The dark side of public speaking

I was talking this morning with the head of a video marketing agency.

He’s been in the business over 20 years – when he started they were still using magnetic tape.

(Ah, the memories…)

Anyway, eventually we got around to swapping client stories, and you know what?

We both shared a lot of the same experiences.

There was one lesson in particular which we’ve both run into many times that I want to share with you:

Talk of ‘seriousness’ or ‘sophistication’ is no more than a mask for being scared.

For example, he was telling me how some of his long-term clients ae CEOs of top corporations – the kind that have Prime Ministers on speed dial. And when they started to work together, these CEOs insisted on serious video messages.

Kind of like they were Churchill addressing the nation in the middle of a war.

They called it ‘being serious’, or ‘being professional’, or (my favourite) they explained it by saying they had a ‘sophisticated audience’.

Actually, they were just scared.

How do I know?

Because these days, those same clients do their video messages in short shorts and open shirts. They’re casual and relaxed.

And nobody thinks of them as unsuitable for their roles.

Nobody thinks they’re ‘not serious enough’.

Their ‘sophisticated audience’ – shock, horror! – actually likes it.

Why?

Because their audience is human.

And human beings like human beings.

The human touch – the personal touch.

Fact.

Not fiction.

No ifs – and no buts.

Now, this is the exact same experience I have with speeches. Time and again new clients are too afraid to be different or bold.

Why is this? why do I and this video marketer have the same experience?

I think it’s because public speaking – whether live or on camera – is fundamentally about image.

And image is one of the biggest chinks in most people’s armour.

If we give a speech that does nothing, we can at least say, ‘Well I followed the standard practice (which is a fancy way of saying I just did what everyone else was doing), so it’s not my fault.’

It cushions the ego, and lowers the fear of being ridiculed or criticised.

This is the theory the entire public service is based on – have a procedure, follow the procedure, never deviate or think for yourself, and you’ll never have to defend yourself.

But it also gets you nowhere.

Anyway, the point is, if you follow the crowd, you may not stand out, but you won’t be ridiculed or criticised either. Or at least, that’s the feeling.

So it protects your self-image.

But if you try something different… if you’re bold… THEN, if it falls flat, now you feel like it’s your fault, you did something wrong, you shouldn’t have been different.

But the payoff is you never get the excellence that being different gives you.

And you never let your audience know you’re a real human being.

Ah well, the more people who make the stupid choice to play follow-the-follower, the clearer the air above them for those of us brave enough to be different.

Which one you are is a matter of choice.

If you decide you want to choose to ascend the heights of leadership and authority, I can help you with that. Hit ‘reply’ and let’s talk.

Alexander