Want to Give a Great Speech? Avoid These 5 Common Mistakes Before an important speech, we must always ask ourselves what success looks like at the end of our talk. Is it simply presenting facts and not forgetting anything we planned to say or leaving people transformed forever by our words?
By Farrah Smith Edited by Kara McIntyre
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Maya Angelou once said, "At the end of the day, people won't remember what you said or did, but they will remember how you made them feel."
The natural response to her words of wisdom is to think about how they relate to our personal relationships or leadership skills, but the benefit of leaving an emotional impression on someone extends beyond private interactions. The same advantage can be seen when trying to influence larger groups in a public setting, such as when giving a speech or a big presentation.
If you are anything like me, when preparing for an important speech, your instinct is to focus on delivering as much content as possible. You might assume that the more information you present, the better job you will do. However, when you spend too much time teaching the material and not enough time connecting with your audience, you miss an opportunity to reach them on a deeper level. You must create space for people to take in what you have shared and think about how it relates to them if you want to spark real change within their lives.
Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way when I spoke at my alma mater, UCLA. It was a dream opportunity for me, so I put a lot of time and effort into the presentation. Still, I could tell by the lack of energy in the room and the wide-eyed look on all their faces that my never-ending PowerPoint slides full of bullet points had left the attendees overwhelmed and exhausted. I shared excellent advice, but I missed the opportunity to make a genuine impact because of how much information I included and how I delivered it. I doubt many students remember what I said or how I made them feel that day. It was a mistake I will never forget or ever make again.
Think about the last time you saw someone give a speech online or in person. Do you remember the specific talking points or how you felt during and after the talk? Did the speaker leave you energized and motivated or feeling tired, drowning in information? Were you fully present in the moment, or were you half listening waiting for it to end? The best presenters are the ones who connect with their audience by being entertaining, relatable and emotionally stimulating, not just informative.
Before an important speech, we must always ask ourselves what success looks like at the end of our talk. Is it simply presenting facts and not forgetting anything we planned to say or leaving people transformed forever by our words? If your goal is to leave a lasting impression the next time you are on stage, here are five common mistakes to avoid.
Related: How to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking
1. Trying to teach everything you know
Overloading people with everything you could possibly share on a subject is the last thing you should do if you want them to remember what you said and put your words into action.
Whenever I start to make this critical error, I remind myself, "When you try to teach people everything, you teach them nothing." Pick a few key concepts and deliver them in a powerful way. Less is more when it comes to effective speeches.
2. Being too technical
People get bored when you are too technical. Nobody wants to sit through a lengthy presentation of tables, charts and slides — and it's hard to win an audience back once you have lost them.
On the other hand, when you speak about personal experiences, the audience becomes invested in your story and what you have to say. You are also more natural, confident, and energetic when talking about your life which is more enjoyable to watch.
Using storytelling to deliver talking points will appeal to your audience's emotions, making you and your talk more intriguing and memorable.
Related: Sound Advice: How to Make Your Voice More Effective
3. Disregarding your audience demographic
Even if you always speak about the same subject and can reuse material, you should base your examples on the demographic of your audience.
Your language and references must be relevant to the people in the room. The last thing you want to do is make a reference that someone doesn't understand and create an awkward moment.
As a global speaker, you must also keep cultural differences in mind. You don't want to risk offending anyone in the room. And whatever you do, stay away from sensitive topics like religion and politics, which could alienate some of your audience.
4. Relying on your slides too much
The fastest way to make your speech stale is by reading through a bunch of slides.
Most people do this out of fear of freezing or forgetting their talk due to nerves. Using specific techniques to help you remember your presentation can not only boost your confidence and reduce stress but also improve your performance and overall success of your talk.
One useful strategy relies on our brain's strong ability to remember locations. Your mind already recognizes familiar surroundings and has likely developed deep connections with your home, so it's the perfect place for exercising the skill of memory and recall.
Here's how it works: Gather the images you created for all your bullet points and put them in order by how you will present them. Then, choose a starting room or location in your house and "tour" your home by moving from one location to the next, depositing an image in each place. Your brain will remember the layout of your home in order and associate the location with the ordered image. Later, if you get stuck while speaking, all you will need to retrieve information is to take a mental stroll through your home. You can remember where you were in your speech simply by picturing which room you were in when you messed up, and your brain can help you remember where you left off and what comes next.
This tool saved me during my TEDx speech. It is incredibly daunting when you know something will be filmed and shown to the world, whether you do a good job or not. I tripped over my words a few times because I was nervous, but I quickly recovered because I knew how to get back on track using location recall.
Also, you can never rely on a teleprompter. Nothing is more cringe-worthy than a person standing on stage like a deer in headlights because they didn't memorize their speech and the teleprompter is off time or has stopped working. As someone who used to work in event production, I have seen many presentations fall apart due to technical issues.
Do yourself and the audience a favor and use slides as a guide, not a crutch.
Related: To Make a Big Impression, Keep These Tiny Words Out of Your Presentations
5. Focusing on your performance, not your purpose
Most people fear public speaking because they are too focused on themselves. What if I freeze? What if I forget something? What if they don't like me? What if I sound dumb? But you are not there to show everyone how smart and perfect you are. You are there to positively impact the lives of the people listening. If you shift your focus from yourself to the audience and the mission behind your talk, you will immediately begin to feel pressure lift and excitement set in.
The next time you have a big presentation or the opportunity to be on stage, be sure to take people on a journey. Make it personal, relatable and fun. If you deliver an inspiring, informative and entertaining talk, it will be a more enjoyable experience for you and everyone else in the room. The audience will not only retain more of the information, but they will also remember you and how you made them feel.
One presentation can change your life and the life of countless others if done with purpose, passion and a clear intention to serve.
