Gina London: When it’s all Greek to you, use these tips for speaking in public

I spoke in front of 500 delegates from some of the Hellenic republic’s largest companies, gathered in the ballroom of the International Hotel in Athens.

You might think that after many years of either reporting live in front of a camera when I worked with CNN, or presenting live on stages around the world, as a leadership communications expert, I wouldn’t get nervous.

But I promise you, as I stood watching the minister of something or other present her opening remarks right before I was scheduled to go on, a flutter of imaginary butterfly wings began to fill my insides.

A little tinge of anxiety is a good thing, I always say. The excitement shows you are still committed to your audience. That you don’t take them for granted. But that morning in Athens, the butterflies flapped with extra force.

“Oh wow. She’s speaking to the audience in Greek,” I noticed, initially being taken aback.

“But of course she is,” I reminded myself. “After all, it is their native language.”

I’ve spoken many times to international audiences, so I don’t know why I hadn’t properly considered this. The entire conference brochure was written in Greek letters, so I definitely should not have been surprised.

But for some reason the awareness on this day prompted an unexpected confidence stumble.

“How well do they speak English?” I wondered to myself, unrealistically lumping a room full of distinct individuals into a uniform collective. “What should I do?”

And, here then, dear readers, are the reminders I gave myself that morning which I provide now to you.

Sandwich your presentation points in a tasty story

To craft a compelling keynote, I urge you not to write in one long stream-of-consciousness.

Most of us consider our topic and then proceed to fill up our blank document with information. A lot of information.

So many facts and figures and explanations and statistics that it would make any one expert’s head spin, let alone a packed ballroom of diverse people.

They are there to learn a little, sure – but they’re also there to sip a coffee, nibble on a croissant and network with colleagues they probably haven’t seen since the last conference.

Think about them and their limited attention spans first.

I would encourage you to write in sections. When it comes to the ‘information’ portion, limit yourself to three main lessons/actions they can take/points they can learn from — but leave room on either side of this section to craft a story. Imagine wrapping your information nuggets with a warm embrace.

This is how you can grab their limited attention and ensure they connect first with you as the presenter, before you shift focus to the take-aways.

Open up with something personal from your own experience which brings us into your world.

Why you are the person is sharing with us? What about your experience makes this topic relevant to you and by extension to us?

​You are the presentation – not just your slides

Since my audience in Athens consisted of HR professionals, who are often struggling to convince senior leaders that people-centric workplaces are the way to go, I opened with a story of my most challenging executive coaching client – I called him Richard – who was required by his chiefs to meet me to learn how to become a more ‘coaching’ type of leader, instead of his current ‘command and control’ style.

But Richard wasn’t happy to work with me at all.

So I provided a vivid description of our less than pleasant first encounter as my ‘audience hook story’.

And here’s an important next tip for you all: I didn’t conclude my story in this section. I broke it up. I paused right at the point where he pushed back against any need to change his leadership style.

That was my set-up to next describe the greater issue at hand and offer three solutions. The ‘lessons sections’.

Only after I finished those sections, did I circle back and provide the resolution to the opening story. “Remember Richard?” I ask everyone. Everyone did, and I wrapped up with his turnaround moment and how much positive impact he ultimately made after he chose to change.

“And you can too,” I told them.

Applause applause.

A well-crafted story will grab your audience at the start, keep them with you during the meaty middle, and wrap up the package with a figurative bow they can take with them at the end.

You get the idea?

​Perfect your delivery and pacing

Once you have crafted your story, the key ingredient I never skimp on is to discipline myself to dedicate enough time to muscle memory the delivery.

Your ‘out loud’ practise doesn’t require you to memorise every word, but you should be comfortable enough with the content so you can ad lib effortlessly in the moment.

And when speaking to an audience full of second-language English speakers, don’t forget to enunciate and s-l-o-w down!

Remember these guidelines the next time you are asked to present before an audience – whether or not, like it was for me, all Greek to you.

​You can write to Gina in care of SundayBusiness@independent.ie