Whether it was anxiously waiting for my grades in school, my performance
assessments at work, or my formal speech evaluations with
Toastmasters, I have learned the value of the gift of feedback; it is a
constant process that should never stop. As a speaker, you need to get
evaluations from your audience. It is also important to get them immediately,
while they are fresh in people’s minds. You must have thick
skin because even the best speakers get critical feedback.

We should ask for evaluations because we care. We care about getting
better, and we care that our messages are getting through to the
audience simply and memorably. We should be looking for trends and
patterns. Be careful not to get locked into one comment or particular
score; however, take each comment and score as a learning opportunity,
and ask yourself what you did right and what can be improved.

If you videotaped the event, you can have a targeted approach to what
the evaluators may have been saying. If not, revisit in your mind what
sections of the presentation the evaluations may be referencing, and
take action to get better.

If I am not in a position for a formal evaluation, I still make it a habit
to ask attendees what they thought of the presentation afterward.
The questions shouldn’t be, “Did you like it?” They should be more
open-ended: “What was your favorite part?” and “If I could improve
one or two things, what would they be?” Your self-esteem should never
take a beating after an evaluation. However, your self-improvement
antennae should be perked up. Your payback comes in the form of an
even better presentation for your next audience.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only) purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com

Whether it is a big stage, little stage, or a small or large podium,
put yourself in a setting where you are looking out on a grand room or
audience. This is all about building your comfort and confidence level.
Continue to find different venues to do your presentations in, and try
not to get so comfortable with the same room and set-up for practice
time; you don’t want to get so comfortable in your practice routine and
location that you will get thrown off when you are not in it. A variety
of settings will get you more comfortable and enable you to present
anywhere in all types of settings. In addition to increased confidence
about presenting in different locations, you will start to get a feel for
your own preferences for seating and room layout.

Find a stage—any stage. This includes your car, your house, and anywhere
you feel there is a way to practice your presentation. On more
than one occasion people have looked strangely at me while I was walking
the dog, flying on an airplane, waiting in a long line, or driving down
the road, as they saw me practicing. Everywhere can and should be your
stage. I have even practiced in front of my dental hygienist in the waiting
room for my bi-annual cleaning. If you gained confidence to present
in front of strangers or in odd settings, imagine how good you will feel
when you are in a more contained environment.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only) purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com

As part of preparing with the organizer, you need to understand
the anticipated timing of your presentation. Will your performance be
during a meal, where glass and silverware will be clanking all around
you? As follow up to the control-your-environment section, this is a
critical detail to account for; if you know that a meal is immediately
before or after your speech, make every effort to avoid the time when
the food will be served. Wait staff moving around will inevitably distract
the audience.

Will you be speaking in a classroom or similar setting, where papers
may be shuffling throughout your talk? If you are in a classroom,
you do have some control by setting the appropriate expectations.
For example, you may let the audience know that you will stop and
announce when key notes should be taken. In some cases, you may
even announce that you will supply take-away notes after the session,
so that the audience can sit back and relax. Again, speaker preference
is important regarding what expectations you set with your audience.
Use what works best for you and the type of audience you are working
with. The key is to reduce the factors that can throw you off your game
by anticipating as many distractions ahead of time and taking the time
to mitigate or eliminate them.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only) purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com

You get to the venue, get out of your car, walk straight to the podium,
and begin your talk. I’m hoping this is not the typical way things happen
before a speaking event. The important point to consider is what
you, the speaker, are doing ahead of time to maximize a positive experience
by controlling the speaking environment. Are you giving yourself
ample time to gain a comfort level with the room so you feel in
control? Your confidence level will increase when you know that the
stage, the room, and the layout are to your satisfaction.

What about some of the other details that may need to be considered?
Do you know where the temperature gauges are and are you
able to control them? Will you have control of the lights and the seating?
When you have the chance to control the environment, you need
to do so. As previously mentioned about audio-visual aspects of your
presentation, you should check out the equipment, and you should
also understand the acoustics. Is there an echo, and will everyone be
able to hear you? When you walk around, do you find any parts of
the stage that creak and might distract the audience? What about the
lighting? Are bright lights blinding you? Is there a dimmer so that if
the lights have to go lower, the room is not too dark?

