New Hope for the Podium Impaired

Do the butterflies fly in formation when you talk before a crowd, or do you feel like you're having an out-of-body experience? If the thought of giving a speech makes you break out in a sweat, here's good news. Help is on the way. In fact, for some of us, it's just around the corner. That's because the author of a primer on public speaking is located right here in Ohio.

Rob Sherman, an OSAE member whose Columbus-based firm, Sherman Leadership Group, coaches executives on how to improve their speaking skills, was a featured speaker at OSAE's annual conference in Toledo this August. He has written a gem of a book, Sherman's 21 Laws of Speaking: How To Inspire Others to Action.

Sherman covers the basics but also packs the knowledge and experience he has gained as an attorney, executive director and public speaker within the paperback's 128 pages to guide you, step by step, through the process of preparing your message and delivering it with a bang. If you already feel comfortable in front of a mike, the news gets even better. Sherman's 21 will help you turn up the temperature to transform a passable speech into a memorable one.

Sherman's book doesn't break new ground. It makes familiar territory a quick read that's easy to digest and easy to remember, a must for busy association execs who already have a zillion things on their minds.

Zip to Law #2: Speak with passion, and you'll inspire others (and leave your fears behind). It's impossible to sustain the kind of gut-wrenching stage fright that keeps speakers frozen at the podium when you're talking about something you love. There's simply not enough room in the pit of your stomach to feel both passionate and scared witless.

On the contrary, when you speak from the heart about issues that matter to you, you rise above your fears, and the sincerity and passion of your liberated delivery will automatically move your audience. They will sense the genuine feeling behind your words and respond accordingly. As is noted in an earlier chapter, by revealing our authentic selves, we set an inspired example.

Here are a few other tips from the book:

Law #5. Stick with your theme - it's a roadmap to understanding. Start with a single idea, Sherman says, then build on it. Your audience will know you have a sense of direction and allow you to show them the way. Study your subject till you know it well. As you become an expert on your speaking topic, your confidence will grow, adding power to your presentation.

Law #14. No language is as effective as body language. You want them to remember your message, not the terribly captivating way you kept twirling a lock of hair or twisting the band of your wristwatch. A proven method for eliminating distracting body language is to tape a video of your presentation and review it. You can only work at eliminating nervous tics when you know what they are.

Law #20. Never end with questions and answers. If you close your presentation with a Q&A session, you lose control and momentum right when you should be building to that striking sendoff. You can't close with a bang if you've just handed your shotgun to the audience. End strong. Allow an interval for questions, then say your closing remarks. If you've been inspired to action by a powerful speech, you know how valuable to an association leader such a skill can be. Some of us are born with it, but it can also be learned, and that's the best news of all.

Get the book. It engages. You could toss it in your briefcase for a flight out of town and be finished by the time you land. Then prepare to speak with passion, to make your message memorable, and to never ever let em see you sweat!

-Sammi Soutar is the president and founder of Able Management Solutions, Inc., an association management company (AMC) located in Columbus, Ohio. To order a copy of Rob Sherman's book, call toll free: (877) 532-3372. Some of the principles in his book will be discussed during an OSAE roundtable for AMCs on how to improve sales presentations, scheduled for April 2001.