AALL 2019 Recap: Polishing Your Public Speaking: Beyond Picturing People in Their Underpants

By: Christopher Galeczka

Speakers:  Ashley Sundin, Andrea Muto, and Heather Joy

As law librarians, many of us do more public speaking than we may have expected, and all of us would like to improve our public speaking skills. These panel presenters, very talent public speakers themselves, readily admitted they are not “perfect public speakers” but put together an engaging presentation giving tips and advice on how to become  better public speakers.

The major takeaways included:

Pre-planning. Practice, prepare, and become familiar with the room or environment you will be speaking in, as well as the technology, if any, that you will be using.

Create an introductory ritual. Breathing can be calming and put you in a relaxed frame of mind to begin your public speaking.

 

Presenters Muto, Joy, and Sundin demonstrate the use of a “power pose” at AALL 2019’s “Polishing Your Public Speaking” program.

Watch your body language. “Power poses” (e.g. hands on hips, super-hero style) give an image of authority and confidence. Avoid power-draining poses such as folded hands or avoiding eye contact. Use eye contact and posture to “control the room.” Two techniques that comedy show MCs use include dividing the room into pie slices and focusing eye contact on each slice or following an inverse pyramid, starting in the front center and working your way back along each edge.

 

Memorize your introduction and conclusion. While it’s likely not possible to memorize a lengthy presentation, doing so for the intro and conclusion will allow you to get going as well as to “nail the landing” at the end.

Pause at times. Pausing helps your audience keep up and process the material you are conveying.

Use gestures but be mindful of them. Use gestures that are pertinent to the information you are conveying, but watch for gestures that come off as ‘tics’ or are distracting.

Helpful tips distributed at “Polishing Your Public Speaking.”

Watch for “filler” words and gestures. Many are familiar with avoiding “umm” and “like,” but “so,” “and,” and others can also serve as filler words. Practicing in front of a friend or colleague can help you identify what your filler words and gestures are so you can work to eliminate them. Recover from errors by returning to a “power pose.” Bear in mind that, depending on context, gripping the podium can either be a “power pose” or a distraction.

Use storytelling. We are at our most comfortable describing events from our past that we actually experienced. Weave them into your presentation. Andrea, who played softball in college, described beginning a class session on administrative law with an example of a poorly thrown pitch she made during a game, transitioning into content with “even if you’re an experienced softball player, it can be hard to ‘hit it out of the park’ sometimes…so it is with legal research…”

Dealing with tech-related issues. Make sure to have access to your presentation materials available in multiple ways, e.g. in your email, on a flash-drive, and in hard copy.

The presentation also included an exercise where participants at each table gave a 2 minute impromptu speech on a topic selected from note cards, putting into practice some of the tips given. Overall, the session was a very well done and useful session for anyone seeking further pointers on public speaking.