Susan Guthrie

Engaging your audience early is probably one of the most important factors in having a successful presentation. I always start off with a little bit about myself, and then spend some time engaging with the audience to find out about them and what their interest in the topic I am speaking on. This all allows me to fine my presentation throughout as I let myself be guided by their needs and interests. Treat it like a one-on-one conversation even if there are hundreds of people on the room. Speak to the audience and let their respond comments be your guide for where to take the discussion within the bounds of your topic.

It is not practical nor reasonable for us to expect our mentors to support us and provide guidance in every area of our career. We all have different strengths, weaknesses and experiences that we draw upon and recognizing this, and having realistic expectations of those who support us is not just practical, it is necessary. If your mentor is not able to offer guidance in public speaking, alternatives might be to ask them if they could suggest someone that you might speak with on the topic or other resource. There are also a variety of other resources available at the touch of a keyboard through a search, and perhaps seeking out another mentor, with specific subject matter expertise in the area of public speaking would be helpful.

Here is my favorite way to engage the audience and emphasize their adoption of my premise. I start with a quick poll that asks them for their opinions on the topic at hand. These days for me, it is the integration of AI into legal practice. Generally, there is a great deal of hesitation about using this technology and very little excitement about the possibilities it presents. Then, after I have shared the program that emphasized the many, many exciting benefits of #ai and #legaltech, along with best practices for ethical integration, I run the same poll. Without fail, the results the second time around are markedly different and emphasize that the attendees were engaged and attentive throughout and the content was effective!

This is not an uncommon problem and I have found that there are a couple of insights that I find helpful. First and foremost, prepare for the conversation. Spend time pulling your thoughts together before sharing them with your boss. Consider the following: 1.) What are your bosses' priorities? Focus on their focus, not yours. 2.) Build a strong BUSINESS case from their perspective and 3.) Prepare to share using "the language of results." Frame your ideas in terms of outcomes and benefits and if possible, have examples that support you. Finally, CHOOSE THE RIGHT MOMENT! This is where people so often go wrong. Timing is everything so be strategic and don't set yourself up for failure by approaching them at the wrong time.

As a speaker and podcast host one thing that I am certain of is the value of staying on top of hot topics in your area of interest in order to stay relevant and in demand. I get pitches all the time from people seeking to be guests on my show but there proposed topics are dated, run of the mill or overdone. It pays to be talking about something that people want to hear about. Put effort into constantly monitoring the buzz and tailor your talk to combine it with your expertise.

I believe that it is extremely helpful to your participants to have visual aids when you are presenting a program. The spoken word alone is relatively fleeting I find, but the addition of visual aids, usually at a minimum in the form of slides, is very helpful in helping with comprehension and retention. The slides allow for creativity as well and I tailor the feel and content to appeal to the particular audience that I am speaking to. One note: using the template PowerPoint slides is something that I avoid as they are so overused and generic, they can be a detriment rather than an aid. I prefer to use Canva to create my decks which allows much more personalization. There is also a new AI assisted program called Tome that is great.