Being the Speaker… And the Youngest Person in the Room
I’ve been doing a handful of speaking events lately. The last few I spoke at, I was the youngest person in the room. And at the end of the month, I’ll be giving a presentation to 1000+ people in our company. For presentations like these, our company rarely asks people under the age of 30 to speak. I’m 22… and nervous as hell.
Which is the point of this post. To write what I know about speaking and to learn what other young speakers have dealt with.
Here is what I’ve learned so far:
1) Establish Credibility – The beginning of a presentation should grab the audience’s attention. If you have a baby face like me, you’ll already have their attention because they’ll be thinking, “Who is this kid and why is he here?” You better have an answer to that question and you better answer it early.
2) Don’t Bullshit the Audience – You don’t know everything… don’t act like you do. It’s o.k. to admit what you don’t know.
3) Don’t Reveal Your Age (Err… Sometimes) - Not revealing your age can give you an advantage because some people might think you’re older than you really are. Which is good. I break this rule sometimes because I have a good story to tell and the story follows my next rule…
4) Make Fun Of Yourself – This goes for any speaker, but it’s especially important if you’re young. Making fun of yourself shows humility and it’s a joke that won’t offend anyone. Plus, our generation is different. We might as well make fun of it.
5) Don’t Talk About College – It goes back to the age thing. College makes you look young and inexperienced.
6) Have Really, Really Good (Original) Content - This is a must. If you’re asked to speak, you better have something worthwhile to say. And if you’re younger than everyone else, give them content that YOU create. Don’t recite something you’ve read in a book because, odds are, the audience has already read it. Want great content? Start a blog.
7) Get Off The Stage - Podiums are boring and are a barrier to any chance of conversation. Get off the stage and interact with the audience. It’s hard, and scary, and nerve-wracking because you don’t know what will happen… But that’s also what makes it fun.
Those are a few things I’ve learned… What else can I add to this list?
(Tom Krieglstein is a fantastic speaker that got started at a very early age. He’s passed some of his advice on to me.)
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Make love to the audience! People often feel the way about a presentation that the speaker does. If you are pumped about it, it’s quite likely the energy will also rub off on your audience. Though sadly I don’t have nearly enough opportunities to take center stage as I’d like.
Can’t remember who it was, but someone said something to the effect that people are bored. They get up bored, drive to work bored, do a boring job, hang out with boring friends, have a boring family, watch boring TV, and go to bed bored. Anything you can do to inject a little energy and excitement back into them goes a long way.
Hey Andy,
Nice list and to add a couple more from my experience:
1) Don’t Project – Projecting is when you guess what you think the audience is thinking about you. The more I would try and guess what the audience was thinking about the fact that I was the youngest in the room, the more it would knock me off my game. You are up there because you are good and you have value. That’s what’s important and that’s what should be running through your head.
2) Tell Stories – I didn’t have as much life experience as the adults in the room, and thus didn’t have as many personal stories to tell, but I was able to find other people’s stories that fit perfectly and practiced the art of story telling.
3) Fail Forward – I was the youngest in the room. I had to remind myself of that every once in a while when something didn’t go right. For me it meant that I knew I was just starting on this road and I was only going to get better. It was ok for me to fail, as long as it was failing forward.
4) Maybe…Dress Like Them – I’m 28 now and still do lots of trainings for adults and parents. I used to wear a fancy suit for every speech, but now I mostly wear…well what you see in the pic you used for the post. I realized that my topic and content allowed me to dress “younger” and “hipper” and it actually gave me for credibility with the adults. Sometimes it’s ok to dress hip to your age, other times the suit is in order.
5) Practice Practice Practice – Young or old. if you don’t know your content you look inexperienced.
and lastly,
6) Ignore Agism – I’ve been heckled because of my age from audience members. It’s rare that someone will just outright dismiss you because of age, but don’t get caught up on them. It’s more about them than it is about you. Keep the focus on the ones that see you for your amazing content.
Hi Andy,
First off, you’re going to do great…If you’re anything like me, you actually GET energy from being in front of a group…
Another trick I’ve come across is- find something you’re VERY passionate about- or that gets you pumped- and emerse yourself in it for a short while before you present. It doesn’t have to be the same stuff as you’re going to present about…but it gets you to the right mindset. Maybe you love kayaking- watch some awesome videos of people kayaking with some music that gets you pumped…etc.
Example: I know networking with “like” people gets me pumped…so I usually try to schedule an interview the day after I go to a networking event. The confidence and excitement usually carries over into my ‘view.
“Storytelling” is one of my strengths- so I usually use short stories with anecdotes to highlight key points. I personally enjoy listening to speaches/semons, etc. that are WELL-WRITTEN and thought out- that touch on main themes, use stories, and then return to a main theme. I make good use of my stage and bring in visual elements when I can. You know what your strengths are- let them play out while you present as well.
