[Tips] Slow Down

One of the common…. not mistakes, not even issues, but, well, things we see… is nervous presenters speaking at a breakneck speed. It is probably a side-effect of all the adrenaline that is surging through the body, perhaps combined with the knowledge that the clock is ticking. Or maybe it is simply born a desire to get off the stage. Whatever the cause, people tend to speak fast when they get in front of a crowd.

Speaking fast has several drawbacks. First, you (as the speaker) are more likely to stumble over your words and become more nervous because you feel that you are making a fool of yourself (you’re not, but you feel that way). Second, speaking quickly makes it very difficult for people to understand you, especially people for whom your first language is not theirs (I have been a chief offender on that one).

But perhaps the biggest drawback of speaking quickly is that it is simply exhausting for the audience. Remember, you set the tone for the audience – if you are bored, the audience will be bored. If you are excited, the audience will get excited. And if you are going at a mile-a-minute pace, well, your audience has to also just to follow along. And that gets tiring.

What brought this on? Well, today I came across a talk by Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame. I love the show, and enjoy sitting and watching it with my kids. And I quite like Adam – he has a quirkiness and sense of fun that comes across positively.

So when I found out he had a TED talk, I watched it right away. It reveals a lot of interesting things about Adam, but for me it was mostly exhausting. I think Adam took three breaths through twenty minutes. Maybe. And two happened while I wasn’t looking. Don’t believe me? Check it out yourself:

See? Exhausting. A wonderful topic, good use of visuals, palpable enthusiasm… but waaaayyyy too fast.

So, unless you can pull it off at least as well as Adam Savage, do your audience a favor and slow down.

Introducing TED [Commentary]

One of the best ways to become a better speaker is to watch great speakers and pick up on the things that they do that make them, well, great. So, in that vein:

Have you met TED yet?

No, TED is not a person, it’s an event. Every year, 1000 people are invited to attend the TED conference* in Monterey, California. The attendees are innovative and influential types, and presenters have included scientists like physicist Murray Gell-Mann, biologist and businessman Craig Ventner, inventor of the internet Al Gore**, and serial entrepreneur Richard Branson.

But TED is not limited to the right side of the brain, it also includes the left side. World juggling champs the Raspyni Brothers, “Lost” creator J.J. Abrams, and Dancer Kenichi Ebina have also appeared.

The one thing that these folks have in common is that they are all free thinkers, and they come to share their ideas, their histories, their excitement at the future. You never come across a TED speaker who is not enthusiastic about their work, so the talk quality is generally excellent. Sure, there are a few that have not interested me, or that I thought were not up to the TED quality, but these folks are the exception, not the rule.

The most wonderful thing about TED, though, is that you do not have to attend to experience it (although I am sure that the experience is greater). TED has video of all its speakers, and it makes these videos available – for free (!) – on both iTunes and on their own website.

TED makes it easy for you to find something of interest to you. You can look for talks by theme, by speaker, or by rating. Really – why are you still here? Go download a talk or two and pick up some tips yourself***.

* Technology, Entertainment, Design. TED. Get it?

** Yes, I know

*** No, I am not getting a kickback