Presentation is a performance — and stage fright is common. Think about it. You stand in front of an audience and hope to engage them from your very first word. You want to separate yourself from the parade of vendors coming before and after you, so you think about every facet and plan for every contingency. And because you are nervous about it, you may write down what you want to say — to be sure you get it right.
But somewhere between the clear thoughts in your head and their expression as you write, what you want to say transmogrifies into another language. It becomes stilted, pretentious, maybe even condescending. You want to be impressive, so you try to sound impressive.
Conversely, you decide not to write it down because you want to sound authentic and spontaneous — and because you plan to make good eye contact as you speak. But when you deliver, you search for the biggest, heaviest, most impressive word you can think of. Maybe you believe bigger words sound more professional. Perhaps you need to prove that you are educated or seasoned. Could be you want to demonstrate your facility with a dictionary. It doesn’t matter why you do it. What matters is to stop!
A recent article in the journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology reports that when a speaker uses complicated or unnecessarily long words, listeners — no matter their level or status — evaluate the intelligence of the speaker lower than they otherwise would. In other words, if they struggle to understand you, they assume it must be your fault.
If you want to perform at your best when you present, it’s clear you must avoid the fifth fatal flaw.
You choose words to impress.
When you meet a friend for coffee, you don’t say you utilized your computer today; you say you used it. You don’t ask if she’ll facilitate with your report; you ask if she’ll help. And you don’t asked the server to interface with your needs, you ask him to bring you a menu. There are lots of “you” and “I” and “we” in friendly conversation because real people use personal pronouns. Lots of them.
There is very little passive voice in real conversation because real people generally use clear, uncomplicated, assertive sentences. And while those ten dollar words may not be all that hard to understand, you know instinctively that they interfere with real communication.
Indeed, when you’re talking with a friend, you choose a ten cent word because you know it works best. Why look for the longest word you can find when a short, crisp alternative works better conversationally? Don’t talk to impress; talk to express.
Real people engaged in friendly conversation use real, everyday language to communicate without pretension or an air of self importance. Speak to express, not to impress. You’ll be less nervous and more importantly, your audience will respond more positively. Impress them with clarity, simplicity and authenticity.
Yes, a presentation is a performance and the best performers look and sound like real people. So when you want to engage your audience right from the get-go, capture their attention with a friendly conversational style. Your audience will be happier – -and so will you, because it’s just plain easier on your nerves to be yourself. I call it shirtsleeve English. Use it.
P.S. Discover more about fatal flaws and how to eliminate them in the next article.