Advanced Strategy for the Introverted Speaker
If you’ve been following my series of articles about public speaking for introverts, you know that being an introvert isn’t a limitation; it’s a strength. (And if you haven’t seen the first two articles, read the first article here and the second here.)
Your roadblocks to public speaking success may also include creating extra stress for yourself in your preparation process, struggling with memorizing your talk, or working with any sense of impostor syndrome that you may have.
In the first two articles, I wrote about finding solutions to those issues. Now, let’s continue clearing out roadblocks that may be stopping you from becoming the speaker you want to be.
Tame your inner critic
As an introvert, you might have a harsh inner critic. We introverts naturally self-reflect and analyze. Therefore, some common messages filtering through your mind might include:
“Nobody will listen to me because I don’t have anything new to say.”
“There are more qualified people than me.”
“I’m just not interesting.”
“I keep forgetting the best parts of my talk. I’ll never get it right.”
The antidote to your negative inner talk is positive self-reflection. Let’s say you’re about to give a presentation that’s causing you some stress. A day, or even a week before, think about your WHY. You WHY is your deeper purpose. In this case, your WHY might connect with why you do your job, why you want to inform your colleagues with the report that you’re about to give, or why you believe in the message you want to get across during the talk.
Get out a notebook and write down some of the answers. (It works best to write this by hand instead of dictating into a device.) Some of the answers that come up may surprise you and others may not be what you want to hear. That’s okay, because this is an exploration.
Once you have written down your purpose, let’s deepen this exercise. See if you can connect your purpose with a social movement, a greater good, or something bigger than yourself. You might find yourself thinking about gender equality, representation, literacy, or some other big topic that’s important to you. That’s good. The reason your talk or presentation will be effective is because you will connect with your listeners or viewers. If you care, others will also.
If you have done the exercise and still feel your inner critic getting loud, here are a few more ideas to silence it.
Before your presentation, rehearse it as much as you want. Speak it aloud and present it to another person. The key to memorization is repetition. Even if you memorize the first few minutes and the last minute, and check your notes for the rest, you will be ahead of the game.
If possible, check out the room where you will be presenting before you speak. Stand in the spot you’ll be using to present. Get a sense of the feeling of being there. Visualize yourself successfully giving your talk or presentation.
When you’re in the midst of your presentation, focus on one person in the crowd you believe that you will help with your message.
Build in pauses after the most important lines to give your audience a chance to absorb them.
Pause to ask for questions to engage your audience.
After you give a talk or presentation, keep a notebook of your wins. This helps you think positively about public speaking, rather than focusing on the bad stuff.
After your talk or presentation, allow yourself time to recharge.
Get out of your performance head
Another reason you might struggle with public speaking or presentations is because you’re too focused on performance. Are you worried about the way you look or sound? Here’s how to let go of some of those worries.
If it feels strange to look at yourself on a Zoom call, turn off “show self-view.” Human beings were not meant to watch low-resolution or choppy slow-frame-rate versions of themselves while talking to other people. If watching yourself on a video feed makes you self-conscious, you don’t have to. Turn that self view off. The others will still be able to see you.
Some people really don’t like the sound of their own voice. This can be a problem if you often listen back to recordings of yourself in meetings, Zoom or otherwise. There’s an easy fix if you’re dissatisfied with your voice.
Emphasize what’s best about your voice
As I wrote a few months ago on the Red Cup Agency blog, everyone has something special that makes their voice worth listening to. To find out what’s special about yours, make a recording of yourself speaking. You can use any device for this; your phone works well.
Then give your recording an honest listen. Does it sound as if you’re rushing when you speak? Voices thin out and get nasal when we forget to breathe. You may believe that if you talk fast enough, people will be interested in your message, because you have “energy.” The opposite is true, actually. Slowing down and adding a few pauses will add drama. And if you allow some pauses to happen, your voice will sound fuller because you’re literally speaking with more air in your lungs.
When you listen to that recording of yourself, does it sound as if you’re speaking in a monotone? Fix it by rewriting your talk to include longer and shorter sentences. If you’re delivering an impromptu presentation in a meeting, pause and ask if anyone has any questions.
When you speak, sound interested in what you’re talking about. The easiest way to do that is to smile as you speak. The smile finds its way into the tone of your voice and listeners will be more engaged.
The last speaking tip is so obvious, but I’ve forgotten it many times myself. Have a glass of water handy when you speak or present at a meeting. So often, we come to the end of a spoken sentence, and we cough, or wheeze, or sound thin. Drink some water and you’ll sound better. (Coffee doesn’t count, but tea with honey works.)
Your Next Steps
The journey from introvert who avoids speaking to one who leverages speaking as a strength doesn’t mean you’re changing anything about who you are. Instead, think of it as reflecting on your strengths and optimizing your skills. If you’d like to explore your introvert superpowers further, try this self-assessment that I wrote just for introverts. It only takes a few minutes to see your pathway to success as a public speaker.
Remember that memorable speakers aren’t always the loudest; they’re the most authentic and thoughtful.
This is the third article in my series on public speaking for introverts. Read the first article here and the second article with even more practical tips here. Ready to discover your specific introvert speaking strengths? Try the self-assessment.