Speaking in jargon is a presentation hazard faced by technical or highly educated speakers.  A speaker can be so involved with a subject that he doesn’t even notice that he is doing it; jargon is just his native language.

In general, anything that distracts from the audience focusing on your message should be avoided.  When a listener hears an unfamiliar word, phrase, or acronym, part of their brain will be trying to decipher what that means.  That distracts them from what you are saying next.  So comb through your speech, looking at it through the lens of someone new to your subject.

That said, in speaking to people in your field who speak your language, jargon is more appropriate.  If you find yourself in need of some useful jargon, particularly in the fields of philanthropy and development, there is a tool that will help you find the right words.  Use this for any occasion!   Jargon Generator

• Improving medical education through theater
• Losing a newborn twin brother to kidnapping
• Commentary through song-blogging
• Competitive writing
• Getting clean water by spending money on trees rather than treatment plants
• Fostering social change through the design of a tampon case

Really, where else are you ever going to hear of all of these topics in a single day?

A web video is a compelling way to reach your audience. This is a good example of a very well-done one by Keith Ferrazzi, author of the book Never Eat Alone. This video comes from his blog, which concentrates on relationship building as a crucial business tool.

In this video, what distracts from the message?

The sound quality of this piece has quite an echo. A mocrophone closer to the speaker than the camera would help, whether a wired or wireless mike. I have had success recording myself using a Audio-Technica Pro 88W/R wireless mike. We use the same microphone in my Toastmasters club to get sound to the camera recording each of our speakers.

While often effective, Keith’s hand gestures are sometimes too busy. He would benefit from occasionally just dropping his arms to his side. This would serve to emphasis his gestures when he does make them.

Keith speaks quite quickly and with few if any pauses between thoughts. Especially with such a fast rate of speaking, pauses give the audience a chance to absorb the message.

What works to support his message in this piece?

There is a blank background – the minimalism causes your attention to be 100% on Keith and his message.

The framing of the video is perfect, allowing you to see the full range of Keith’s hand gestures.

Speaking of gestures, Keith has an effective array of hand movements that emphasis his words.

Keith referred to his notes in repeating the questions but then set the page aside, which was a good idea. You can feel the difference in connection that Keith makes when he switches to speaking directly to the camera. Keith is all about connection, and here he demonstrates well how to connect.

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“Enlighten us, but make it quick” is the mantra of Ignite talks.  The format is simple – show 20 slides, advancing every 15 seconds.

That makes for a five-minute presentation, a lightning talk.  Speak about each slide or use the flow to illustrate your talk.

Why should I give an Ignite talk?

Every speaker benefits from practice at being concise when speaking.  Ignite forces that, whether you consider it to be a 5-minute speech or 20 15-second bursts.

Ignite is a platform to share your passion, your inspiration, or your quirky idea to an appreciative audience.

What should I talk about?

Tell a story.  Tell a story about telling a story.  Scott Berkun explains how here:

Where do I sign up?

Look for an Ignite in your community.  Apply to speak at our local Ignite Asheville, coming up on February 21, 2012.

Addressing your audience without knowing your purpose is equivalent to driving a car without knowing which direction to go.  Consider yourself the driver and your audience members the passengers.  Your audience should always be uppermost in your mind as you prepare a speech.  Ask yourself three questions:

1. Who is your audience?  What are their interests, what do they want to learn from you?  Where do they want to go?
2. What change or action do you want to affect in them?  Are you seeking customers?  Funding?  Followers?  Where do you want to take them?
3. How is this audience best approached? Do you plan to sell them? Inspire them?  Entertain them?  What is the best route to take to reach your destination?

It is crucial to be clear on these questions before you write the first word of a presentation.  In considering your audience and your approach to them, what you will say and how to say it becomes more apparent.  Leave out that which does not support your goals in giving the talk.  That makes it more focused and also shortens the speech, something audiences appreciate.

