The truth is people are too nice to tell you that you are a boring speaker. So the only way to find out is by observing your audience. If you find pockets of people missing from time to time during your presentation or they are a tad too excited when you say you are concluding, chances are…

You are boring.

So what makes a speaker boring?

1. Speaking in monotone
Not much explanation needed right? Here’s a quick remedy. Speak to the audience like you are talking to your friends. Have a conversation. This will help you to vary your pitch which makes you more interesting to listen to. Of course, that is assuming you don’t speak that way in person. If you do, I suggest you see a vocal coach.

2. Rambling

Don’t you hate it when some speakers go round and round and round and round and round the bush (ok you get my point!) without making any significant point. It feels as if he has just stretched 10 minutes of information into an hour.

The root cause of rambling is the lack of focus which either stems from poor preparation or the lack of. So to avoid that, make sure you are clear on the specific points or lessons that you want to deliver in the given amount of time.

Have a structure. It’s the backbone of your speech and helps you to better organize your points. It could be as simple as “problem-solutions-recommendation” or “why (topic) is important, 3 things about the topic, summary”. The point is to have one, so that even if you get lost halfway, the structure will help you to get back on track.

Find out how you can create a speech in less than 10 minutes.

3. Reading off the slide or script

This is a VERY typical case. Most of the time, speakers do it because they are nervous and are afraid that they might forget what they want to say. Hence for “security” reasons, they have ALL their script written on their 4 by 5 cue cards or worse, on their slides. Unfortunately this kills off the speech almost immediately because one, they are not trained news readers. Two, cue cards prevent contact and intmacy with the audience.

4. Sppppeeeeaaaaakkkkkinnnnnnnnng veeerrrryyy slooooooooowwwwwwlyyyyyyyyy

Our brains are designed for rapid assimilation of information. So when one speaks too slowly, there isn’t much to keep the mind engaged. We either wander or we fall asleep. Combine slow speech with monotone, and you got yourself a kick-ass tranquilizer! Unless you are speaking to a bunch of insomniac, I suggest you speed up.

5. Predictability

Predictable speakers are boring. When you keep doing the same thing in your presentation, you are tuning out your audience. Imagine a speaker who delivers the entire presentation at high energy. Or a speaker who relies on just stories to deliver his points. Even this, asking a question each time he starts a new slide.

After a while, the audience anticipates what he is going to do, and it doesn’t excite them anymore.

I know some of you will start asking, “But didn’t you say stories are the best way to make a point memorable?”

True. But this is like saying that since the chocolate cake is the best in this restaurant, I am going to just eat just the cake for dinner.

It’s boring!

The only reason why a roller coaster ride is exhilarating is because there are ups AND downs.

Likewise, you need to have ups and downs in your presentation. Variety. Go ahead and use stories to underscore a point, but also attempt other techniques. For example, doing a pair share, running an exercise, playing a video etc. Remember, predictability is B.O.R.I.N.G!

This list is inexhaustible of course. Paul Evans, a fellow speech coach offered a couple more.

- Poor facial expressions
- No passion
- Speaking on a topic that no one cares about
- Slouchy appearance
- Insufficient eye contact
- Annoying physical habits

So how do you become an interesting speaker?

1. Avoid the 11 bad habits that we just mentioned above.
2. Observe your favorite speakers.

Jot down the following observations. In it are clues to become as good as they are. Who knows, even better.

–> What does he or she do that you love so much?
–> What is different about that person than the average speaker you hear?

I did this exercise recently and here’s what I wrote.

My favorite speaker is Darren La Croix, 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking. You can watch him in action here.

What does he or she do that you love so much?

Darren is a pro when it comes to writing funny materials. I love the way he cleverly set the audience up (without us knowing) and then he surprises us with punch line after punch line, that gets funnier and funnier. And here’s the best part, when I recall his stories, I will laugh to myself. It’s that funny. It helps that he is VERY animated too.

What I also love about Darren is his commitment. He spends hours and hours preparing his speech, even if it is just a 30 mins speech. He will take extra effort to call his client and find out everything he can about them, the people he can make fun of, the things they talk about, and the complaints that they have. He then incorporate his findings into his speech, making it personalized and unique.

Last but definitely not least, he is very very humble. He may be a world champion but he is still willing to coach anyone who bothers to send him an email with questions. He is very sincere and you can feel his desire to help you get better.

What is different about that person than the average speaker you hear?

He cares about his audience (A LOT). He was the one who reminded me to think like a champion. A champion doesn’t bother about how good he looks on stage. He is more concerned about the change he can cause in his audience, through his stories, his experience and his message. When I first read his evaluation on my speech, I was like “Wow! I want to learn more from him.”

Even though he is now a world champion, he still values his stage time. He will go all out to practice his speaking. He still participates in Toastmasters because he believes that no matter how good you are, there is still more than can be improved. He still venture out into the unknow and try new techniques so that he can get better. No wonder he is a champ!

What about you? Do you have a favorite speaker? If yes, what is it about him or her that you love? If no, time to look for one!

Cheers,
Eric Feng
Your Public Speaking Coach

P.S: Here’s another powerful speaker you can learn from - Paul Evans. Click here to gain access to his free e-series called “10 Secrets of Professional Speakers That YOU Can Use Too!” I have personally applied some of his tips and the results have been nothing but phenomenal!

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