As a comedian I am often asked, "Do you get nervous being on-stage?" The answer is no. There is nothing about a stage that frightens me. However, I do get nervous performing for people.
It's a good kind of nervous; the kind of nervous where you think to yourself, "This is going to be really fun!" while your leg shakes; the kind of nervous where you can feel the pressure of a situation and you know that how you perform will determine everything. I love that.
Like everything else, if you do it enough times you get used to it and you get better at handling it. My leg doesn't shake anymore unless I've eaten an inordinate amount of Kit-Kat bars.
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| Stand-up comedian's view of the audience |
Most of you readers are not comedians, but I've got a few public speaking tips to give you that will help you any time you're speaking in public. Not only will these tips help calm your nerves, they will also help you do a good job. Trust me, those are two separate things. There are a lot of confident people who are terrible public speakers.
Tip #1: Gain some perspective
Public speaking is commonly said to be people's #1 fear, and I feel the need to debunk that rumor. Being eaten alive by a velociraptor is my #1 fear, and it should be yours too.
Tip #2: Don't be "professional"
Even if you're supposed to be! Anybody can put on a suit and give a monotone speech while smiling and referring to a Powerpoint. Be unique and let the audience see you as you are. Entertain them. Jokes and stories are effective ways to illustrate a point. People expect a professional (i.e. Serious) presentation, so shake up the deck a little bit. It will be "off the cuff" and they'll like it as long as it's good.
Tip #3: Communicate efficiently
"He is a well-liked speaker who quickly after saying, 'Hello' says, 'In conclusion.'" -Dead person
It's true though. Craft your speech beforehand so it flows well. Be concise.
Tip #4: Be opinionated
Tell the audience what they don't want to hear. Open up a controversy. It's much more interesting. They will actually listen to you because 1) You will be engaging solely on the basis that you are giving your opinion to them, and 2) They will feel the need to respond to what you say, whether to agree or disagree. This can backfire on audiences who carry concealed weapons.
Tip #5: Develop your own style
"But Ronnie," you say. "I don't have a style!" Sure you do. Your words, mannerisms, and attitude are unique characteristics. These are great starting points to developing a style. Maybe you need to change some things about yourself to be a better public speaker, like if you, like, say the word "like", like all the time.
But on the other hand, if you're known for being ditzy, you can embrace that as part of your persona and speak at a faster pace, use longer sentences, and make really simple, obvious points that show just how hard you had to think to logically connect the dots. Then, you draw a profound conclusion based on your logic and drive it home. The audience will love it. Classic bait-and-switch.
Tip #1.6: Realize that people won't like you
This tip is labeled "Tip #1.6" because it is of first importance but I saved it for last so that you would remember it.
Anytime you give a speech and it goes really well, 80% of the audience will like it. At most.
I call this theory "The Bell Curve of Speaking". It follows the model of the Bell Curve, which was named after the 20th century philosopher, Edward Curve. Look closely:
As you can see, the curve represents 80% (the majority) of the audience with a 10% remnant on either end. Of the remnant groups, one will hate you and the other will love you. The 80% in between will split pretty evenly between liking you and being indifferent.
Take solace in this diagram. Now you don't have to worry about whether people will like you or not, you already know! Of course, there is wiggle room. If you're a really great speaker then maybe 20% of the people will love you, 75% will like you/be indifferent and 5% will hate you. Don't worry, you'll never give a speech where 100% of the audience hates you. The highest possible case is 99%.
Thus concludes my thoughts on public speaking. Sorry if this was too real. I'm just trying to help you gain some perspective through an unprofessional presentation by efficiently communicating my opinion on the subject in my own unique style. I bet some of you hate me.
