The Prospecting Professor: Top Public Speaking Mistakes

A few weeks ago, I attended a presentation by Al Gore on the topic of Global Warming. I attended at the behest of someone else (my wife), and wondering what credibility Al Gore had on the global warming issue.

Well...he slew me. Hands down, it was one of the best presentations that I had ever seen. The visuals were stunning...from the very first image, to the last. He spoke for 75 minutes...with Passion, Conviction, Humor, as well as Complete Control of the topic. I left the auditorium thinking...if this guy would've have spoken like this during the 2000 campaign, he would have walked away with the race!

The ability to express yourself orally, one-on-one or in group presentations, is one of the most important skills for financial advisors. If you cannot communicate your ideas with impact, your words have no credibility...and you do not inspire confidence in your ideas and recommendations.

Public speaking is an acquired skill. All of us, regardless of our innate talents, can become better public speakers with practice. Case in point...me. I used to be horrible. However, through years of practice I have improved my public speaking skills significantly.

In the financial services industry, mediocre and poor public speakers are a dime-a-dozen. This is surprising to me...you'd think that greater attention would be spent on the spoken word. Yet I have seen thousands of presentations by: senior executives, managers, wholesalers, individual advisors...and the bad presentations far outweigh the good ones.

From what I have observed here are the Most Common Public Speaking Mistakes that I have observed:

Being Boring. Don't settle for "average." Do not risk losing your audience with a boringly straitlaced performance. Your success depends upon being different...not on conformity.
Too Objective. Take a point of view. The single most important takeaway that your audience members will leave with is your point-of-view. It is your rallying call. If you have a good one, your presentation is more than 50% complete.
Too Much Info. Do not "data dump" on the audience. The "here's all I know" approach is a guaranteed loser. The fact is the most of us forget the specific content of a presentation within 24 hours. At most, we'll remember 1-3 key points. As a speaker, we need to highlight these points and make sure the audience knows them too.
Too Many Visuals. PowerPoint, and presentation "bells and whistles" can be a crutch. Visuals can become security blankets.
Thinking Content Outweighs Delivery. Delivery trumps content almost every time. The Al Gore example is a good one. No one ever questioned his knowledge of the content. It was his wooden delivery that left people cold. Audience members will forget your content quickly, however they will preserve the image of a dynamic speaker who stands in front of a group with charismatic confidence.
Say Too Much. The goal of your presentation is not to tell the audience everything. The goal is to tell them enough...to want to meet with your directly, one-on-one.