Preparing your team to master public speaking

Giving your team room to fail is an essential step on the path to success.

Lift all voices

Strong public communications skills are vital to a powerful workforce. The ability to speak publicly will reinforce interpersonal communications and boost the opportunity to receive vital feedback across all aspects of your business. In addition, every member of your team becomes an advocate for the brand, no matter the role they play. 

When preparing your staff for a specific public speaking event, whether it is internal or external, it is imperative that you set them up for success by equipping them with the right tools. Throwing someone into the spotlight without the requisite preparation can be damaging to the individual as well as your business. 

Much time spent preparing for presentations is focussed on the content without enough time given to crafting the delivery. It is incumbent upon a good leader to help develop presentation skills so the content is received in the best possible light.

Set the tone

It is important to set the right tone in order to develop these skills. A good leader will encourage failure on the path to success; the old adage “no bad ideas in a brainstorm” is built around the notion that good results can come from anywhere. Perfection isn’t a starting point. Time spent with a communications coach yields positive results by allowing room for error. Within your teams, you should ape the fundamentals of a quality communications coach by allowing space for improvement. 

In business, we are more often than not aiming to put our best foot forward. When preparing your staff for a presentation you should outline the parameters that allow for failure and discovery. Giving your team space to get things wrong will create a far more nurturing environment - a sense of fun and play will help them reach outside of their comfort zone and make room for creativity. This sense of fun will produce dynamism within their presentation; this is more engaging and puts the speaker in a much more confident position.

Alright on the night

Stand up comedians perfect their craft by getting it wrong a good portion of the time. Stand up is a relational skill and that relationship is with the audience. They learn what works in different rooms, with different crowds and develop material that is universally successful. Whilst it is unlikely that you will have the opportunity to take your team on the road to hone their craft, you can create internal environments that will provide a place for them to improve. 

Key to this process is demonstrating the good that can come from the failures. Explore what can be learnt from missteps; knowing what doesn’t work is incredibly useful for homing in on the right approach. Working with a communications coach will help expand your personal vocabulary when giving feedback. You will develop strategies for responding with affirmations that move your team beyond their comfort zone. Failing privately with you can allow them to succeed publicly. 

Create a safe space

Framing is the first step in creating the right culture for this process. When establishing the course of progress, set out a clear timeline. You won’t be able to create this environment by starting the process twenty-four hours before a big presentation. Giving your team a roadmap will allow them the freedom to fail in those early days. “Room for improvement” requires room. Knowing the purpose of the prep sessions is to explore all possible options will open them up to the idea of experimenting. 

When working with your staff for a particular presentation, be clear and upfront about the expectations. Provide them a vision that they can aspire to. It is equally important to be frank about their current experience and confidence levels with public speaking. Some people will be unaccustomed whilst others may have tons of experience. Recognising this will be an equaliser that aligns your expectations with theirs. Talk honestly about their concerns and take time to talk through these. 

Be aware of your company’s hierarchy and internal politics. These can impact an individual’s feelings about representing the brand or presenting to an internal group. Bringing in an external communications coach can be a huge advantage. Someone from outside the business can focus on the task in hand without the burden of all other business dynamics. 

Working with your team to improve their public speaking skills will pay dividends. Those communications skills will empower your team to use their voice more broadly granting them the courage to share ideas that could have lasting improvements on your overall business.