3 Costly Public Speaking Myths That Hurt Leader’s Influence
By: Michael Davis
Tags: Public Speaking, Storytelling, Management And Leadership, Leadership Development, Presentation Tips

Myths vs Realities of Influential Speaking

Most business leaders know public speaking is a valuable skill. And many of them work hard at it.

They write their presentations, rehearse, and build slide decks.

They give their speeches.

But, they don’t get the results they expect.

Prospective customers don’t buy their product or service.

Their team doesn’t buy into their message.

Potential investors don’t buy into their company.

This leads to frustration, disappointment, and disillusionment. They may question their abilities as speakers and communicators.

The problem isn’t their capabilities. They don’t understand the fundamentals of effective speaking.

Therefore, to help with this skill, here are three common myths. And insights to overcome them to become a more influential and persuasive presenter:

Public Speaking Myth #1

“Great speakers are born that way.”

It’s October 1994. I’m a Certified Financial Planner. I’m seated in my boss’s office. We’ve just reviewed evaluations from the last retirement planning workshop I had facilitated.

And they aren’t positive. They’re so bad, in fact, that my boss says, “You’re not a very good speaker. You need to fix this, or else.”

That day I started calling around to ask for help. One of my friends suggested I attend a meeting of Toastmasters International. If you’re not familiar with them, they help people manage their fear of speaking to become more effective presenters.

One of the first lessons I learned is:

Public speaking is like riding a bike, driving a car, or any other skill… it’s learnable.

I was always under the impression you were either born with the gift of speaking, or you weren’t.

Toastmasters, and later the National Speakers Association, taught me the fundamentals of speaking.

The Reality of public speaking is:

Great speakers are made, not born. You just have to discover the fundamentals and use them.

Are you willing to take the time to learn and hone these valuable skills?

Public Speaking Myth #2

“Audiences want you to share new information”

Think about a speaker you’ve heard who was recognized as an expert in his or her field. This person gave useful information in an entertaining fashion, but at some point in the talk, you realized, “Enough already! This is too much.” You felt stuffed, like someone who had too much food at a holiday meal.

This is not uncommon. Many leaders believe audiences want as much information as possible about their topic.

They don’t. Your audience has more information available through their mobile phones than you’ll ever be able to present.

The Reality is:

People don’t want more information. They want your perspective and experience about your topic.

What’s your interpretation of the latest research?

What experiences have you had, both positive and negative?

What success stories can you share?

Are you willing to do the work to share your perspective and cut out the information they can get elsewhere?

Public Speaking Myth #3

Only 7% of effective communication is based on the words you use.

This myth has been perpetuated for over five decades. It’s based on the misinterpretation of a study done in 1967 by Dr. Albert Mehrabian.

In his research, Dr. Mehrabian made this observation:

When a person communicates with another and her words aren’t congruent with tone of voice, feelings, or energy, the listener will only believe words 7% of the time.

Many people in the communication field, including highly paid professional speakers, have promoted this idea:

“Words account for only 7% of the impact in your communication.”

This is not what Dr. Mehrabian claimed. In the years following his research, he has repeatedly attempted to contradict this myth.

If words only account for 7% of communication, what does that say about email or text? Do the words only account for 7% of those types of communication?

If you watched a movie or TV show in a foreign language you were not familiar with, would you understand the plot and the emotions at a 93% level?

And my favorite example of this myth is:

“We’ve been waiting for previously agreed upon changes and modifications to be enacted, but they have failed to materialize.

“The end users of these promised changes have been let down, many times at a tragic cost to them and their individual teams. This has had a massive impact on the bottom line at all levels of our great organization.

“Therefore, we’ve assembled a committee and we’re crafting a new vision and mission statement for immediate implementation to modify the current status and improve the user experience for all shareholders involved.

In case you haven’t figured it out, that’s Dr. King’s most memorable speech boiled down to a few lines of corporate speak.

If words don’t matter, why didn’t Dr. King provide a shortened version of his speech like this one at the March on Washington in 1963?

Is it possible his eloquent message resonates six decades later because of the power of his words?

Do you remember how he used his hands and body language?

There are many myths that derail the impact of speeches. If the reality of these three myths resonates with you, you’re on your way to improved speaking. Focus on the reality of these myths, and you’ll increase your influence and impact.

If you’d like more insights into public speaking skills, feel free to schedule a no-cost, no-obligation call with me. I’m happy to answer your questions. Feel free to schedule a 20 to 30-minute call with Michael Davis: https://bit.ly/CPR30Call