So, you’ve been invited to deliver a talk or sit on a panel? Great! Pat yourself on the back because it means that you’re regarded as someone who has experience and insight to share. The bad news is you might not be experienced at public speaking and feel a bit unprepared to have all eyes on you.
Before you go into panic mode and pass the opportunity over to your confident colleague, take a moment to think about it. What’s the worst that could happen?
It’s natural to feel a slight panic after being invited to speak somewhere, but try and see it as a great opportunity to raise the profile of your business and grow your confidence. After a bit of preparation on what you want to talk about and who you’ll be talking to, you’ll be ready to go.
Doing it for the first time is always daunting, but for every beginner out there – here are our top tips on public speaking and how to prepare for a panel discussion.
Know your audience
If you run a business or are an authority in your field, it’s likely that one day you’ll be beckoned on stage in front of an audience to share some wise words.
Who that audience is makes all the difference to how you approach a talk or the topics that will be covered. You should never assume that the audience will have the same background and insight that you do – after all, you’re there as an expert! So find out as much as you can about who you’re speaking to and why you’re there ahead of time, then use this as your starting point for how to prepare for a panel discussion.
If you’re going to be in a room of industry equals who know the subject inside out like you, naturally you can anticipate that they’ll understand and engage with the technical language you’re used to using. However, it’s best not to get weighed down with jargon if you’ll be presenting to people from different departments who don’t have much insight into your area of work, or a room of students who are new to the topic.
Get all the details
Surely it isn’t just us who need to have as many details as possible about an event to ensure nothing goes wrong? After all, there’s nothing worse than panicking about parking when there’s somewhere you really need to be!
To avoid running out in front of an audience red faced and out of breath, get all the facts before the event so you know where you’re going, what time you’re expected and who you’ll be interacting with.
This is especially important if you’re travelling a distance that involves trains and planes – but even a trip down the road can require some in depth forward thinking!
Learn from the pros
If you’re wondering how to get better at public speaking, there’s plenty of material out there to help you learn from the experts. Public speaking takes years of development but you can pick up some handy hints beforehand from content on Youtube, LinkedIn and Ted Talks.
Google Digital Garage also has a handy course that you can finish in under an hour around improving your public speaking skills.
No doubt you’ve been to conferences and talks yourself in the past. Use these as your main point of reference for how panels interact with the audience, the way they deliver their points and generally what to expect from taking part in a similar situation. This kind of insight can prove really useful, especially if you haven’t experienced a panel or discussion from either side before.
Our top tips on public speaking
- Be real and authentic!
- Connect with your audience and try to relate where possible – remember, if you’re talking to students or juniors, you were once in that position
- It’s an opportunity to connect with a new audience (or even potential future employees or collaborators) so take your business cards along
- The more you do it, the better you’ll become – public speaking takes practice, so if it’s something you’re interested in, you’ll improve with every talk
- Don’t be afraid to present a different view to others on the panel – you’ve been invited there for a reason, so share your opinion
- Meet with the other panelists, even if just for 10 minutes beforehand – it will help you relax and get to know the people you’ll be engaging with for the next hour or so
- If you’re speaking to students, juniors or even your colleagues, you’re helping to educate, inform and inspire others
- It’s an exciting new challenge and a great way to push yourself out of your comfort zone, so everyone should try it one day
If you’re keen to get yourself on the panel circuit or want to boost your profile amongst your peers, speak to our team today.
