When Darren LaCroix had to give a speech in front of a large crowd, he fell on his face. And that’s one reason he is the reigning world champion of public speaking.
His tumble was a bellyflop, not a metaphor–LaCroix did it a few months ago at the Toastmasters International championship competition–to show how the fear of failure keeps holding people back. That can apply to anything from giving a speech to dreaming of success.
LaCroix, who says it took nine years of hard work to “look natural” as a public speaker, offered several suggestions for workers who shudder at the idea of giving a speech:
– Know your audience. To combat nervousness and give a better speech, talk to some of your future listeners and ask what they hope to learn: “What it does is give you some friends who are going to be in the audience.”
It also can take the focus away from your nervousness and place it on helping the audience.
– Enter with confidence. Before the championships, LaCroix would listen to upbeat music or recorded encouragement from friends so that he would take the stage in a confident mood.
“Audiences judge you most in the first 30 seconds. If in the first 30 seconds you don’t have the audience’s confidence, they won’t listen.”
– Don’t read the speech. LaCroix said too many novices either write the speech word for word and read it aloud, or their delivery is so flat that they sound as if they’re reading it.
“Know your first line,” he said. “Know your last line. Know two or three stories.”
– Practice telling the stories to friends in casual conversations so you’re comfortable, and make a recording for yourself if possible. “If you just listen to yourself, you will be better next time.”
– Stick to your point. LaCroix often gives 45-minute presentations to businesses, but his winning speech faced a strict seven-minute limit. The difference between them? “A seven-minute speech takes longer to write,” he said.
LaCroix said that although longer presentations can have a few main points, short speeches need to have only one message. Write that message and focus on it while preparing the speech, he said.
“Every word either adds or detracts,” LaCroix said. “There is no middle ground.”
In his winning speech, called “Ouch!” LaCroix fell on his face and paused for a moment. While still prone, he asked audience members what they thought about when they fell on their faces.
“Are you more concerned with what other people will think than what you can learn from this?”
LaCroix did get back on his feet, then talked about the importance of having the courage to take the next step after the fall. He has one more bit of advice, something that goes against the boilerplate suggestions for public speaking.
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“Don’t start out with a joke,” LaCroix said. “What if they don’t laugh?”If you want to start with a joke, he suggests it be something that relates to your topic. Even if the joke bombs, it still moves the speech forward. And you just might end up with the last laugh.