Page 189 - The New Articulate Executive_ Look, Act and Sound Like a Leader

180 DELIVERY

Here are some additional tips:

Stay vigilant and alert to what you’re saying. Borrow from the actor:
actors hear their words in their heads before those words come out of
their mouths. So use your pauses as you glance down at each new
sentence to listen to the words in that moment of silence before you
actually say them. Do this hundreds of times, and the effect will be
that these words are, in fact, your own—even if someone else wrote
them for you, or you are giving someone else’s speech.

Pause longer after rhetorical questions and key points. Those
pauses may seem agonizingly lengthy (remember, the adrenaline has
probably been working overtime), but to the audience you will only
look natural, thoughtful, conversational, and comfortable with your
subject.

When you fi nish, don’t bolt. Stay long enough to keep your eye
contact with the audience. If there is applause, simply say “Thank
you,” pause for another moment, and then leave the podium.
Remember never to show the audience your entire prepared
text—if you can avoid it. Slip the speech discreetly off the lectern
and leave it on the shelf underneath, or slide it back to whichever leg
is out of sight of the audience as you walk back to your seat.

Prepared Text Basics
◆ Eyes up-down-up, not down-up-down.
◆ Don’t “shoot” ’til you see the whites of their eyes.
◆ Pause before speaking and after speaking.
◆ Use longer pauses after “credibility” lines and questions.
◆ Let your hands help you do the talking.
◆ Keep your feet fairly close together so you don’t sway.
◆ Turn your body to face different parts of the audience.
◆ Position yourself away from the lectern for better angle of eye
attack on the page.
◆ Slide pages, don’t fl ip them.