Top 15 Podium Tactics From Public-Speaking Pros

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Floyd Abrams, partner, Cahill Gordon, a law firm

Abrams has litigated First Amendment cases in the Supreme Court. He most recently represented the New York Times in its defense of Judith Miller.

Too many speeches are either too dense or too dull, particularly in the corporate sphere. Use examples that include dialogue–two people talking to each other in their own spoken language. Don’t assume your audience knows your topic. Never fall into jargon.

Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary

Step one: Literally write the headline you want a newspaper to carry as if your speech were going to make front-page news. If you can’t, your message is too complicated, too boring or too vague to impress anyone. Step two: Be substantive. Make a strong prediction, take a controversial stand or deliver a keen insight–but back it up with facts and research. Step three: Be entertaining. Use anecdotes and self-deprecating humor to connect with the crowd. Step four: Don’t speak too long. Even a good speech loses people after at most, 40 minutes.

George Foreman, two-time World Heavyweight boxing champion, entrepreneur

Public speaking means putting aside a lack of confidence and delivering a message more important than your feelings and sensitivity. It’s about recognizing that your presentation is meant to help someone.

Jim Gill, partner, Bryan Cave, a law firm

Gill has represented trade unions and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York; he is also chairman of the board of trustees of the Doris Duke Charitable Trust.

I rely heavily on humor, but if it’s not right, it can blow up. The dumbest thing you can do is to chastise an audience when you’ve tried humor that’s failed.

Erin Gruwell, founder of Freedom Writers Foundation and inspiration for the movie Freedom Writers

As a public speaker, Gruwell has followed the likes of Bill Clinton, Desmond Tutu and Lance Armstrong.

My two most difficult audiences have been kids in juvenile hall and people in corporate America. Neither group really has to listen to you. I take the same kind of mentality when giving a speech that I do with challenging students: Engage the lowest common denominator, someone with a negative attitude or who can’t concentrate. If I can engage that person, everyone else with fall like a domino.

Rev. Kieran Harrington, priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn, Church of St. Patrick, Bay Ridge

Rev. Harrington says about 10 masses–and delivers 10 homilies–every week.

When I’m preaching, I’m not speaking to 800 people–I’m trying to speak to each person individually. Eye contact is critical. I move from west to east, making contact with people for a second or two. If there’s someone who seems disengaged, I’ll keep coming back in hopes of reaching them. But you have to be very careful: If you’re talking about, say, adultery, you don’t want the person you are looking at thinking that you’ve found them out!

Allen Hershkowitz, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Natural Resources Defense Council

Hershkowitz frequently speaks in front of large audiences and serves as an expert witness in court proceedings.

Deal with facts as simply as possible–minimize data. We have a "three" rule: Don’t tell them more than three things. I speak at nursery schools; benefactors ask me to speak for Earth Day. It is invariably the most challenging presentation I ever give, but I force myself to do that because it really forces me to get down and think [about] the basic message and how can I communicate it as simply as possible.

Bob Kerrey, President of the New School and former Nebraska governor and senator

Slow down, especially at the beginning of a speech.You’ll get the audience’s attention by pausing. Without that, you can actually insult the audience. They’ll know you’re in a hurry and you want to get your speech over with.

Sally Koslow, author of Little Pink Slips and former editor of McCalls and Lifetime

I’ve had to speak a lot for every job I’ve had since getting to middle management. It’s never something that I’ve been hired for, but for me, it’s been important to be able to stand in front of a crowd and speak. The night before a speech, I go over my notes right before I go to sleep. There’s almost something magical about it. You remember the words in a dreamlike state and it helps your brain absorb the material.

Richard LaGravenese, director and screenwriter

Don’t be afraid to work ‘off book’ (without a written speech). I remember I gave the Marvin Borowsky lecture on screenwriting for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. I was very excited about it, but the afternoon before the evening lecture, I panicked when I realized I would be in front of 650 people. On a little scrap of paper, I wrote down key words that I knew would spark stories or themes that could get the ball rolling. I had the greatest time. If you have enthusiasm and excitement, if you show your humanity up there, that’s when the audience starts to warm up.

Jack LaLanne, 92-year-old fitness guru

If you believe in something, you can talk about it. All my life I have been very, very shy. To get in front of a crowd drives me nuts, but I have a message to deliver. When I talk to people, I have one thing on my mind: How can I help that person–that woman, that young kid, that person with arthritis–how can I help those people to help themselves?

Steve Levy, ESPN television anchor and sports announcer

I always try to get in with something light. I’m not particularly funny–if you’ve watched the show you’ll know that–but I just try to get people to relax right off the top. You want your audience to settle in, to say ‘Hey, this guy’s sharp. What he’s about to tell me, I need to know.’ It doesn’t have to be funny necessarily, but something to snap people out of whatever doldrums they might be into.

Judge Maria Lopez, daytime court show host

Say the same things over in different ways, especially when you are trying to sell something. When I would teach law, I did this as an educational tool, but it’s also a sales tool. It will make an imprint that people will remember.

Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough President

No matter how serious the presentation is, you can’t take yourself too seriously. Self-deprecation is always part of my speech. It helps the audience know we’re all in the same boat–not that I’m "here" and they’re "there."

Scott McNealy, founder, Sun Microsystems

McNealy did 53 keynotes in the 2007 fiscal year.

Never be boring. I sat through so many lectures as a student where I wanted to cry I was so bored. There is always risk with being funny and controversial that the audience will miss your message, but I think there is a better chance they’ll hear it and have a positive affiliation if you are entertaining.

 

Author: Forbes.com