## hpr3773 :: My Public Speaking Rules

 Public Speaking
For many people, public speaking is a very traumatic thing.
It is not something that has ever held any great terror for me. That
is especially true now I am totally blind.
My Public Speaking Rules
These are some rules I live by when public speaking. These apply to
things like technical talks or lectures. Not necessarily to after dinner
speaking, or the speech you might give as the best man at a wedding.
Those things are different entirely:

NEVER start a talk with an apology for being a bad public
speaker. You will be implanting in the audience the subconscious
suggestion that they are about to sit through a talk given by a bumbling
idiot with limited knowledge of the published subject.
Three part rule. A talk about a technical or serious subject
should be divided into these three parts

tell them what you are going to be talking about
the meat of the talk
summarise what you just told them.

This was given to me a very long time ago by a retired lecturer from
the London School of Economics.
The people in the audience wanted to be there. So there is little
or no hostility in the room. And much empathy.
Don't rush yourself. Pace the talk. Rushing can be a nasty
feedback loop which makes your pace increase and your level of
confidence plummet.
Don't be afraid of pauses, or silence. These moments can give you
breathing space to summarise in your own mind where you are at, whether
the last thing you said needs amplification, and what is to come
next.
Don't be afraid of the 'ums and erms.' But keep it to a minimum.
Silence is better than verbal ticks.
Keep humour to a minimum. Depends on the kind of event. If you
are the best man at a wedding, you are supposed to inject humour,
probably at the expense of the groom.
You don't need to pick out one audience member to talk to. You
are just as effective if you are focused on the back wall. Talking to
just one member of the audience, particularly if they are right at the
front, is probably not a good look. Glancing round the room helps to
make everybody feel included.

Notes
I probably broke some of my rules, in particular inserting verbal
ticks early in the podcast. I think I improved focus as I went on.
I inserted some humour, including some comments about my family
Christmas, but then it is, well, Christmas.
I am almost never happier than when I am learning new things.
I am fiercely proud of, and amazed at the amount of things I know
about a lot of subjects. I am a knowledge sponge.
The one thing that does make me happier than learning, is sharing
what I know. Which I often do in a tone which suggests I am just amazed
at the fact I know this stuff at all.
Remember, the things you don't yet know are more important than the
things you already know. That is true for everybody. So share your
knowledge in good spirit, keeping arrogance out of the picture.