Here is an example from TEDxGreenville.  Prasanna Eswara, in first considering his talk, began with slides that accompanied a presentaion that he had given previously, but in which he had an hour to speak. However, for his TED talk he was only allowed five minutes, calling for a wholly different  andmuch more concise presentation.

Here is his initial PowerPoint which inluded 35 slides, animation, and was content-heavy even for an hour-long talk: initial PowerPoint

By cutting his content down to its essence, Prasanna was able to give the audience a strong speech in his  allotted time:

Being unclear on your goals. Presentations should be made with a goal in mind. Not so much the ultimate goal (attracting investment, gaining new clients, selling your product or service) as the immediate goal of the presentation. Focus on the short-term goal, which may be as modest as beginning a conversation, booking a follow-up meeting, or sparking an interest in your company. With that specific goal in mind you can organize your presentation in a way that will maximize that possibility.  Without a specific goal, you are more liable to ramble and be disorganized, diminishing your chance of success.

Saying too much. One comment you never hear after a speech is, “That was fascinating, I wish she had gone on much longer”. Those who are enthusiastic and passionate about a subject tend to overspeak their case.  The highly educated often speak technically and over the head of the audience, seeking to emphasize their expertise and competence (while ultimately losing the audience).  The entrepreneur feels compelled to say everything that is good about his company; the politician recites a laundry list of every accomplishment she has had.

It is ALWAYS better to leave the audience craving more information than to watch them shut down due to data overload.  Say enough to get them interested and then remain available after your remarks to answer questions.  Sharing your knowledge in a question-and-answer format helps in two ways – you are speaking to the areas of interest to your audience, as they determine the questions.  Also, your credibility as an expert is reinforced as you demonstrate your knowledge through your ability to answer questions on your subject.

Reciting your speech. Presentations that are read aloud or memorized word-for-word and recited verbatim are stiff and distant in nature. The most successful speeches are those that connect on a personal level with the audience.  Public speaking is most effective if it is conversational in nature.  Prepare and hone your remarks, but give them as though you were talking to friends.  At the end of the day, people prefer doing business with people that they like, so always let your personality shine through your speech.

You may wish that you could forgo speaking to people, instead being able to just wave a wand and have them do what you want.   That’s wishful thinking but the same result is achievable through a strong presentation.  Once you are comfortable in your skin as a speaker and have mastered the techniques of an effective speaker, you have created the conditions in which persuasion can happen.

The distinction between conversation and public speaking is that public speaking is goal-oriented.  Our business name, Message Clarity, refers not just to having a clear speaking style.  Think of it also as Action Clarity; that is, being clear on what course of action you desire to evince in the members of your audience.   That action might be:

• Convincing them to buy your product
• Inspiring them to join your cause
• Interesting them in investing money in your company
• Changing their minds on an issue
• Persuading them to vote for you

You must first be clear on your intentions and then effective in sharing that message.  If not you may was well be passing the time of day in conversation.  But with conditions right, your speaking can have an almost magical effect in galvanizing the audience to action.

This speech by Van Jones provides a good example of a good speaker with a few areas for improvement.

On the positive side, Mr.Jones has a rich and mellifluous (mellifluous: having a smooth, rich flow) speaking voice, with great projection.  He speaks with ease to his audience with a friendly voice and manner.

However, in the first four minutes of his presentation, he voices 40 verbal fillers – ums or ahs.  Some of them are barely noticeable, and some are strung together and quite distracting.  One should always seek to replace verbal fillers with silence.  Pauses are a speaker’s friend; in addition to not being distracting as are fillers they give the audience time to absorb what is being said.  In the same vein, Van Jones does not pause between sentences, rushing from one to the next.  That is sometimes a symptom of nervousness, or more likely in this case, often a sign that the speaker feels rushed to fit his content into the allotted time.  There again, the audience benefits from a pause.

It is worth observing the speaker’s use of his note cards.  The notes themselves are quite large and distracting, preventing him from using both of his hands in gestures.  It is worthy of note that the speaker never refers to his notes at all; as far as we can tell they are there primarily as a security blanket.  He could have dispensed with them altogether.