Author: Laura Bergells

The science is IN! What every anxious public speaker must know before their next big presentation…

Post author By Laura Bergells
Post date June 18, 2018

After a student gives a class presentation, I’ll sometimes conduct a quick poll. I’ll ask the entire class: on a scale of 0-10, how nervous did the speaker appear?

The audience might give the speaker a 2 or a 3. But the speaker? A nervous speaker might rate themselves a 7 or 9. That’s a pretty big gap in perception between speaker and audience.

This perception gap is a wrapped up in a cognitive bias called the Illusion of Transparency. Here’s an example of how the Illusion of Transparency works:

Let’s say you believe others know what you’re feeling when they look at you. They can tell exactly how nervous you are. They all know you’re a giant fraud.

That’s your Illusion of Transparency talking. But guess what?

It’s an illusion! It’s not real!

My informal classroom poll lines up with a 2003 study published by Savitsky and Gilovich. The title of their study is “The illusion of transparency and the alleviation of speech anxiety“. It was published in The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

The reality? Other people have a hard time decoding your feelings. If your audience had to guess, they’re likely to rate you as “more confident” than you rate yourself.

While a public speaker might think “I’m a nervous wreck and everyone knows” — the audience might think, “Wow, that speaker is super passionate and enthusiastic!”

It’s important for speakers to know about the Illusion of Transparency. This tiny bit of knowledge can actually help you become a better public speaker. Here’s why:

If you didn’t know about the Illusion of Transparency, you might feel nervous. But you’ll assume everyone in the room thinks so, too. And this cognitive bias can make you feel even more nervous: because it makes you meta-nervous.

Meta-nervous:

When you’re nervous about being nervous.

The Illusion of Transparency sets you up for a downward spiral of nervousness. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. It can make you feel increasingly anxious.

But here’s the great news: now that you know about the Illusion of Transparency, you’re in a better position to cope with public speaking anxiety. Savitsky + Gilovich found when they informed public speakers about this cognitive bias right before a speech, speakers presented with more confidence.

So now that you know about the Illusion of Transparency, you can say to yourself,

“Hey, it’s just my cognitive bias talking. It’s not real. I might feel nervous, but so what? No one else can tell.”

And that tiny bit of knowledge can help make you feel more confident. You can relax and deliver a more compelling presentation.

Bonus: now that you know about the Illusion of Transparency, be sure to share this knowledge with a friend or colleague. Chances are, you’ll feel even better when you help someone else gain confidence as a public speaker.

Instead of a downward spiral of nervousness, help create an upward spiral of increased confidence.

Laura Bergells is a writer, teacher, and a #LinkedInLearning author. Check out her courses on Crisis Communication and Public Speaking.

Laura has decades of experience as a business communication coach. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and leads workshops on effective communication. You can find Laura on Twitter and at YouTube.

Tags coaching, presentation, public speaking, video, YouTube

Coaching public speaking social media video

How clearly do you speak? Try this one insightful public speaking test:

Post author By Laura Bergells
Post date June 11, 2018

As a public speaker, you’ll want your audience to understand you. You’ll want to be clear.

To gain insight about your speech clarity, try this insightful and easy exercise. Take the one-minute “speech pace” exercise I posted last week.

Then, upload your one-minute video sample to YouTube.

Within a few moments of uploading your video, YouTube will automatically generate closed captioning (CC) for your one-minute vocal sample. Read the captions YouTube generated. You can find them in the YouTube Creator Studio, under “Subtitles/CC”.

(You can also just press “CC” at the lower right of your published video.)

How well did YouTube translate your spoken words?

If YouTube had a hard time translating you — it’s not them. You can blame Siri and Cortana and Alexa for misunderstanding you in 2018. But you can’t blame Google-owned YouTube. Not anymore.

YouTube/Google has become shockingly good at understanding and translating speech. It may not understand proper nouns (like my uncommon last name). It may bobble homophones (I.e., “pique” may become “peak”. Or “Tide Ad” may become “Tie Dad.”). However, YouTube/Google understands most conversational speech fairly well.

If you see multiple errors in your YouTube transcript: you may need to work on your speech clarity. Consider the four P’s of your vocal performance: projection, pace, pausing, and pronunciation.

