Dave Yewman: Excellence is the result of hard work and preparation

A former newspaper reporter and columnist in the US, Dave Yewman trains company executives in the effective use of spoken language as a strategic tool in communication. Here Yewman, who has been invited to Cyprus as part of GNORA Communication Consultants’ 20th anniversary celebrations, explains just what it takes to become a successful public speaker. As he says, “Excellence at almost anything looks easy, but in reality is the result of hard work and preparation”.

How important is public speaking today?

Today, effective public speaking is more important than ever. A goldfish has a 9-second attention span, but humans have an 8-second attention span – so unless your speech grabs the audience’s attention right up front, you lose their attention and without that, your message simply doesn’t get through. So it’s important to craft a clear message and practice it repeatedly to make sure you connect with the people sitting in front of you, or watching you on Zoom. Someone at McKinsey Consulting once said that speaking well in the business world is “almost an unfair advantage” which is absolutely true – because so many executives, politicians and managers aren’t good speakers. Being an effective public speaker can add rocket fuel to your career path, but it takes work to get there.

What are some frequent boundaries or challenges you have come across as a coach?

No one wants to practice. In fact, a lot of senior executives think they can just “wing it” when speaking, which inevitably leads to disaster. When you think about it, excellence at almost anything looks easy, but in reality is the result of hard work and preparation. I spend a lot of time videotaping executives, then playing back the footage and critiquing the speech. This is a horribly uncomfortable situation, but it always makes the speakers better. One of my clients at Google said the process was “terrifying yet incredibly valuable” which is an accurate description of the practice methodology that all effective speakers endure in one form or another.

How can people manage to deliver amazing speeches and wow their audience?

When you see a master communicator, or a hilarious comedian, or a great singer, it’s tempting to think they’re “just good”. That somehow they were born with the skills needed to be fantastic. But that’s not true. Being an effective speaker is a learned skill, just like telling jokes or singing or dancing or anything. If you have a speech on the 20th start practicing it out loud on the 2nd and do so every other day until you deliver it. You’ll do a good job, how could you not with that much prep? And for extra credit, record your rehearsals on your phone, then watch the footage to see what worked and what didn’t so you can make adjustments. Do that for every practice and you’ll be a great speaker come the 20th.

Are there some essential tips you can share with our readers for improving their public speaking skills?

The two biggest things are get to the point and tell stories. Audiences love stories, and if the speaker’s stories illustrate the major point that’s going to be a memorable speech. Audiences also have short (9-second) attention spans so speakers should get to the point in their first 10-12 seconds. You sometimes hear speakers say, “If you only remember one thing today, make it this.” That’s a verbal signal: here is my major message. If you think about it, people only remember one or two big things from a speech. If you try to deliver 15 key messages to an audience, it’s just not going to work, one of my Microsoft clients calls that “trying to boil the ocean.” It’s impossible.

Have you been inspired by speeches given by famous individuals?

Yes. I’m a big fan of Obama, and her husband is pretty good, too. I admire how Bono communicates and Canadian Premier Justin Trudeau is an excellent speaker. I think Nikole Hannah-Jones, who wrote the 1619 Project for the New York Times is great when she appears on TV. Of course, people like Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy are always high on any list; one thing people often forget is that MLK’s “I have a dream” speech was only 17 minutes long, so you don’t need a ton of time to deliver a memorable speech.

Does the audience play a role in a public speaking event or presentation? How does it shape the preparation, appearance and interaction with the speaker?

I read this quote recently, “Designing a presentation without an audience in mind is like writing a love letter and addressing it ‘to whom it may concern.’” That’s absolutely right. Speeches are entirely about the audience. You wouldn’t deliver the same speech to a group of school children as you would to a roomful of business executives. Your message could be similar but the actual speech would be customized to reach the audience. A lot of speakers forget the audience. In the U.S. there’s a term called “WIIFM” which stands for “What’s In It For Me?” and that’s the question every audience has for every speaker. Basically, why should I listen to you? If you stand up and tell a roomful of investors you can make them $2 million Euros in 3 weeks you will have their attention right in the first 10 seconds of your speech, before their attention span has waned.

Dave Yewman has worked with leading international companies, start-ups, athletes, and professionals from almost every industry. He is the author of the book “Weekend Language: Presenting with More Stories and Less PowerPoint”.

He has been invited to talk about ‘The Power of Effective Public Speaking’, on the occasion of GNORA Communication Consultants’ 20th year celebration.