What I Learned From The Man Who Talked To The River

I once worked for a corporation that had its offices close to a river. It was a beautiful location with great views. Lunch-hour walks became the most satisfying part of my workday.

Something I witnessed along my walking path one day, completely changed how I had perceived and practiced my talks up until that day.

On a dry summer day, as I was walking, I heard a distant but faint voice. I stopped and listened. It sounded more like a one-way talk than a conversation.

As I walked closer, I saw a man standing at the edge of the riverbank, facing the river and talking. He was talking with a full voice. His animated hand gestures and occasional shake and nod of his head were very visible.

It became quite clear to me that this man was practicing a talk!

I spotted him on a few more occasions during that summer at different locations along the riverbank. Then never saw him again!

Even though I wasn’t giving many talks during that phase of my career, what I observed from that man, certainly made me introspect my attitude and my approach towards conference talks.

At times we yearn for a stage to deliver a talk. When an opportunity finally arrives, many of us become casual and reluctant to go the extra mile to do it full justice.

Here are five simple and easy to follow steps that will help you become a better speaker.

1. Structure your talk

The structure either makes or breaks your talk. Poorly structured talks on great topics often fail to connect with the audience.

Having the heart alone does not make a human unless there is a body around it.

Here are a few basic examples of ill structured talks-

• Talks that jump straight into the core with no introduction or context
• Talks with a long introduction that then runs out of time for the rest
• Talks that end abruptly leaving the audience in a confused state
• Talks with too many pictures and videos that distract the audience from the subject
• Too much focus on the speaker profile than on the topic

Before you structure your talk, think about the audience to whom the talk is targeted at. A conference talk is like storytelling. It connects with people when it follows a pattern.

Talks are not about demonstrating your expertise to the audience. Rather, you use your expertise to guide the audience to make them understand the subject.

Once I sat at the front row of a conference room. The speaker was from a well known IT organization. It was an advanced level talk. The speaker was joking around, stamping on the stage and showing video clips and making dance moves, until a frustrated audience shouted, “show me the code!”.

I am sure, many in the audience on that day must have felt the same.

2. Think ahead of your talk

Bring a few renowned speakers and put them in front of an audience, and give them a topic to talk about. I am certain many of them will struggle to make a start. Allow them a few minutes to prepare in a quiet place, I am sure all of them will deliver great talks.

Why is it so?

Talking is mainly a reflection of our thinking! The more we think about a topic, the more comfortable we become talking about it.

When I go through the process of developing a talk or tailoring an existing talk, the thinking phase is where I spend most of the time. To me, it is also the most enjoyable part of the entire process!

When you are out for a walk, commuting to work, or even awake in the middle of the night, keep thinking of ideas!

I was due to give the final talk of a two-day conference. Knowing that everyone can be exhausted, I wanted to start with a little humor.

One day, while commuting, I remembered a conversation I had with my colleague about people leaving the conferences early. That sparked an idea and I then developed it further.

If you thought I was done with my thinking, then think again! What if the schedule changed and mine was no longer the final session? Of course, I thought of a plan B, just in case. Simple!

3. Practice your talk

Practicing the talk was what the man I saw on the riverbank was doing. No matter how comfortable you are at public speaking, practicing can still be very rewarding.

Depending on the familiarity of the content and the situation, you can decide whether to practice the entire talk or parts of it. Often speakers change parts of their talk to suit the audience and locale. This is a good example where practicing the parts would benefit the fluency as you deliver the talk.

Practicing the talk in your mind is a great way to keep it fresh in your thoughts, especially when the environment is not favorable to recite vocally.

Many actors practice their dialogues and actions in their private space. This allows them to be efficient when in front of the camera.

Staying next door to a popular speaker at a conference hotel, I heard his talking voice as I was getting ready in the morning. Later at dinner that evening, among many things we discussed, he explained how he gains his focus in the morning and gets into the talk-practice mode before leaving for the conference. It was inspiring to hear this from an experienced speaker.

4. Be fearless when you talk

Whether you are an expert or doing your very first talk, everyone goes through a few nervous moments while stepping on to the stage. Those who overcome their anxiety and take control of the situation are the successful ones.

With the preparation and practice done to the best of your ability, you must carry a fearless attitude while delivering the talk. This is not being arrogant, but managing the thirty minutes of talking and taking the audience on the journey with you.

Exhibit a positive body language with a smile. It is human nature that when we see someone smile, our faces also light up. Simple gestures like this can help you as the speaker and your audience as they listen, to develop an unconscious communication channel.

While working as a graduate engineer, I was asked to talk about the Structured Systems Analysis and Design Method (SSADM) to a gathering of around fifty highly talented engineers from my department. This was back in the 90s and I was very nervous. Luckily, I had a great manager who was kind and supportive.

Two very important pieces of advice he gave me before the talk was,

• To inform the audience that the Q&A was at the end [to avoid anyone interrupting my flow]
• To remember that no one in the audience knew SSADM [to convey my thoughts with confidence]

Those words gave me so much courage that I finished the talk with great success.

5. Listen to your talk

To become successful, you have to become your critic. Only you know what was originally planned and what was delivered.

Even when you give a repeated talk, you will still be able to identify several things to take note of and improve. When you repeat the same jokes again and again, and you notice the grim faces of the audience, it’s an indicator it’s time to change!

Some conferences use technology to capture and analyze the audience’s expression during a talk. They use the results and work with the speakers to improve the content and the talk delivery pattern.

Many organizers collect feedback scores from the audience. Get those reports and assess how your talk was received.

Social media platforms where many recordings get published are great sources to check the popularity, likes, dislikes, and constructive comments.

I once gave a talk on architectural patterns. During the talk, I wanted to use a particular term in a sentence. This proved a little hard for me. So I struggled on stage to coin the phrase and make it understandable to everyone.

Though I received an 88% positive rating for that talk, someone did comment on my language proficiency citing the same incident. It helped me to keep my talks simple, to my ability and not to go overboard.

Conclusion

Behind every successful talk, there is hard work. To continue the success, you need passion, combined with dedication and determination.

I definitely won’t recognize the man I saw talking to the river, but I will see his reflection in every great talk I listen to. That’s the impact he had left on me.

When you pursue your journey as a speaker, remember such simple things that happen around you to keep you motivated. Be confident and build courage from every experience, and continue to revise and renew yourself to become a better speaker.

If you ever happen to talk to a river, remember, your audience is just there in the water, swimming!