He was an odd bird type of speaker. His movements and speaking style were a little off the beaten bath. He was a student in one of my public speaking courses, and I watched as his peers listened to his first speech. How would they react to his unique speaking style?
If you are working to improve your presentation skills, you might consider hiring a presentation coach which is usually a great investment. But make sure to hire someone who knows how to handle your speaking style. A good coach knows what to elevate and what to eliminate.
What to Elevate
Great presentation coaches know that what makes a speaker just a little bit weird is also what can make him recognizable and great. It can become his brand. In their personal brand workbook, the multinational professional services network of PricewaterhouseCoopers says, “Your brand is your reputation . . . It’s about bringing who you are to what you do and how you do it . . . People with strong brands are clear about who they are. They know and maximize their strengths.”
Think about Zig Ziglar’s distinct drawl, Barack Obama’s signature cadence, or Brené Brown’s charming vulnerability. All of us communicate in different ways. To try to sound like everyone else or anyone else is a mistake. One of the most important things you can do as a presenter is to figure out the things that make you unique and to capitalize on those. A great presentation coach will help you do that, encouraging you to elevate and refine what makes you different rather than telling you to get rid of it.
What to Eliminate
While some of our quirkiness needs to be elevated to create a brand, there may be other habits we have that need to be eliminated. But how do you know what to elevate and what to eliminate? A speaking coach will help you determine what parts of your style enhance your communication and what parts detract from it. If you do something that is annoying or confusing, the audience will pay more attention to that than your words. When that’s the case, it’s time to eliminate that habit.
Things like nervous pacing or lack of eye contact hurt rather than help your message. In fact, Inc.com says that “failing to meet someone’s gaze could send not-so-flattering messages about who you are and what you’re capable of. [Like] you haven’t organized your thoughts or are unprepared.” A great speaking coach should help you to identify and then get rid of habits like these because they can lead others to form poor impressions of you as a speaker.
A Coach Shouldn’t Ask You to Assimilate
If you find yourself with a coach who is more interested in assimilating you into some cookie cutter notion of public speaking, it’s time to find a new coach. As far as my odd bird student speaker was concerned, we worked to elevate his quirky phrases and his mischevious smile. We worked to eliminate his tendency to look at the ceiling and to pace around too much. His style was still different, and his audience fell in love with it more each time he spoke. We all looked forward to his speeches because they were different. He was different. Branded by his unique style. The fact that we were eager to listen to him speak also meant we learned more when he did. Because we were paying attention.
So don’t be afraid to be a different kind of speaker. It might just be the thing that makes you effective and memorable.
Looking to hire a speaking coach who can help you identify what to elevate and what to eliminate in your speaking style? Get in touch with one of our presentation experts now.
