“Things done well and with a care, exempt themselves from fear.”
- William Shakespeare
Most of the people I work with who are giving important presentations organize their thoughts around key phrases or bullets and speaking from notes. Working this way has a distinct advantage in that it allows the speaker to access their personality for an authentic and engaging delivery style.
However, In the past three months, I’ve had the pleasure of coaching several people, all who had to deliver fully scripted presentations. It’s definitely not the norm.
And although I encouraged each one to consider a less formalized approach, they all had specific reasons for working with a script.
In one case, a highly respected professional in their field was delivering a keynote for an upcoming event accompanying a release of a new book. Another client was being honored in their industry and their remarks would be reprinted verbatim. And finally a newly appointed VP was asked to deliver the financial industry update to the Chairman of the Board. Language and accuracy were paramount. No pressure there!
In all instances, due to a combination of being in unfamiliar territory and the understandable nerves accompanying visible, high stakes events, they opted for a fully scripted approach.
Ok, so what happens when you must read a fully scripted speech? And most likely present from a podium? How do you make it sound natural and remain relatable?
(And by the way, this could apply to giving a Best Man speech, delivering a Eulogy, the company Keynote or a spring Commencement Speech!)
First, it’s important to understand why it can be a challenge - for both the presenter and the audience.
‘Reading’ Creates a Barrier
You want to minimize any element that creates a barrier or distance between you and your audience. It could be reading a full script, a podium or a form of technology that interferes with your communication.
We’re living in a communication world now, where spontaneity and communicating authentically are the new normal.
Reading a script word for word can affect your credibility.
In order to be persuasive you have to believe in what you’re saying! If you simply “read”it, you’re not able to project your real personality. It sounds too planned. It sounds too perfect. If an audience senses at the outset, you’re not going to be truly present for most of your talk, they’ll tune out.
Eye Contact - Another problem
We’re all aware that eye contact is essential for building trust. When you’re tied to a script, you have to look down and you lose energy. The words lose impact because you’ve lost your connection with your audience.
“The Eyes are the window to your soul”
- William Shakespeare
So, what can you do to make a scripted talk a satisfying experience for both the speaker and the audience?
There’s a comprehensive method I developed to help people impose their personality on a script based upon years of speaking, coaching and spokesperson engagements for various companies in the early days.
What I can do here is give you a few good tips to set you off in the right direction.
3 Quick Tips for bringing a script to life
1. Read it out loud and edit.
With pen in hand, change any word that doesn’t sound like you. Make sure it reflects your natural way of speaking, without changing the meaning.
In addition, add contractions. Instead of saying, We Can Not or I Will Not, just say We Can’t or I Won’t.
It’s a small adjustment that makes you sound natural and human.
2. Rehearse to Familiarize
(I know I’m repeating but this time it’s for a different reason.) You want to read it out loud many times. Each time you’ll catch another content adjustment or edit for yourself.
However, the real secret here is the more familiar you are with the material, the less you’ll have to look down at your script and maintain eye contact. (read more here)
Many of my clients are resistant at first because they don’t have a lot of time. After stressing over and over how important it is to make the time, they’re amazed during a final rehearsal how easily it flows and how comfortable they are with the material.
3. The third tip I can offer you in this post is Use Gestures.
“Suit the action to the word, the word to the action”
- William Shakespeare
Reading a script from a podium requires more physical energy to overcome the barriers we’ve discussed and bring your material to life.
Gestures are one of the ways we show our audience that what we’re talking about matters to us.
It’s really easy to rest your hands on the podium and keep them there. Particularly when you’re nervous. (By the way, it’s okay to do so occasionally...) Instead, get your hands above your waist and use gestures the same way you would if you were speaking without a podium.
Also, as I shared in a previous post, A Quick Podium Tip if you stand one foot back from the podium, you have enough room to use your hands comfortably and with confidence.
Those are a few tips to help you make your script more natural, access your personality and make it a better experience for your audience.
"This above all: to thine ownself be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man."
- William Shakespeare
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