How I learnt to woo the audience after attending a public-speaking class
About a year ago, a friend outside academia attended a talk I gave on the science of emotions, a topic I research at Stanford University in California. I thought the talk went really well. My friend, who works in insurance, disagreed. She said that academics are experts at making interesting stuff boring and inaccessible — and that we should all be required to take a public-speaking class.
The noticeable improvement in feedback inspired me to continue working on my public-speaking skills. It’s a lifelong journey, but here are the four most useful things I’ve learnt.Too often, scientific talks hit the same note, at the same pace, for 45 minutes straight. The best way to get better at playing the instrument of the voice is to practise.
When we work on our talks, we should remind ourselves of two things. First, people typically complain when talks go on for too long — not for being too short. Ending early makes it feel like time flew by and leaves more time for questions and discussion. Second, your audience probably do not care as much about the details as you do. If they do care about the details, they’ll simply ask in the Q&A or through e-mail or social media.
Also, remember to ask about the room. Before my last talk, I asked for a full description of the space. I wanted to visualize the space while I practised. I wanted to think about how loud my voice needed to be, what people would be able to see and how I might move around. By the time I arrived, the setting felt familiar and comfortable. Rather than worrying about the room, I was able to better focus on engaging the audience.
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