Workshop Scripts: Developing the Art of Public Speaking

A discussion recently about conducting successful workshops led me to believe that very few people have the answers. It is ironic that the very people who are supposed to have all the answers, people conducting workshops, don’t really know how to capture and captivate an audience. It’s a shame that most people are being attracted to the more alluring and energetic voice, one that may not necessarily have the correct answer.

We’ve seen them on television and businesses hire them as motivational speakers, because that’s really all they do. They transfer their high energy to you and make you want to jump out of your seat and go get something done. But what it is that you want to do, you don’t even know yet. You don’t have the answer to that one. You’re just a ball of energy ready to explode and make things happen, but you don’t have a cause.

We’ve seen the other too. We’ve seen the guy who knows what you need to do and how to do it. He’s the hired training officer for your company who reads through all of the directives and puts them into a language that you and your fellow workers can understand. He’s the guy who can help you get further ahead in life and really succeed at what you do, but you fall asleep in his training sessions because he never learned how to deliver his information with as much as enthusiasm as the expert public speaker who comes at a high price.

Workshops don’t need to be dog and pony shows where you literally have to do a somersault to keep your audience interested in what you are saying. But, you do need to lighten up a bit and care about your delivery. It’s not difficult at all and you don’t need a few years in college or even a college course to improve your public speaking skills. All you need are a few tips to remember. I’ve written several other articles about conducting successful workshops. And I’ll continue into the future because I feel there is a real need here.

Let’s begin with the fact that most people don’t feel comfortable speaking to a group no matter how small it might be. This leads to a level of anxiety. It’s understandable so acknowledge that you are going to be nervous and then, work toward getting over it. Tip #1 then is to take as much thinking as you can out of conducting your workshop.

The more that is in place beforehand, the more you have rehearsed and prepared, the less you have to think while conducting your workshop. Have a list of key points that you want to deliver. Have them readily available while you are conducting your workshop, so that you can refer to them any time you need them. For each key point, know what you want to say about it. Go over those explanations several times until you almost know them like the back of your hand. Now, as you move through your workshop point by point, you only need to refer to your notes for the key points. But, you’ll be able to talk in an informal language that is more inviting to the listener.

Eliminate repetitious wording. Important concepts should be repeated purposefully. The rule of thumb is that anything important enough for an audience member to remember should be repeated three times. Three times and three times only. Make it a consistent practice throughout your workshop so that your audience can get into a rhythm with it. But, saying a certain word over and over out of nervousness can be eliminated easily by knowing exactly what you mean to say before you say it. Successful public speaking is the transfer of important information in deliberate terms. Deliberately say and deliberately mean what you say. It builds the audience’s confidence in you that you know what you’re talking about. You are the voice of authority!

Allow questions to drive your workshop. If any question asked by a member of your audience is covered later in your workshop, simply say so and let your audience know that you will cover that in a few short moments. But if it is time that you hit on that point being questioned, it is a good gauge for your audience’s interest. Keeping the workshop interactive keeps it alive and helps you stay on cue. Answer a question, explain it in deliberate terms, take your time and think through everything you mean to say. Learn the art of beginning, explaining and wrapping up a point patiently, but efficiently.

If you follow these points and others that I already have and will continue to write about, you will be able to conduct a great workshop. My art workshop students learning to become art workshop teachers of their own practice these and several other skills. I’m literally proud of my students when I see them using the skills I have taught them. But the more important thing is watching the attendants react. When you see them interested and you see them captivated throughout the entire workshop, that’s when your workshop gives life back to you!