Practice tops the list
In business, people move forward faster and further when equipped with a good communications skill set. My sense is that those who do not feel comfortable with their presenting skills will decline roles of leadership, miss getting the sale, or fail to get more involved in their community because of their discomfort in front of a group. They end up settling for less and it stunts their career growth.
The best prescription for working through that discomfort is practice. There are many components to effective communication – to audiences of one or 1,000 – but practice is so important. Even with years in the communications industry, I don’t take lightly any opportunity to present to others.
To start, consider rehearsing at home with your spouse or even your children in the audience. Practice with trusted associates in your place of work. Practice helps you become well versed on topic and delivery and also allows you to increase your comfort level in tailoring your message to appeal to a particular audience. Moving outside your own comfort zone and into the audience’s takes part of the fear out of being the presenter; it takes part of the threat away. It also guarantees that you’re going to hold the interest of others.
Beyond practice, the following paragraphs highlight other steps for communicating comfortably and effectively in front of an audience.
Establish intimacy. Not much happens between speaker and audience until credibility and intimacy are established. To that end, your eyes are great tools for creating a connection. Be totally attentive; in smaller groups, resist the urge to look around the room to see who else is there. Do these things and in a very short period of time you will feel a closeness and a connection that is difficult to get in any other way.
Asking questions and listening attentively to answers is another way to create intimacy among groups large or small.

Know your audience; be credible. Resist the temptation to rely on your thorough knowledge of the subject to engage the audience; similarly, don’t count solely on charisma to carry you through. To create intimacy and credibility with all audience members, you must appeal to both the left (data storehouse) and right (creative) sides of the brain. Both facts and feelings are crucial: Facts tell, and feelings sell.
We try to teach presenters a well-rounded organization of ideas so they can be exciting to both the engineer and the person who is highly influenced by feelings.

Engage the audience from the start. People may be gathered in your audience but their minds are often elsewhere. Open with something that grabs their attention – a quotation from history, a profound idea, a startling fact – something relevant to the audience. Some people recommend starting with a joke. I say humor is a powerful opener but only if it relates to the particular topic, to the outcome you are seeking. If it creates that intimacy with your audience, then it’s appropriate.

Avoid the PowerPoint crutch. PowerPoint doesn’t make sales; it doesn’t get people to move beyond a status quo. People do that. The biggest problem with PowerPoint is that it’s overpowering. People tend to believe it is the message and give less weight to the person delivering the message. When that occurs, you have allowed PowerPoint to over step its usefulness.
PowerPoint is indeed a powerful aid but is best used to support your delivery rather than to supplant it. Consider this test regarding whether to use PowerPoint to make your case: If you can do it as well without it, do without it. Less is better.

Don’t believe you need to know it all. If someone asks a question that stumps you, don’t let it jeopardize your credibility. One of the things that frightens people so much in the public forum – we do surveys, and this issue always comes out on top – is fear of not knowing the answers. You don’t always have to know the answer. This isn’t about being perfect; it’s about being authentic and responsive. So saying “I don’t know” is not always the worst answer you can give.
If a flat-out “I don’t know” makes you uncomfortable, you might ask, “What do you think?” You might identify someone in the room that you think can answer the question and ask their opinion. You could toss the question to the audience, or you might choose to say, “I don’t feel sufficiently up-to-date on that question. Let me find the answer and get back to you.”

Guidelines to getting results
I can think of five things that will almost guarantee that someone is really effective.

Fire your purpose with passion. Follow your passion – if not about the topic, then about the audience or the opportunity you’re presenting. Be passionate about what the information can do for the people in your audience.

Learn to listen. For many – for me! – it’s not an easy skill to develop, but listening plays such a huge part in being an effective communicator.

Know that you don’t have to be perfect and that you do have the capacity to practice. Tiger Woods practices every day and so do great communicators. They make it look like it’s their first time out there, but they’re practiced.

Learn to use your eyes effectively. Learn to look at people one person at a time rather than scanning the audience. Don’t hide your eyes or wear dark glasses.

Seek authenticity. Practice – along with an understanding of the first four points – will create an authenticity in your presentation.

Want to know more? Boyd, former broadcast personality on WBT talk radio and WBTV, offers intensive three-day training to improve communication skills. More speaking tips and information about his Executive Learning Systems courses are available at www.tyboyd.com.