother's wedding, the reception was large, I'd estimate somewhere between 150-250 people. In a more professional setting, probably about 100.

 

[Jeeebus]

somewhere around 3000, but that was a one time thing back in college. Nowadays it's usually just a judge and maybe a couple other people.

 

[Slick5150]

13,000! Woooo, I'm in the lead!

 

[theflyingpig]

I've presented my ideas to an entire village. My ideas took the form of bullets.

 

[surfsatwerk]

The easiest way to gain confidence when speaking to a large group of people is have a solid foundation in the material you're presenting.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: surfsatwerk
The easiest way to gain confidence when speaking to a large group of people is have a solid foundation in the material you're presenting.

That and picturing them naked.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Thanks for the tips

I got a couple laughs during the two presentations. I know for a fact that I end up speaking too fast when I get nervous.

I started both of them out by asking where the schools were in the audience where I student taught / had practicums, so I had an opener that was a little unexpected and semi-funny.

I knew after the first one that I had ended up concentrating on the PowerPoint I was presenting rather than the crowd. I was just trying to get through the first one without screwing up too bad.

For the one this morning, I tried to concentrate on looking at the crowd more, but I think I went too fast and I didn't try to make them laugh much. I think only twice for the second one.

I wasn't really concentrating on the time much for either of them. If I had to guess, maybe it was 10 minutes each.

I got some positive comments from audience members both times after the presentations, so that helped. This morning I got a comment along the lines of "your portion of the presentation was very clear and easy to understand", so that makes me feel like I did a decent job.

It sounds like doing presentations is probably going to become a more frequent part of my job now and I may be taking over other parts of the presentation as well.

Luckily I feel like I know this stuff pretty well after working there for a few years. I guess the part of it I'm more worried about for the future is when people start asking technical questions about the material I've been presenting. That should be fun

 

[krylon]

A stance of dominance. Yes, folks, that's really all it takes to both:

1. Speak in front of a group
2. Have sex with a woman

 

[FelixDeCat]

I was in front of fiddy+ people when I accepted my 15th aniversary diamond pin back in 2006. I got a nice round of applause like none other.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Originally posted by: theflyingpig
I've presented my ideas to an entire village. My ideas took the form of bullets.

Camping in Halo doesnt count.

 

[shortylickens]

No more than a hundred.
When I was in the Navy I ended up giving lots of training. I did not like it one bit, but unlike other folks I put real effort into it and tried to make the training decent. I wasnt gonna do a half-assed job just because I didnt like something. (A concept MANY sailors do not agree with, unfortunately.)
Anywho, some how word got back to the CO that I was a decent presenter and on one occasion I found myself giving training to the whole command at our monthly quarters. We had over a hundred people in the command at that time but some were on watch and some pussies routinely skipped out. So I estimate it was 100 tops.

I was not nervous. One of the cool things about not having pride or shame is you dont care anything about anyone. Its actually kind of fun sometimes.

 

[Evadman]

~2500 in person, but on CCTV to 200,000 more. Scared the bejesus out of me.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

2000 or so in a short but sweet commencement speech.

 

[TallBill]

About 120 or so, taught and ran a class for my Army Company on the M9 handgun before a range. Everyone shot exceptionally well afterwards and I got a pat on the butt.