15 secrets of a great speech

We’ve asked the best in the business to reveal their secrets on how to nail a speech. Here are 15 foolproof tips to improve your public speaking, presentations and pitches. You’ll never resort to stock standard phrases like ‘thinking outside the box’ ever again.

1. Work out who the audience is and what presses their buttons

According to US-based communication theorist and coach Nick Morgan, the founder of Public Words, great speeches are about the audience, not the speaker. “Audiences know this already, and when the speaker realises it, magic can begin to happen,” says Morgan.

The speaker needs to think about what the audience is looking for, why they should be interested and why they should bother to listen. With his Harvard background and Fortune 50 clients, Morgan has written a very handy manifesto: Before you Open your Mouth: the Keys to Great Public Speaking. Download the book here.

2. One size does not fit all

Never use one generic speaking style. Prolific public speaker, chairman of IBISWorld Phil Ruthven always tailors his speeches to match the size of the conference. If there are less than 20 people, he delivers in a boardroom style, with hard copies of slides rather than a PowerPoint presentation: “It’s more intimate, it’s about confiding.” he says.

With 20-100 listeners, Ruthven moves to PowerPoint. His bedside manner changes slightly, he is still the informer offering expertise, but “there’s room for more humour”, he says. The performance aspect of the speech increases as the audience responds.

With more than 100 people, Ruthven uses a formula of half informer/half entertainer to keep the crowd from getting restless. As one of the country’s busiest speakers, Ruthven is on target to deliver around 70 keynote addresses this year. He has deliberately ‘cut back’ from the 160 speeches he used to deliver annually.

3. You’ve only got three minutes to save your arse, so get the audience’s attention

Ruthven swears by the motto ‘never talk on a subject you don’t understand’ and figures there are only two reasons why a speaker can’t hold the audience. “You either lack knowledge or the ability to make things interesting,” he says.

4. Get the balance of content right

Go easy on the IT bells and whistles, PowerPoint and videos. Find new, riveting data and throw in a few valuable anecdotes. “I’m still working on the mix after 40 years,” says Ruthven.

Director of biotechnology consultancy company PharmBio, Robin Coleman, steers clear of too much hypothesising and academic analysis in her presentations. She sources “plenty of real life examples” for her biotech speeches and adds a personal photo or two to make a more down-to-earth connection with the audience.

Director of Arizona State University, scientist Paul Davies is a terrific example of a person who keeps his audiences in the palm of his hand. If he is talking about the new frontiers of science he will take his audience on a wild ride for 45 minutes. He always clearly explains what he is talking about (rather than showing off), he uses videos with ‘wow’ factor (a slow-motion hurricane is always going to be an attention grabber) and makes science absolutely relevant to his audience.

Similarly, Ruthven always explains in plain English what he is talking about; even basic metrics such as GDP, he will always explain what gross domestic product means. It is all about inclusion, rather than exclusion. “People want to learn,” he says.

5. Please, no ‘data dump’

Those planning to take a dump, beware! ‘Data dump’ was coined by Morgan who has seen too many speeches that do nothing but flood an audience with data. Founder of interactive agency The Royals, Dave King, sticks to the rule: “Use slides as an adjunct to your content, not as the content.”

6. Declare war on jargon

Repeat after me: ‘I promise to never use these words and phrases in my speeches’:
* At the end of the day…
* Paradigm shift
* Push the envelope…
* Synergies
* Stakeholders
* Core developments
* Blue-sky thinking
* Procure (instead of buy)
* Gateway review
* Can-do culture
* Capacity building

There is a full list of banned words that Britain’s Local Government Association has issued. Pin it up in your office!

7. Get over trying to be the greatest speaker in the universe, just try and be yourself

Authenticity is something most of us have a sixth sense for. Avoid the temptation to get on stage with a personality bypass, delivering in a fake, corporate-style voice. The audience always smells it and you will be quickly judged as a fake.

8. Make the time for serious preparation and practice

Winston Broadbent, managing director of Saxton Speakers Bureau, recommends getting organised early, giving time for the speech to settle into place. “Complete it early (take away unnecessary pressure) and then live with it – it then becomes part of your being and natural expression,” he says.