Have you walked around the room and absorbed the potential
views from all areas? I remember a speech competition in which there
was an odd, circular row of chairs around one side of the stage. This
forced the outlying audience members to strain to see around poles
if they wanted to see me when I was on certain parts of the stage, and
also impacted where I placed my props. Fortunately, this preparation
allowed me to know exactly where I would set up to ensure I maximized
the audience experience visually.

When you look out into the audience, what do you see? Are there
rows of seats, or are there tables? Is the seating conducive to your
needs? If you encourage note-taking, will tables be more useful? When
you interact with the audience, do you have them jumping out of their
seats? If so, how does this play into the current set-up? Will tables
cause more face-to-face side conversations that may take away from
your presentation? Each speaker has his or her own preference, but
you should set expectations ahead of time and get there early to make
sure the set-up is what you want. As important as it is to arrange ahead
of time with the organizer before the event, I have learned that things
will happen that leave you scrambling if you haven’t gotten there ahead
of time. When you control what you can with the environment, the
experience will be better for everyone.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only) purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com

There are more ways to start a speech than I can count. I previously
discussed the attention-grabbing opening, and one effective way to do
this is with an open-ended question for the audience to respond to,
such as “Have you ever found yourself in a situation like…?” or “Can
anyone give me an example when…?” Many speakers have an audience
respond to a question in unison, as a group response can be full
of energy if you have the right delivery and the right audience (e.g.,
size, demographics). For example, “When I say ____, you say _____.”
In these cases, the speaker is breaking the invisible wall that sometimes
gets built between speaker and audience. The key is to engage
the audience so that they feel like a part of the presentation. The success
of the presentation grows exponentially when the audience gets
into it from the very beginning, whether mentally or physically or by
having the speaker grab their attention.

Once you have their attention, you must maintain audience engagement
to keep the momentum as the presentation progresses. There are
several ways to ensure that your audience remains committed to your
message through their own involvement. Depending on the type of
presentation, you may want to provide key points or facts highlighted
on a handout for people to absorb and take away. Another way is to
provide a fill-in-the-blank answer sheet for your participants to complete
during the presentation to reinforce the message. People learn
in many ways; however, the more engagement you get early on in a
presentation, the greater the chance of information retention.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only) purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com

We often think more quickly than we speak. As a result, sometimes our thoughts outpace our intended words, which may result in
using filler words and phrases (e.g., “um,” “ah,” “ya know”). Before we have time to say our intended words, we may utter something of no
value that can create distractions for the audience if they are plentiful. As a speaker, we need to ensure the audience gets a chance to absorb
the intended content and to feel the intended effects. If an audience is hanging onto the words we are saying, imagine how impactful it is
to hold those words or sentences in suspense. The audience will anxiously wait for the next point and have a greater appreciation when it is
delivered. Let the audience take in what you have just said with a well-placed pause. Effective use of pauses allows for punchier delivery and
added emphasis for your keywords and points. Pauses will also allow for effective facial expressions or gestures that may garner more attention
than speaking straight through without pausing.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only) purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com

As previously mentioned, friends and family are always great
sources of feedback for your speeches. However, nothing beats the
local flavor of a group of people who may not be as close to the subject
as your friends and family. I can’t thank enough the local support I
have received from Rotary Clubs, Kiwanis Clubs, Lions Clubs, and the
YMCA. These organizations present a great opportunity for the community
to see what you have to offer and also serve as a networking
prospect for future public-speaking opportunities. More importantly,
I can test out new material or tweak existing speeches and look for different
audience reactions. Testing this way allows me to receive feedback
that I would have never thought of myself—opinions that may be
diverse and valuable.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only) purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com

Preparation is critical to avoid any mishaps with AV equipment. Do
you have an extra light bulb for your projector? Let’s even take a step
back and ask if you have your own projector. Will you need to bring
one? What about extension cords and screens? You can’t leave anything
to chance, you can’t assume when it comes to delivering the best presentation.

Have you physically been to the room where you are going
to present ahead of time? The preparation is not just walking in a few
minutes before the event. It is crucial that you talk with the meeting
organizer ahead of time and walk the stage well in advance. I recommend
when practicing on the actual stage that you give a large portion
of the speech, if not all, ahead of time using the live AV equipment.
Saying, “Test 1, 2, 3” into a microphone does not count as preparation.

