How to Practice Part 3: Get an Audience
I finish every workshop and coaching session with a reminder that nothing improves a presentation more than practice. For musicians practicing usually includes repeating exercises that improve technique, carefully learning new repertoire and refining material they’re already performing. But what exactly does that mean for a speaker? This four-part series lays out how speakers can use their prep time best.
How to Practice - Part 1 outlined how important it is for any speaker to transition from thinking and writing about a topic to saying it out loud. Once you content has come together, it’s time to get a test audience. Here are some good options:
A Mirror. Before you talk to anyone, you’ll probably want to try talking to a mirror. Right away, you’ll notice lots about your posture, use of hands and facial gestures (among other things). Mirrors are great early on because in order to see yourself, you’ll have to get used to looking away from your notes and slides.
Colleagues or friends who have a good working knowledge of your content. They’ll be able to spot any technical errors, missing information or inconsistencies. This test audience is also useful since they are likely to be similar to the group you’ll be presenting to. Their questions and feedback will help you anticipate how your audience will respond.
Friends or family members (who don’t know a lot about your content). They’ll watch you for you. If you’re delivering a cohesive narrative, they’ll be able to follow your talk without getting lost even if they aren’t familiar with the topic. Often, they’ll spot weaknesses in your content because they notice where you seem uncertain or uneasy. They’ll be able to call out things that seem artificial or inauthentic about how you present yourself. This can be a more challenging audience than strangers or colleagues because they have expectations based who they know you to be - and you’ll want them to like you!
Video recording. If you want to go the extra mile, you can video record yourself. This can be tough to watch. No one loves the sound of the of their own voice – but you’ll quickly hear and see any quirks in your delivery style. It can also be useful to watch yourself without sound since it will make your body language and any physical tics snap into focus.
Each of these audiences will challenge you in a different way. In the weeks before your presentation, gather some friends and give it a go!
Contact me about scheduling a group workshop or one-on-one coaching session today.