Projection:

Was your volume level loud enough for YouTube to hear? If your voice sounds soft or weak, is it you…or your recording equipment? It might be your mic: but it could be that you speak too softly. If you speak with a weak voice, you may need to work on breath support so you can speak with more volume and strength. Or, you may simply need to step closer to your microphone.

Pace:

If you speak too quickly, your enunciation can suffer. Try slowing down to a conversational pace. A conversational rate is between 140 and 170 words per minute. Practice reading my 1 minute speech pace script until you can record it in one minute – give or take a few seconds.

Pausing:

Introduce pauses into your speech. Pausing can help you catch your breath and organize your thoughts, so you can pronounce your words more clearly. For an exercise, pretend you’re introducing yourself to someone who doesn’t know you. Say your full name.

Now, say your name again. This time, slow down…and put a slight pause between your first and last names.

Sample script:

Hi. I’m Laura (split second pause) Bergells. (longer pause) You can call me (split second pause) Laura.

(This may sound unnatural to your own ears. You’re used to your name, so it might sound too slow to you. However, people who don’t know you will appreciate the extra effort you made to be clear and memorable.)

Pronunciation:

Look at your YouTube transcript for patterns in misunderstanding. Do your trouble areas have anything in common?

Sometimes, people get sloppy when they pronounce words with more than 3 syllables. Other times, they can drift over short connector words like “to” and “a” and “and”.

If you spot patterns like these, make a note of them. Work on your specific issues by marking up your problem areas with hashes for pauses, and bold for emphasis.

For example, let’s say YouTube had trouble understanding you when you read this sentence aloud:

“This rate of speech typically ranges from around 140 to 170 words per minute.”

You might try re-writing it with vocal cues like these:

(Use emphasis and pause cues that work for you.)

Projection, pace, pausing, and pronunciation: the 4 p’s of vocal performance can impact how well your audience understands you. Try uploading a one minute vocal performance to YouTube to gain more insight into your own speech clarity.

What other techniques do you use to work on your speech clarity? How else can you make sure you’re understood?

Laura Bergells is a writer, teacher, and a #LinkedInLearning author. Check out her courses on Crisis Communication and Public Speaking. NEW! If you’re a writer, check out Laura’s latest course: Scrivener Essential Training.

You can find Laura on Twitter and at YouTube.

Tags coaching, public speaking, video, YouTube

Coaching Presentation public speaking social media

Speech pace: do you talk too fast, too slow…or just right?

Post author By Laura Bergells
Post date June 4, 2018

I designed an exercise to give public speaking students insight into the concept of pace. If you’re curious about your own speaking pace, you can complete this exercise in minutes. Try it alone, or as part of a class (or party?) activity.

Step One: The script below contains 170 words. Read it to yourself, so you’re familiar with it. Pretend you’re delivering the script as an informational talk. Next, read it out loud. Make it as conversational and engaging as you can. Time yourself. Stop talking after exactly one minute. Count how many words you spoke aloud. (Hint: if you don’t finish, count the words you missed and subtract from 170.)

Do you think you speak too fast, too slow, or just right? When it comes to public speaking, you’ll want to talk at a conversational pace. This rate of speech typically ranges from around one hundred forty to one hundred seventy words per minute. If you speak much slower than one hundred forty words per minute, you’re probably not speaking fast enough for your audience. You might be putting them to sleep. However, if you speak much faster than one hundred seventy words per minute, you could be talking too fast. An audience could have a hard time understanding you. You also need to vary your pace. Sometimes, you’ll want to speak more quickly to demonstrate urgency or excitement. Other times, you’ll want to slow down or pause for dramatic effect. To check your pace, record yourself. Listen to the playback. A recording not only lets you time your speech, but it also lets you evaluate how well you vary your pace within the conversational range. Give it a try.

</script>

Step Two: Record yourself reading the above paragraph. When you play it back, listen to yourself talk. How well did you vary your pace as you delivered your speech? What specific techniques might help with tempo and phrasing?

