In our public speaking workshops, we remind students: You don't have to wait for your next presentation to practice the techniques you've learned.
Not only do meetings provide opportunities to practice, these meetings are often made more effective when presentation fundamentals are applied.
Here are three presentation techniques you can use to improve meetings, while you're also building your public speaking skills.
1. Start your meeting with a strong open.
How great would life be if we all attended meetings in which we knew why the meeting needed to happen and why we were there?
When making a presentation, your strong open makes the topic clear and identifies why the audience should want to listen.
In a meeting, a strong open can frame the purpose of the meeting and why each person's participation is valuable.
If you lead a standing meeting, using a strong open every time can be especially effective:
- These routine meetings can easily become just that—another dreary round of updates.
- If you can identify priorities when you start, you remind everyone that these meetings exist for a good reason.
- It's easier to get people engaged when they know participation has a point.
2. Try delivering with the bottom line upfront.
We've learned from working with the U.S. Army that they rely on this tactic and, of course, have an acronym for it—BLUF.
Often, speakers take you through their thought process, only getting to the main idea at the end. When we take a BLUF approach, we lead with the main idea, then add any supporting information that's necessary.
When we work on Q&A in our programs, we call this giving the short answer first. Either way, the approach helps listeners, because they know where you're going. You provide a frame for them to hang the details you're about to provide.
3. Cut out filler words and phrases when you speak.
Many speakers ask us to help them get rid of um, uh, like, you know. We also urge speakers to reduce their use of tentative language (I think, kinda). We suggest they limit conjunctions (so, and), in order to speak in shorter sentences.
All of this is easier to do in presentations if you also practice it in your everyday communication. Speaking up in a meeting is one terrific place to get in some reps and build better habits.
Any time we can reduce filler sounds and shorten sentences, we're helping the people who listen to us. Think of it as weeding your communication garden. When you pull out the weeds, information and ideas are easier to grasp.
When a meeting is virtual, your ability to speak cleanly is appreciated even more. We've found that what might have been tolerable in-person seems much more tedious once a meeting moves online.
LEARN MORE
What might a strong open in a presentation look like for you? Find our tips here.
Check this out for more ideas on how to find speaking opportunities outside of formal presentations.
This article looks at how facilitating techniques can help you run a more productive meeting.