Have you walked around the entire stage to ensure there are no
extra-sensitive feedback spots for the microphones? Your audience
will appreciate not hearing any high-pitched squeaks. I have a loud
voice naturally, so I also invest a lot of time testing the volume of the
microphones. You should also work with the organizers ahead of time
on microphone options. I personally prefer lapel or the ones connected
to the ear with the speaker near the mouth because I like to use
my hands, and for me it is worth asking ahead of time for one of these.
Have you emailed your material to the organizer? Are paper copies
ready and waiting in case of an AV failure, or can the material be
projected in another way? Do you have a thumb drive, just in case
something goes wrong with the organizer’s version? I know I am at
my best when I have tested and prepared for everything I can control;
therefore, my audience’s ability to receive my message should go up.
Finally, expect the unexpected. It is not a matter of “if ” something will
go wrong, it is “when” it will go wrong. Part of your preparation should
revolve around how flexible your presentation is without the audiovisual
equipment in case it doesn’t work.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only) purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com

“Hello. My name is Tom Dowd. How are you doing today? Today
we are going to talk about (insert boring topic introduction here)….”
How many presentations have you heard with this type of canned
opening? It is a mainstay in business presentations. Don’t lose your
audience before you truly get started. Avoid telling them what you
plan to do until you have already grabbed their attention. We have
most likely been taught to tell audiences what we want to tell them, tell
them and then rehash what we have just told them. Sometimes, we are
so literal that the introduction becomes, “I am going to tell you about
blah blah blah…,” which I have heard too often delivered monotone,
with no voice inflection.

Just dive in with your attention-grabbing introduction. You can tell
them what you are about to tell them, but get their attention first. I have
shocked more than one concerned audience when I’ve broken into a
coughing fit as an introduction to an inspirational speech about a childhood
friend with cystic fibrosis. Start a speech with a song, a bang, a
powerful quote, or a question that demands an immediate response.
There are so many more creative openings than “Hello, my name is….”
Your audience should be in for a surprise. You can give them one from
the start. It will set the tone for the rest of the presentation.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only) purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com

I have consistently been coached to find my unique and differentiating
factors and to emphasize them during presentations. For example,
I have the luxury of having low-cost, professional posters available. I
was convinced that these posters would become my way to be remembered.
As a frequent presenter with these posters, I was receiving positive
feedback. I found my use of them got to a point of dependency. I
wouldn’t necessarily call it lazy with my writing, but my incorporation
of the props became a focal point, thus a distraction from the main
messages. I learned as a speech contestant that I would receive rave
reviews in the early stages because judges often thought the posters
were a nice touch and separated me from other competitors. As I progressed
further in the competitions, so did the judges. Their experience
level typically increased and they wanted a picture to be painted
vividly with words, not an actual picture. In a key competition, I excitedly
turned a poster around from its blank-white back to the high school
yearbook picture of a friend of mine who had passed away. I
lost the competition.

After losing, I received some feedback that although the poster
was nice, many people thought it took away from my message. Obviously,
I had leaned on my prop as a principle focus instead of just as a
supporting tool. Some feedback also indicated that right from the start
the audience was guessing what was on the front of the poster, so I
was losing their attention before I had even started. At the point when
I turned the poster around, it hit the stand slightly. Although subtle
to me, apparently the distraction was bigger in the eyes of the judges
because they saw the risk ahead of time, and I fulfilled their prophecy.
The most important feedback given to me on that day was that
the line I delivered in the speech before I turned the picture around—
“He was four-foot-eleven with a five-foot smile”— had described in
words everything people needed to envision this person properly on
their own. Unfortunately, I showed them the movie immediately after
they had just read the book. Whatever picture they had in their own
mind was instantly ruined. It was as if I had just stolen the audience’s
imagination. Finally, I was told that the audience at times felt my stage
presence was hindered or even predictable because the props dictated
where I was going on stage. Thus, the supporting props had become a
distraction.

I may have lost the competition, but I guess I really won going forward
if such caring people were willing to provide me substantial,
easy-to-act-on feedback. I learned a lot that day about ensuring that
visual aids and props support the message, but don’t take away from it.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only) purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com