(Often, the hardest part of this exercise is listening to yourself talk out loud. Many people don’t like to hear recordings of their own voices. The reason? We most often hear our own voices from within ourselves; not outside our bodies. Hearing our disembodied voice can sound…well, creepy and weird! Don’t worry: other people probably don’t think you sound weird. Also, the more you listen to recordings of your voice, the less strange you’ll sound to yourself.)

You might have a hard time evaluating your own voice, so ask a classmate or colleague for feedback. To guide the discussion, ask your evaluators to focus on pace and tempo. Here are some sample questions:

Did you think I was talking too fast, too slow, or just right?
When I paused, how did that seem to you? Too long, too short, not enough?
When I quickened my tempo, was I understandable? How did it sound?
When I slowed my pace, how did it sound to you? Did it sound appropriate?
Reflection and class discussion: How did you do? Did you fall within the conversational range of 140-170 words per minute? What public speaking techniques can help improve pacing? (I.e., what kind of breathing, rehearsal, body language, writing, or other techniques help?)

Final thought: Sometimes, students say they experience pace problems because of the script.

“It’s not a good script. If I could write it myself, in my own words, I’d do better.”

This is fantastic feedback. I love this criticism! Writing and speaking in your own voice is key. If you can do better by rewriting the script, do it.

What other techniques can help your pace?

Laura Bergells is a writer, teacher, and a #LinkedInLearning author. Check out her courses on Crisis Communication and Public Speaking.

You can find Laura on Twitter and at YouTube.

PS: I recorded this class assignment on my phone. Similarly, you don’t have to make your own recording fancy. No special microphone or lighting is necessary. Use the tools you have at hand and record the script in one take. If you make a mistake, it’s OK. Keep going. We’ll talk about handling mistakes in class.

Tags coaching, presentation, public speaking

Coaching fun Presentation public speaking

One Simple Mind Game That Can Make You Feel Better About Public Speaking…

Post author By Laura Bergells
Post date May 28, 2018

People say they’re scared of public speaking, but are they really? I see these people speak in public all the time. They’re relaxed, confident — and they seem to be enjoying themselves.

Take a friend of mine. Let’s call him Greg, because that’s his name. Greg insists he’s terrified of public speaking.

Yet, I’ve seen Greg at parties. I’ve seen him at work. He enters into conversations with ease, even with strangers. He tells engaging stories. He’s a good listener. He encourages other people to tell stories with his eye contact and body language.

“Well, sure,” he said when I pointed all those things out to him. “But that’s not public speaking. That’s just talking to people.”

ARE YOU LISTENING TO YOURSELF GREG?

Because that’s the definition of public speaking. Greg’s not afraid. Greg enjoys it. And he’s good at it.

So why does Greg promote the idea that he’s scared of public speaking? What’s wrong with Greg? Why is he such a dirty, rotten liar?

“No, no, no,” Greg laughed. “Give me a microphone and a stage, and I’ll clam up. I’d get the shakes. I’d stammer. I’d probably faint or fart or both. It’d be ugly.”

Oh, I see.

Greg’s not really afraid of public speaking. He’s afraid of the unknown. He doesn’t speak in big rooms or on a stage. Greg’s never used a mic.

Instead, Greg is afraid of the idea of Public Speaking, with a capital P and a capital S. He’s not afraid of speaking in public. He does it all the time.

So what’s the difference between Public Speaking and speaking in public? A microphone? A stage? More people, less interaction?

According to Greg? Yes. Yes. And yes.

All these unknowns? That’s what makes Public Speaking terrifying for Greg. He’s laid a big, scary head trip on himself.

So I laid a different head trip on him. I suggested Greg might want to change his relationship with the idea of public speaking. I asked him a question:

What are the factors that make you feel most confident when you speak in public?

“Easy,” he said. “I’m at my best when I’m interested in the topic. I also like talking to individuals or small groups of people. And I like interaction, so I get to hear what others have to say and react. I prefer being spontaneous.”

Great. Why don’t you rebuild your relationship with public speaking? You’ve got a strong foundation: so why not grow from these strengths?

Think about it.

If you identify with Greg’s feelings on public speaking, you might want to consider changing your relationship with it, too. Rebuild it from a place of strength. Ask yourself the same question I asked Greg:

What are the factors that make you feel most confident when you speak in public?

