I’m sitting in the audience at a conference. I check my watch.
In a few moments, it will be my turn to take the stage and deliver a presentation. I’m scheduled to speak immediately after the panel currently under way.
The panel discussion concludes. The moderator walks onto the stage to announce the next session. I shift in my seat, almost ready to stand up.
But then, I hear her announce a coffee break.
A coffee break? That wasn’t in the schedule. What’s going on?
As my colleague and I wander around the coffee area during the break, the moderator comes up to me, introduces herself and tells me, “I think the audience needed a coffee break after that last panel.”
Ouch!
I smile and tell her that works fine for me.
You see, the previous session had almost put me to sleep too. It was a panel discussion featuring two very experienced CEOs being interviewed on stage. Throughout the session, my colleague and I kept exchanging perplexed glances.
The CEOs spoke with such a lack of enthusiasm about their businesses that it was impossible for anyone else to be interested. They both had microphones, but it felt like you could barely hear them.
At one point, one of them apparently made a joke. Only a few people in the front row chuckled. My colleague and I, sitting not too far from the stage, couldn’t even make out what he had said.
Worse still, they were in perfect sync. Maybe mirror neurons were at play, forcing one to match the other’s energy level. Or maybe they both just had the same communication style.
The effect was so profoundly dull that even the host couldn’t contain her candour with me.
I often recall this incident and think, what a tragedy.
Both CEOs were obviously brilliant, highly accomplished professionals with a wealth of wisdom to share. But their communication skills were letting them down. Their messages probably weren’t weak. But they weren’t even reaching the audience.
Now, there is a misconception that some people simply have charisma, stage presence, magnetism and all that good stuff, while others don’t.
I’m here to bust that myth and tell you that becoming an engaging public speaker relies simply on a set of skills that the CEOs had not developed. If they had done one or more of the seven things below, that panel discussion could have been very different.
1. Brought energy
As speakers, when we inject energy into our communication, others feel it too. And this does not happen automatically. Speakers must make a conscious effort to raise their energy when they take the stage.
How can they do it? Well, they must first feel passionate about the topic they are talking about. In the case of the two CEOs, surely, they were passionate about and believed in the businesses they led. They just had to feel that passion and demonstrate it. In doing so, they would have lifted the energy level in the entire room.
2. Used their voice
This goes without saying, given that we could barely hear the two CEOs despite them having microphones.
For speakers, our voice is our most powerful instrument. Singers practise and develop their voices. Why don’t speakers do the same? They absolutely should.
Varying our volume, pace and tone, while injecting emotion and using pauses, makes our voice dynamic and our delivery engaging. The opposite, quite literally, is monotony, which results in forced coffee breaks at conferences.
3. Shared some stories
Stories can bring any message to life and make it memorable. People will forget the data points and lectures, but they will remember the stories if they are delivered in an engaging way.
I would imagine the CEOs had many stories to share, if only they had worked on the ability to identify those stories, harness the lessons, weave a narrative and deliver it in a way that captivated the audience.
It’s a skill that can transform communication, especially in business.
4. Had a conversation with the audience
Panellists at conferences must always remember that they are not there just to have a conversation with the host. They are also there to have a conversation with the audience. Just like a keynote speaker.
They must turn towards the audience and speak directly to them. Maybe even engage them with a question.
5. Used humour
Humour generally does have a place, even at business conferences. It works best when woven into a story rather than delivered as a forced standalone joke.
Apparently, one of the CEOs made a joke. I’m still not sure what it was, though.
6. Delivered powerful messages
In panel discussions, the goal is never simply to answer the questions being asked. The questions are there to prompt an interesting discussion.
Whether or not the questions have been agreed with the panellists ahead of the session, the goal of each speaker must always be to deliver their most important messages.
7. Used their body language
The CEOs could have reoriented themselves towards the audience and had a conversation with them. They could have used gestures effectively to paint a picture around their messages. They could have injected some movement into their delivery to elevate their energy.
And they could have made eye contact, smiled and leaned towards the audience. There is so much a speaker can do on stage, even while remaining seated.
Public speaking matters because you may have all the subject-matter knowledge in the world, but if you can’t organise it well and communicate it in a way the audience understands and finds engaging, then your message will never be remembered.
And that is a colossal missed opportunity.
Luckily, this can be addressed by developing skills like the ones I have introduced in this post. In future posts, I will go into greater depth to help you develop each of these skills and many more.
This way, the next time you speak on stage, nobody will need a coffee afterwards.
Your energy alone will be enough.
