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their Godfather theme-song ringtone
go off—but still, you’re delivering a
mini-speech.
So the two most important tips for
public speaking apply. First, keep it
simple. Have one main idea that you can
distill into a single sentence; hit it again
and again. And second, keep it short.
Think of your message as a very intimate
TED talk—and keep in mind that TED
talks are capped at 18 minutes, which
is, according to curator Chris Anderson,
“long enough to be serious and short
enough to hold people’s attention.”
And then deliver your message.
You could just, you know, talk. But
if you want people to actually listen to
you instead of simply staring at you, try:
The classic approach: Say what you’re going
to say. Say it. Then say what you said.
Or … The old-school approach, from
Roman statesman Cicero, 106-43 B.C.:
Introduce the main idea. Provide background.
Outline key points. Make the
full argument, point by point. Refute
opposing arguments.
Or … Dale Carnegie’s Magic Formula:
Relive a personal experience relevant
to the point. Call on attendees to take a
single, specific action. Clearly emphasize
how the listener will benefit from taking
the recommended action.
Or … The Churchillian Flash and
Crescendo: Start off strong and surprising.
Stick to one dominant theme.
Use simple, conversational language.
End dramatically.
Or … The TED talk: Have a strong opening
hook. Order your points. Craft a great
closing story with a call to action.
Each of these approaches allows for
emotion, either implicitly or explicitly.
And though the energy of emotion is
IDEALCONDITIONSFORMEETINGS
If you have any control over where you’ll
be delivering your important message,
consider the following rules:
Early in the day is better than late.
Smaller rooms are better than bigger
rooms. (Unless the smaller room is
just a random space in the office that
someone decided to call a “team area.”)
Fewer people are better than
more people.
A room temperature of 72 degrees
is better than 65 degrees.
Natural light is better than artificial light.
Silence is better than tapping your pen
on the table.
helpful, clarity is the most critical thing.
In meetings, formulaic is a virtue.
BEWARE THE MEETING GRENADE
Despite the clarity of your message
and emotion of your delivery, not everyone
might respond with rapt attention
and furious note-taking. Barry might
audibly yawn, as he does. Sarah might
do the thing where she brings an
apple to the meeting and, when you’re
about to make your most important
point, takes a bite. Jennifer might throw
in a meeting grenade.
What’s a meeting grenade? A comment
or question that destroys the flow of the
meeting. Like this:
YOU: … But the most important
point is, we have to staunch the bleeding.
And here’s how—
JENNIFER: What if we, like, monetized
our Tumblr?
That’s a meeting grenade. It’s related
to the topic but inappropriately delivered,
potentially killing the momentum
and undermining the authority of the
speaker. The way to deal with this, and
anything else that has the power to distract
from the point you are making, is to
pretend that it never happened, to ignore
its existence.
YOU: … But the most important point
is, we have to staunch the bleeding. And
here’s how—
JENNIFER: What if we, like, monetized
our Tumblr?
YOU [glance at Jennifer, then Barry,
then Sarah]: We’re going to monetize
our Instagram.
Is it rude to ignore Jennifer’s point?
Yes. Which makes it appropriate. When
you are delivering an important message
in a meeting, the meeting is your meeting.
Anything that undermines the clarity
of your point is an offense that must be
met with defense. And the defense is to
remain focused, despite any feelings you
might hurt or opportunities to monetize
Tumblr you might eschew.
So make your point. Then, if there’s
time, ask Jennifer what her Tumblr
plans involve, Barry if he got enough
sleep last night and Sarah if that was
a Fuji … or maybe a Paula Red. You’ll
soften your marked earnestness. But
more important, you’ll designate all those
distractions as secondary concerns,
reinforcing the primacy of the stated
point of the meeting and the only thing
that matters while you are talking: what
you want to say.
ROSS MCCAMMON IS A SENIOR EDITOR AT
ESQUIRE. TO LEARN MORE AND TO SUBSCRIBE,
GO TO ESQUIRE.COM. @ROSSMCCAMMON
KEYTECHNICALMATTERS
Make sure you’re talking to
everyone in the room.
Do not be thrown off by the
attendee checking his device.
the attendee will be as rapt as
everyone else.
Make sure people know what
your point is.
Even the attendee checking
his device.
Especially the attendee checking
his device.
If he won’t stop checking his
device, mention his name
during your presentation.
As in: And Daaaaaave here
is gonna be instrumental.
Right, Dave? All of a sudden,
Choose clarity over energy,
structure over emotion, formula
over “So, what else?”
There must be a clear, simple
point to your message.
Make sure people know how long
you’re going to be.
Make sure how long you’re going
to be is: short.
MARCH 2015 ENTREPRENEUR 29