Be specific. What kind of audience, room, content? What level of interaction?

Identify your current public speaking strengths. That’s your foundation. Grow from there. If you’re afraid of something, it could be the unknown.

But you can learn new skills and approaches. You can build upon your strong public speaking foundation. You can layer in new techniques as you learn. And you can grow stronger with practice.

Whether you’re nervous or confident, you have plenty of opportunities to practice public speaking. You can learn and grow every day. Because every time you speak in public, guess what?

You’re a public speaker, my friend. Grow from your strengths. Be open to learning new techniques. You’ll get there.

Laura Bergells is a writer, teacher, and a #LinkedInLearning author. You can take her courses on Crisis Communication and Public Speaking.

Tags presentation, public speaking

Coaching crisis Presentation

This ONE technique is essential for performing under pressure:

Post author By Laura Bergells
Post date May 21, 2018

You've got to Drill. Practice.

A colleague told me about a women’s self defense class she was taking. She shared some surprising information she learned.

For me, the information was surprising on two levels. The first level was the actual new information about women’s self defense I learned. My colleague said,

“If you’re being attacked, my instructor said you’re supposed to yell as loud as you can to attract attention. But you’re supposed to yell swear words and filthy language at the top of your lungs, because that REALLY attracts attention. People have grown accustomed women screaming, so they tend to filter it out. But they aren’t accustomed to women screaming filth, so then they know something is wrong.”

Well, now. That’s new information to me. I didn’t know that. And I was surprised to hear it.

But then I got surprised on another level. My colleague continued,

“Of course, we couldn’t practice or drill on that technique. The instructor didn’t want us yelling dirty words in her class.”

That surprised me, too. If a technique is effective, you need to practice it. You need to drill. It may be uncomfortable, but PRACTICE is essential to making a new technique second nature.

After all, athletes drill the fundamentals all the time. That way, when they’re in the clutch, they don’t have to think about what to do. They already know what to do. They’ve practiced it a zillion times until it’s part of their muscle memory.

In speech and crisis response classes, we imagine all types of audience scenarios. We rehearse worst-case scenarios. We do walk-throughs. We drill on what to say and how to say it. When you’re faced with a difficult or high-pressure situation, you’ll need to know what to do without spending too much time thinking about how to do it.

I’m not sure if the “dirty word” self defense technique is effective. It might be — it might not be. (I’m skeptical.)

But I know if students don’t practice the technique, they won’t use it effectively when faced with a high-pressure situation. If you want to make a technique second nature – you’ve got to practice it. Especially if it’s difficult, hard to hear… or even taboo.

Laura Bergells writes, coaches, and teaches. Check out her online courses at LinkedIn Learning. You can also find Laura on Twitter and at YouTube.

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Presentation

Voice Typing: 4 Tips to Get Good at It

Post author By Laura Bergells
Post date May 3, 2017

I’ve been voice typing every day since the middle of February. With daily practice, I’m getting good at it.

When I first started voice typing, I Googled, “How to Get Good at Voice Typing”. I wanted tips on how to increase my word quantity and quality. Instead, all I got were tips on how to use the technology.

This wasn’t helpful, because the technology is easy to use. You turn on the software and talk: the software listens and types down what you say. That shouldn’t be a 1,000 word article — but it often was. And it was frustrating.

Rather, I was looking for more psychological tips. How does someone who has decades of experience as a daily finger typist get good at voice typing? What do I need to do physically and mentally to get better at it?

After almost 3 months of daily practice with voice typing, I gleaned some insights. I share the process and techniques that worked — and failed — in a short video.

What Voice Typing system do I use?
What’s my process?
Do I Voice Type faster if I look at a blank wall or if I look out the window?
Do I Voice Type using punctuation or not?
Does using body language help or hurt the process?
What about emotion? Do you stay stoic or speak with feeling?

I answer all these questions and more in a short YouTube Video “Voice Typing: 4 tips”

What are your tips for improving your voice typing word quality and quantity? Will voice typing catch on? Will writers use it to produce more and better content?

Those are the questions I can’t answer! If you have insights that can help me with voice typing, please share them in the comments.

Thanks!

Presentation

Do you use fidget toys?

