The Do’s and Don’ts of Public Speaking, or: Why Spanish Presentations Aren’t for Me

Earlier this year I decided to add public speaking to my methods of establishing myself as an expert (well, Eggspert. whatever).  If you have read even one post on my site, you know I’m really big on that. Why?

Establishing yourself as an expert in your field is what separates you from everyone else.

So back to the public speaking. My first opportunity arose about a month ago when Orlando’s Hispanic Business Initiative Fund asked me to speak at the Hispanic Business Expo. In Spanish.

I speak Spanish well enough, so I agreed to do it, figuring it would be a great challenge. Indeed. So I spent a good month translating a presentation and memorizing it. Come time for my presentation I was paralyzed, and there was a pit of fear in my stomach.

Now, I know that’s normal for public speaking. But I’ve done it before. It was the Spanish part that threw me off. My fear of shriveling up and dying when the question and answer time came was making me uptight and snappy to my family (sorry family).

Long story short, I did ok. It was clear I was nervous, and during the Q&A, they asked questions in English and I responded. Whew. The next session they asked me to do in English. I really don’t want to delve into the reasons. Either it was because my Spanish sucks much more than I knew or it was so obvious I was uncomfortable. We’ll go with the latter.

And I survived. It felt good, especially because if I could do this in Spanish, then I damn sure could do it in English. Backwards. With my eyes closed. Naked, in front of thousands.

But I learned a few things I wanted to share with you. If you’re considering public speaking, keep these tips in mind:

Do

• Reach out to local organizations to get started. Get your feet wet before moving on to bigger and better opportunities.
• Film yourself speaking. You can critique what you did right and wrong for next time.
• Speak slowly and clearly.
• Speak on a topic you’re very comfortable with. One you could talk without notes for hours on.
• Introduce your products or services and make them available at the back of the room for purchase after your presentation.
• Bring backup of your presentation. USB, disc, email. You never know what will go wrong.

Don’t

• Go too far outside your comfort zone (Spanish). It will show.
• Be too pushy in  your sales. You’re there to educate, not make money (if it’s a side effect, great)
• Be late.
• Forget your presentation.
• Forget to thank the people who asked you to speak. They may need you again.

Now if you will excuse me. I am going to be a hermit for a while until I feel normal again.