Put Your Game Face On

When is this lecture going to be over? I completely forgot what he is talking about. How obvious would it be if I slouched in my seat and took a quick nap before this speech is over?

Some of these questions might run through your head when you are responsible for being an audience member at a speech, talk, or even sometimes in a classroom. The reason you may be asking yourself these questions is because your speaker has lost your complete attention; your active listening capabilities have been thrown out the window, and all of a sudden, the fly dancing on the ceiling light is more interesting that anything else in the world. 

There are many aspects of a speaker and their words that can lend to either an enthralling and captivating speech. Likewise, if these aspects are not fully grasped, the speech could very easily become a monotone lull that helps the audience doze off or daydream during the talk. 

Some of the aspects that separate an average, good, and great talk can boil down to two basic points: the speaker and the content. 

The speaker presenting the information to the audience needs to be engaging and insightful, providing a variety of tones for the audience to listen to instead of one, monotonous tone draining the life out of the speech. Mixing the vocal range with some exclamations here or some almost-whispers there can keep the audience awake and alert for the important information these vocal changes indicate. With every change in tone, the speaker is highlighting a specific point or piece of information that is key for the audience member to understand. 

The speed at which a speaker is talking is also very important. For the majority of a speech, a speaker may choose to remain at a happy medium, so to say, with their voice sounding fluent and calm, not too quick and not glacially slow. Just like tone, the rate of speech can bring about a better understanding of a topic. If delivering a warning or very important notice to the audience, a quicker pace of speaking should be used to provide the element of urgency. If the speaker wants to portray a moment of emotion or provoke deep thought, the speed of their words may slow down a bit to allow the audience a chance to soak up each and every syllable and digest their meanings. 

Other than tone, a speaker should also pay close attention to their body language. Depending on one's stance, position in the room, hand gestures, and simple posture, the speaker can send a complimenting or opposing message to the viewers. 

For any speech or talk, formal or informal, body posture can be a speaker's lifeline. If the speaker maintains a composed, elegant posture that looks comfortably proper - shoulders back, standing up straight, head held high but not so much that you cannot see past the end of your nose - it may be easier for the speech to fall alongside of your stance, flowing naturally but purposefully.

This image provided by Beth Scupham. 

If a speaker is standing awkwardly with hunched shoulders, a slouched frame, and head parallel to the floor, the speaker will not only look incredibly uncomfortable and make the audience feel the same, the speaker will most likely feel less confident and present their information subconsciously. Poor posture can also result in a lack of credibility, or ethos, as posture is one of the very first things an audience sees and comprehends of the speaker before a single word is uttered. 

As for one's stance and position in the room where the talk is being held, one should make sure to try to keep their nerves in check, avoiding some more obvious shakes in the hands or knees. If one is very nervous, certain stances may prove a wonderful mask to the every-so-rattling body tremors including holding one hand casually on the side of your body and another one slightly bent, standing so your feet are a little bit apart from each other - not smack together but also no more than should-width apart - keeping your knees slightly bent to avoid passing out cold in the middle of the presentation. Yes, if you lock your knees, you will most likely keel over during your speech - not a good experience for your audience or yourself. 

Choosing a particular spot in the room at which to stand is an important decision to make before an audience is addressed. Generally, standing front and center in relation to the audience is a good start. If one chooses to begin a presentation to the left or right side of the audience, the viewers may experience a classic case of favoritism as the speaker is showing a particular preference to whom they  are speaking. Starting in the center of the audience allows for an equal distribution of eye contact and gestures, and as the speech continues, movement to both sides of the audience can be more engaging. 

Hand gestures are always a tricky topic. If a speaker is anything like myself, he may use hand gestures in every sentence spoken. My whole family is hilariously generous with their hand gestures, using them to emphasize, draw out a conversation, or simply flail the hands about for no apparent reason other than to fill in an invisible gap between the two people conversing. 

Hand gestures are great for certain speeches, in moderation. For example, if someone is standing in front of an audience giving a speech with their hands tucked safely at their sides, immobile, and stiff, there is not real use for having hands at all. On the other hand, no pun intended, if the speaker is waving their arms about using extravagant hand gestures for every single detail they make, the audience may become concerned, view the speech as urgent or an emergency, and draw a different type of message all from simply observing some waves or emphases of the hands. 

Make sure you do not look like Hope For Gorilla or his inflatable man when giving a speech.

In regards to the content of a speech, there are many aspects to consider. 

Content should produce some purpose when all is said and done be it to inform the audience, to tap on their emotional heartstrings, to urge them to act, to persuade them to think differently, or to simply entertain them with a good laugh or fascinating story. With a particular purpose in mind, every detail of the content should envelop said purpose, always showing support and reason to the message. 

The content should also be trustworthy, with accurate and defendable statistics and arguments.

Incorporating accurate facts and records are necessary to maintain credibility with an audience. If a speech makes reference to false data, an audience can easily justify ignoring the message, as they feel any additional data or facts may also be falsified.

One particular speech that I am in awe of is called "Point B" by Sarah Kay. This speech was given as a TED Talk, and after seeing this video once, I quickly rewound and replayed once more out of sheer fascination and admiration for the ability of the speaker to incorporate all of the aspects of an excellent speech that we discussed above.

The video above amounts to almost four minutes, so to highlight some of the major elements that I found effective in Kay's speech, I encourage you to take a look at these specific sections of the video. 

Starting at 0:15 and continuing to 0:24, Sarah Kay uses a change in tone that expresses a juvenile, arrogant tone some children may use when they think they know all there is to know about life. This tone change allows the audience to hear the change in point of view from the mother's to the daughter's. 

In these seconds, Kay also uses some very appropriate hand gestures that emphasize the child's attitude and natural instinct to wave off information they think they already know. 

Another amazing example of well-used hand gestures can be seen from 2:50 to 2:56 by physically showing the audience the literal sense of a warrior and highlighting the daughter's "small hands and big eyes." 

From 0:58 to 1:20, Kay uses an anecdote to paint a picture for the audience as to what she has done before and what her daughter will probably do in the future. Her voice takes on another change in tone to make evident the condoning and wise nature of her voice towards the daughter in an attempt to caution. 

A great example of increased speed in this clip can be seen from 1:29 to 1:32 to emphasize the appositive phrase. The usage of increased speed shows the slight opposition to the prior statement made but does not discredit the statement entirely as there was truth to the original comment that "there are a few heartbreaks chocolate can't fix." 

The effective use of pausing within 2:20 and 2:25 shows another appositive phrase that semi-contradicts the prior statement but furthers the message Sarah Kay is trying to send to the audience and her hypothetical daughter.

Notice how Sarah Kay stands in one position throughout the entire speech, but her stance is very natural with feet spread just slightly, standing straight, in a confident posture as she delivers her speech, making it evident that she is confident in her message and delivery. 

To wrap all of this information up with one big bow, an average, good, and knock-your-socks-off kind of speech all depend on the speaker and the information they bring to the table. Whether the tone, posture, gestures, position in the room, reliability of data, and relevance of information, a speech can easily be slept through out of disinterest or receive a standing ovation based on what and how information is presented.