Post author By Laura Bergells
Post date April 28, 2017

I heard the term “fidget toys” for the first time this week. Listen, I’m old school. I’m accustomed to calling these things “toys”.

But as it turns out, I use what we now call “fidget toys” all the time. And I use them without realizing they are a popular trend right now.

But how do I use my fidget toys? Not necessarily for fidgeting:

Improv tools. Meeting starters. Creativity enhancers.

You won’t believe all the toys I found hanging around my desk and in my briefcase. But I use them as legitimate business tools.

My fidget toys aren’t the fancy, trendy ones. Mine are old school toys. You could have found some of them in classrooms over 100 years ago.

But I really do appreciate the creativity that fidget toys inspire. I remember a toy from my childhood. It was discontinued. As a 8 year old, I coveted one of these items (see below). But I knew better than to ask my parents for one. They wouldn’t allow it.

Instead, my parents gave me a pony. A pony is the ultimate fidget toy. Grooming and shoveling gives you plenty of opportunities to fidget.

Now, I read a little bit about the modern fidget toy phenomenon. It turns out that fidget toys may have a legitimate therapeutic purpose. This means your teacher may not punish you for playing with a toy in class. Instead, some teachers are OK with pricey devices like cubes and spinners. (Go ahead and Google “fidget cubes” and “fidget spinners” to see what I’m talking about.)

The idea behind these new fangled toys is to fidget discretely in public, so as not to disturb others. A teacher might have to confiscate your toy if you are fidgeting too enthusiastically. (Go ahead. Search for YouTube videos featuring people who take fidgeting to spectacular excess.)

And now that I’ve read a bit about the fidget toy phenomenon: I’m seeing them everywhere! A colleague had a cube on his desk. He said he uses it to calm his anxiety. It’s an expensive little thing — around $50, if you can believe it.

This inspired me to cut yet another video. Here, I outline 10+ classic fidget toys that I had laying around my house. These are old school toys. Some I’ve had for decades – and I still use them today.

The big benefit to many of my classic fidget toys is that they are practical. They put your fidgeting to a useful purpose. That way, you have something to show for your efforts at the end of your bout of fidgeting.

Sure, I fidget. Who doesn’t? But I fidget with a purpose.

What about you? Do you use fidget toys? What’s their purpose in your life?

Coaching Presentation

Public Speaking Tip: Re-frame “Fear” as “Excitement”

Post author By Laura Bergells
Post date April 10, 2017

I’m going to lay a head trip on you. Check this out.

If you’re feeling nervous or scared before your next presentation, think about this:

“…why not re-frame that term ‘I’m nervous and scared of public speaking’ into ‘I am excited about presenting to my audience’?”

It’s a small change, but it’s effective. Try it out and feel motivated before your next big speech or presentation.

Education Presentation

I don’t attend conferences where speakers don’t get paid

Post author By Laura Bergells
Post date April 4, 2017

I give up. Starting today, on #EqualPayDay — I won’t pay to go to business conferences where speakers don’t get paid.

The conference organizers will pay for the room and the food. But they won’t pay speakers for crafting and delivering content? The conference venue makes money — but the speakers don’t?

It makes no sense to me. But, still, I’ll hear unpaid speakers say,

“No, wait. I get paid. I get paid with exposure, experience, and connections.”

Goody for them. These privileged people don’t need actual money. They don’t value their content. So they’re leveraging their privilege to gain even more privilege. In so doing, they’re blocking a more valuable perspective from ever reaching the audience.

I don’t want a privileged person to take a job from someone who needs money. And who could use those valuable connections. And who actually has something rare to tell me.

Why would I support a privileged person taking a job from someone who cannot afford to speak for free? By taking an unpaid engagement, the privileged person silences the voices of people I want to hear from the most.

People with something valuable to say are worth more than the crudites or coffee. If conferences won’t give speakers that respect, I will.

Starting today, I’ll ask if speakers are getting paid. If they aren’t, I’ll ask if the venue or organizers are getting paid. If the venue is donating the space — I’ll consider going.

But if the venue is getting paid and the speakers aren’t? Pass. I won’t support it.

Follow the money. Who’s making bank on unpaid labor?