“Developing presenting skills, whether or not you ever speak to a “cast of thousands,” is important for nearly any professional.”
Tell us a little bit about your background, and how you got into public speaking.
I’m currently Vice President for Education Attainment and Innovation at the American Council on Education (ACE) in Washington, DC. We are the nation’s largest association representing all sectors of higher education (large, small, public, private, etc.). I’ve become a national spokesperson on the subject of helping more Americans complete degrees and credentials.
The current post-secondary attainment rate in the US is 43% for 25-34 year olds. This is too low for the jobs we need to fill now and our citizens need better-paying jobs. It’s a huge issue. A big part of my job at ACE is to keep this issue high on the agenda for colleges and universities around the country and speaking is a big part of that.
Prior to ACE, I held a number of leadership positions within the University of California, most recently as a dean at UCLA. These roles also require a great deal of public speaking, whether it be to the internal team, outside groups, board meetings, or at graduation ceremonies. Presenting is constant.
Finally, I was a communication major (BA, MA, PhD), and even though my emphasis was not public speaking, per se, I’ve been immersed in the subject for decades!
What value does public speaking provide you and/or your company?
Working at a national association, public speaking is one of the principal ways we convey important information and messages and also foster dialog on important issues. Our members are college and university presidents and senior leaders. They need to keep abreast of what is happening now and also to be able to see what they need to prepare for in the future.
Presentations, facilitated discussions, roundtable conversations are some of the many ways we provide value to our membership. In addition, because my particular area is of great interest now, I am also asked to make presentations at other associations, at board of trustee meetings, and a variety of groups. In this way, we are providing a service to the broader higher education community and we are enhancing the brand and reputation of ACE.
When someone is doing public speaking on behalf of their company, what are some best practices they should implement to maximize the opportunity both personally and professionally?
My list is pretty long! Probably the most important thing is to know your audience. Consult with the program organizer to have a good idea of to whom you will be speaking. Prepare well. Know your data. Practice your presentation to get the timing right. Edit, edit, edit. Don’t assume you can fit everything in by talking faster. If you are using slides, use illustrations, do not use text-heavy slides and definitely do not read off of your slides. I highly recommend the book
Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds for anyone who uses slides. I do think a well thought-out series of illustrations (photos, drawings, very simple graphs and charts) can enhance presentation and make it memorable. Use appropriate humor. Smile. Have a strong beginning and ending. Get comfortable with Q&A. That’s a big part of presentations-at least in my context. One needs to be comfortable thinking on his or her feet and ad libbing. Learn how to use a microphone properly. Shorter is always better than longer when it comes to presentations.
What, if any, frustrating experiences have you had being booked as a speaker?
Lack of communication and information from the program organizer can be frustrating. Often I commit to a speaking engagement many months or even a year in advance. I think it’s the program organizer’s responsibility to reach out to me with information about the presentation and logistics. In this case, the more information they provide, the better. If I am speaking as part of a larger conference or event, I like to know who the other speakers are and their subject areas-mostly to avoid overlap.
Good organizers make sure speakers complement each other, but some seem to just want to fill the slots on their program without addressing how the presentations will fit together from the audience perspective. Having well-organized and well-supported audio visual equipment is important and it is frustrating when it does not go well. I also agreed to speak at a conference at a location that was difficult to get to (e.g., multiple flights and transfers, etc.). After I said yes, my presentation was converted to a panel session where I was one of four speakers. I spent two days getting to and from an event where I only spoke for 10 minutes! The program organizer should stick to the agreed upon format and respect the presenter’s time.
What advice would you give to someone who is about to start speaking more professionally
about one’s area of expertise?
I would suggest getting as much speaking experience as possible. Like anything, the more experience you have, the better you get. Watch other speakers; (TED Talks and other sources are good for this). Collect data, quotations, stories-various elements that can be incorporated into presentations to add life. Constantly update your information.
Ask friends and colleagues to recommend you as a speaker. Have a good headshot and bio ready to go. These are almost always requested by program organizers. Understand you will be nervous-especially in the beginning-and work on ways to handle nervousness. (Personally, I like the nervousness. It provides a certain energy that comes through positively, for me anyway.)
What are some tactics you use to engage with the audience?
Besides the basics of eye contact and scanning the room, I try to weave in stories, including personal stories. I also ask questions-even a quick question that asks audience members to raise their hands-gets them involved. I also mentioned the use of well-thought out visuals to emphasize your points. Appropriate humor works as well. The more you become comfortable with public speaking, the more natural you become. Audience members can then relax and connect with a real human.
In addition to public speaking, you have also written for publications like The Huffington Post and The Chronicle of Higher Education. Why is it important to develop written content concurrently with public speaking?
It’s important to me in my current job as a thought leader on the subject of education attainment and innovation so that’s my main motivation for doing it. However, over time, blog posts, other
publications, videos that are available on the internet creates a holistic picture. It’s part of my “brand” if you will. It’s not something I constructed, but it’s something that evolved over time.
I think it helps establish and reinforce my expertise. It’s tangible proof of my ongoing engagement with the subject. Often, when I am contacted by a new program organizer, he or she has already seen some of my presentations on YouTube. Content creation is a key these days. Writing definitely supports public speaking in many ways.
How do you measure the success of a speaking engagement?
I definitely look for audience engagement. Are people paying attention or are they checking their email? Are there lots of questions following the presentation? Do people come up to speak to me after the presentation? Do some of them contact me by email following the presentation? Does it lead to additional requests for me to present somewhere else? In other words, do they seem hungry for more?
These are my main measures of success. Did I connect? I also like to finish strong within the allotted time. I pride myself on this. Feedback from the organizers and formal evaluation feedback, if any, is also part of how I measure success.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Even though we live in a world that is highly digitally-connected and we do not necessarily need to be face-to-face to communicate with each other, there is still a place for personal connection. Live speaking engagements are an important part of this personal connection and I do not think this format will disappear anytime soon.
Developing presenting skills, whether or not you ever speak to a “cast of thousands,” is important for nearly any professional. You may be presenting to your team or a small group of colleagues, but you are still presenting. Professionalism and poise in this context will take you far.
