Who should you look to for public speaking advice? Author Ted Gioia suggests thinking more like a jazz musician.
Ted Gioia has had an incredible career. Best known as the author of 11 celebrated books on music and culture, he also holds a degree from Oxford and a Stanford MBA, worked for years in business and investing, co-founded Stanford’s jazz studies program, and is an accomplished jazz pianist.
As Gioia explained recently in his popular Substack newsletter, The Honest Broker, throughout all these varied experiences, one thing was constant — lots and lots of public speaking.
Starting in high school when he entered and won a local public speaking contest at the insistence of his mother, through his days in business presenting to CEOs, and later lecturing to college students and conference audiences, Gioia has spent a huge amount of time in front of an audience.
What has he learned? He recently shared ten rules that approach speaking less as as entrepreneur armed with PowerPoint slides and more like a jazz performer intent on captivating the audience. Most are unconventional. Some are downright controversial, but all are worth a read (as is Gioia’s excellent newsletter in general). Here’s a small slice of each to get you started.
1. “The Podium is Death”
Gioia kicks things off with pretty straightforward advice: don’t be glued to the podium: “I see others who hold on to the lectern for dear life, almost as if they’re rodeo cowboys on a bucking bronco. But unless you are a father confessor, you shouldn’t keep a big wooden slab between you and your listener.”
2. “Invade the Audience’s Space”
This tip might sound aggressive or impractical to some, but Gioia insists going out into the audience can be an electrifying move. “Humans are mammals and always pay closest attention when others invade their space. At that juncture you will have everyone intensely focused on your presence and totally aware of everything you say–so you only do this at the most significant moment or moments in your talk,” he writes.
3. “Embrace Spontaneity–Even (or Especially) When It Seems Risky”
Not everyone agrees with Gioia on this one (Malcolm Gladwell, for instance, memorizes his speeches word for word) but he insists everyone should at least work to make their talk feel unscripted. “Even if you want to take fewer chances, your talk must still feel spontaneous and in-the-moment. The audience wants that. They are energized by something that is happening right now and in this place,” he claims.
4. “Remember That the Audience Always Wants You to Succeed”
Gioia is very much not the only public speaking expert making this point. TED coaches and other authors have all claimed that recognizing the audience is on your side is the secret to getting over your fear of public speaking. Gioia’s experience backs them up.
“I’ve never met anyone who went to an event hoping to be bored and disappointed. The audience really, really wants you to succeed, and if you give them even the slightest chance at having a good time, they will cheer you on,” he writes.
5. “Don’t Be Afraid of Humor, or Even Silly Jokes”
This advice might land differently for different speakers (research has shown humor from women is received differently than humor from men, for instance), but Gioia insists that in his experience audiences love a joke, even a bad one. “Humor…. wins the audience’s love and support. The joke can even be second-rate, but they will still appreciate that you cared enough about their entertainment to tell it,” he claims.
6. “You really don’t need slides, and if you insist on using them you must deal with the consequences”
Gioia admits that in many formats slides are inescapable, but he also argues that slides mean the audience is never “sure whether they ought to pay attention to you or to the slide.” If you can’t avoid slides, “try to signal to the audience when they should look at the screen, and when they should pay attention to you,” he advises, suggesting speakers think of themselves as conductors and not shy away from big gestures.
Other speaking experts add that it’s also important to make sure your slides won’t put the audience to sleep.
7. “Tap into Your Own Craziness”
This will obviously be one of Gioia’s more controversial suggestions, but he believes “every one of us is an odd duck” (Yale research confirms this,). Rather than hide your weirdness, he suggests that “if you have quirks and eccentricities, let them rip. The audience will remember you for years to come. And, believe it or not, they will remember what you said too.”
8. “Don’t Be Shy About Giving Your Roadmap to the Audience”
“When you go on a trip, you want frequent updates on your progress–that’s why the map apps give you so much information. Audiences at a talk are no different,” says Gioia.
So go ahead and tell them when you need them to pay extra close attention or reassure them you’re nearing the end if you feel them growing restless. The audience will “feel like they are working in tandem with you, and this makes them far more committed to the entire experience and its outcomes,” Gioia writes.
9. “Pay attention to other speakers, and steal all their best techniques”
Gioia shares a number of gestures and tricks he learned from other speakers and claims you shouldn’t be shy about stealing from the best either. “By the way, the three best kinds of speakers to study are comedians, preachers, and TV wrestlers. Politicians are surprisingly bad at this kind of stuff,” he adds.
10. “Be a Rock Star and Savor the Moment”
Gioia believes that the audience won’t have fun unless you are having fun. And if you tell him that, for you, public speaking is a nightmare, not a pleasure, he’s having none of it. “Every last one of us wants to be heard and acknowledged, and you will never find any situation that delivers those goods in more abundance than public speaking,” he writes.
I’m in the camp of people that actually loathes being the center of attention, so I can’t quite agree with him on this, but I do believe Gioia when claims “the audience will feed off your enjoyment.” That suggests even more introverted types need to find a way to enjoy speaking. Some experts suggest focusing less on yourself and more on being of service to the audience.
Feature Image Credit: Getty Images