And always find a common ground. It’s key. Anything you can do to compliment the audience also works.
Oh- and don’t set yourself up for failure with the “Does anyone have any questions” bit… End your speach with saying something like, “So there will be some of you that are wondering…bla bla bla”… Answer that question and then ask the audience a specific question… “Raise your hand if ______.” Once you’ve started the audience participation, it’s easier for folks to ask a question.
Good luck, let us know how it goes and enjoy the next phaze of your job!
Andy:
Great list…but I’d expect nothing less from you.
And that’s my point…be yourself. You’re in that position because of who you are. Make sure you are true to your brand..on the stage and in the back of the room after the presentation.
Establish your brand right away – tell them what to expect – and consistently deliver on that promise.
Mark
Good luck Andy! You will rock it! Make sure and post to let us know how it went.
@brian – I think Seth Godin once said something about “two rules of speaking.” Establish credibility and love your audience.
And I love your point about people who live boring lives. It’s sad when you see people excited about ‘going outside for lunch.’
@Tom – As always, thanks for your tips! You and Kevin have really taught me a lot over the last year and a half.
@Erin – I’m the same way about getting energy while in front of a group. (But after an hour of being up there I’m ready for a beer.)
@Mark – For some reason, your comment really hit home. Spending so much time worrying about content was messing with my head. I really needed that quick refresher. Thank you.
@Pete – Thanks Pete.
Hey Andy,
Been checkin’ you out for awhile. good stuff.
Here’s one tip that I’ve learned during my career as a professional speaker. (1200+ keynotes, 750,000 people).
This has nothing to do with you. It’s your intro.
Make sure you talk to the person that is introducing you. Make him/her laugh. Make him/her like you. Go over your intro with this person and if you can get somebody that a lot of people in the company like and respect you’ll have a serious advantage.
Also, spend some time to talking to a few other influential people right before you start. Everybody tends to follow their lead. They’ll be saying things like, “he’s going to be good” before you even get started.
I never get in front of the room without doing everything i can to have a rock solid intro. Doesn’t always happen and i have to work 100 times harder in the beginning.
If your talk is anything like your blog, you’re going to kill it.
Hi Andy! Good post; good list! I would add two things that I have found quite useful as a speaker:
1. Write your own introduction; do not rely on others to do this for you; this way, you get to “brand” yourself the way you wish and you don’t get “surprised” when you’re being introduced.
2. Avoid profanity. Swear words are a turn-off when you are a professional presenter or speaker. There’s a time and a place for that JMO; whether your audience is 3 people or 3,000, it is not a habit of excellence to use profanity when you’ve been entrusted to deliver a speech, presentation, program, etc.
Congrats on all the good stuff going on in your world!
Good post… I’m a big believer in the never revealing your age part. Because then, people generally will assume you’re older, and I’m perfectly fine with letting them! Anyways, thanks for this and your other post about being the youngest in the room — I’m going to a conference next month where I will be the youngest so your tips will be helpful I’m sure
Remember that audiences can smell lack of confidence just like a dog smells fear or a shark smells blood – age if handled correctly will never be an issue if combined with humble confidence.
I’ve worked with thousands of military and civilian leaders on how to speak effectively – there is a science to being a great trainer or speaker (two different roles).
Your list is good – just remember the adult learning concepts; play into the three spheres or learning – kinesthetic, auditory and visual; you will capture the minds of about 90 – 95% of your audience (no matter the topic).
One primary rule I always taught and use when I speak is a human behavior concept; “People remember how you make the feel, long after they have forgotten what you have said”.
Remember you only have the first 5 minutes to win the group over, don’t waste it. Go get em and have fun!
Congratulations Andy. I see you are well on your way. I am proud of you and what you have accomplished to date. You have a great future in front of you. JF
Andy-
Thank you for posting this! I recently gave my first big presentation at a conference and one of my evaluators mentioned that I needed to increase my credibility. I am 23 and look about oh…let’s say 16.
For those of you who were not there for Andy’s debut in front of his very own corporate audience, I can confirm that Andy came across as knowledgeable without talking down to the audience, as a veteran of what he was trying to help others understand while still making it clear that he’s learning as he goes, as someone using social media as a tool for a purpose and not as a waste of time, and as someone who is having fun exploring as he goes. I was there and saw him do it, twice. Excellent job!
And this just occurred to me: Andy is just 22, and I’ve been with the same company where he is for 22 years. I’m glad he finally arrived and was willing to present!
P.S. Josh, Andy’s presentation partner, was equally good.
Great tips – I’m glad to hear you did so great!