Communication skills are important to learn, and public speaking is one of them, because these days, for all sorts of reasons, many of us will have to speak in front of people (sometimes in a work meeting, sometimes to give a presentation…). So, in addition to some tips we gave in a previous article on losing your fear of public speaking, today we look at some common mistakes we can make when addressing people in a talk.
On the one hand there are speakers, orators, lecturers (or whatever they are called now); on the other, people who upload videos to the internet with explanations or opinions aimed at their audience. And finally, there are people who, for professional reasons, have to speak to a small group in a presentation during a business meeting.
See also: Techniques of the best TED speakers
All of these groups share exactly the same main goal: “not to tire or bore the listener, to try to capture their full attention and also to come across as confident in ourselves and in the content of our talk”. That is the goal we will focus on, because it is really where the main mistakes are made, and fortunately they can be fixed.
Public speaking mistakes
1. Verbal tics
Probably everyone has had a verbal tic (words or expressions repeated in every sentence) at some point in their life, and let us hope, for their sake, that they had an honest person nearby willing to point it out, especially if they often speak in public or to an audience.
2. Filler words and stammering
The “umm, uh, er, ahhh” sounds are known as “filler words”. We included these “non-words” among the 10 words you should delete from your vocabulary. Have you ever started watching a video online where someone is explaining something and had to stop after two minutes because it made you anxious, wanting to get to a message that seemed to be delivered in instalments and with a lot of advertising? These words, like stammering, are perfect for cutting down your listeners’ attention span.
3. Speaking too quietly
You need to project your voice properly. Most people who speak very quietly tend to have a problem with shyness and insecurity. But there is a small percentage of people who speak very quietly because nobody ever taught them how to project their voice properly. Either way, whatever the reason, you will come across as insecure, so it is something you need to change. Today it is easier than ever to record yourself and listen to yourself giving a talk. It is the best way to see all your possible mistakes first-hand.
4. Letting your voice fade at the end of sentences
Some speakers are aware of the importance of highlighting important content in their sentences, but forget to keep their voice at the right level right to the end of them. I once attended a talk where the speaker left us hanging, because his voice faded at the end of every sentence. Some listeners dropped hints to have the microphone turned up, which made it unpleasant whenever he spoke loudly, and we still could not hear what he said at the end of most of his sentences.
5. A monotone voice
Probably the final ingredient for putting an audience to sleep. Your voice cannot be a flat line, and it is not about making your pitch go up and down but about using intonation to show enthusiasm and passion. I always give the example of the Spanish market analyst José Luis Cava, who may or may not be right in his talks, but you will never be bored listening to him. (In this video you can also spot a verbal tic: “Is the idea clear?”)
Watch: José Luis Cava speaking (YouTube, in Spanish)
6. A lack of body language is one of the most common public speaking mistakes
Our gestures should go along with our words. Body language should be used in the right measure. Too little body language can bore people, while too much can distract them. You should feel comfortable with your gestures, although you should avoid some well-known postures such as putting your hands in your pockets or crossing your arms.
See also: 7 body language techniques that will help you in business
7. Forcing jokes
People are often advised to use humour to make their talks more entertaining and enjoyable. But I have bad news: not everyone is funny, and there is a very fine line between a funny person and something close to a clown when that person lacks a natural sense of humour. Since one of the most common pieces of advice for giving a talk is to try to entertain the audience and add a dose of humour, some people force it too much and fall back on cheap jokes. The result is rarely good.
8. Heavy breathing
Microphones can play tricks on you, and sometimes they pick up perfectly how we breathe in and out, producing a panting sound that makes us seem anxious or nervous and passes that same feeling on to the audience.
9. Not showing enthusiasm
Some speakers… simply… have no enthusiasm for what they are talking about. It may be because they have given the same speech 10 times that month, or because they are talking about the subject the same way they might talk about gardening. Unfortunately, enthusiasm is very hard to fake in front of experienced listeners.
10. Not adapting your talk to your audience
We need to know who our audience is and why they have come. Giving a talk on finance to an audience of bank employees is not the same as giving that same talk to a group of people with no technical knowledge of finance. Our advice here is always to use everyday language without too much jargon. Technical language is understood by people with more technical knowledge. Simple, everyday language is understood by everyone (including people with technical knowledge).
11. Not being authentic
You should not lose your naturalness, because it should be your unmistakable signature. Do not make the mistake of trying to present yourself to the audience as someone you are not, or even trying to look like more than you are and to know more than you do.
Beyond that, it is a matter of gaining experience until you fully master the rhythm and intonation of your words, the ideal placement of pauses between sentences, and the ability to think about your next sentence without losing focus on the one you are saying. With experience and practice, most of the mistakes we make when speaking in public become fewer and fewer.
Many people ask how to get rid of their fear before their first talks or presentations, and the truth is that you cannot get rid of that fear. You can only fight it and hide it from your listeners. With time and practice you will feel more and more confident and fluent. Remember that everyone, however confident they look at a conference, felt real panic at first. Of course, having your presentation well prepared will give you more confidence.
Featured image: Jorge Jaramillo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
