Lessons from one’s youth can have a defining impact on life. For me, there was one horrifying experience in my seventh-grade class that inspired me to improve my public speaking skills. I was one of a handful of candidates running to be our home room representative to the student council. Each candidate had to get up in front of the class to make our case about why one of us should be elected. I had written out my speech and felt ready, until I got up in front of the class. I was nervous. In fact, I was scared to death. I could hardly read my written words. My voice wavered and sounded like I was out of breath. When I looked up at the class, it seemed that everyone was staring at me with their mouths open and aghast at my halting delivery, which of course, made my speech even worse. When I finished and returned to my seat, it was quiet and I was emotionally drained and distraught. I knew that I needed to work on my public speaking.
That night I told my father about my alarming performance. He listened to my sad story and offered some advice, “Speaking in public is fun. The key is to prepare in advance and then be enthusiastic about your topic. If you are enthused, your audience will respond favorably to you talk.” It sounded simple, but overcoming my fear, after my traumatic speech, took a long time.
Gary Jobson
Several years later, I was hired by our local yacht club to be a sailing instructor. Every day, I spoke to younger sailors about sailing techniques. It’s hard to keep the attention of 8–15-year-olds, but I was able to connect by telling stories with a message. And, remembering my father’s wise counsel, I always had an outline and spoke with enthusiasm. Over the next four summers, I taught sailing and worked on improving my public speaking routine. I kept my outlines and later turned many of my lectures into articles. These articles became the basis for several books on sailing and advanced racing techniques. Looking back, I realize that writing, public speaking, and commentating on television are all related. It is the effective communication of ideas that you want to instill in your readers, viewers, and audiences.
Being an effective communicator is important for everyone to succeed in life, and to build a robust working career. One must be able to sell ideas, products, or services. Standing in front a large audience or even a small group and presenting your case is never easy. I started keeping track of my public appearances soon after college. At this writing, I have given over 2,800 presentations. I am no longer nervous and I learn from each engagement how to improve. Audiences are my focus groups. You can tell when a group likes your presentation, or doesn’t like something. My experiences in front of live audiences are a tremendous asset when commentating on television. I knew what people enjoyed hearing about and I worked to deliver interesting narratives.
At the opening ceremony before the Olympic Games in 1996, I was the narrator with a full symphony orchestra. My role was to read a complicated script in sync with the music. I practiced my words for weeks and with the orchestra for two days. I could feel the nervous tension building when I walked onto the stage with the conductor. There were many thousands in a park waiting to hear the concert. As the conductor raised his hands to start the performance, he must have recognized my nervousness. He put his hands down, leaned over, and said, “They’ve all had two cocktails. You’ll be fine.” I instantly calmed down and off we went without a hitch.
There are many courses, books, and articles on public speaking. I have developed my own criteria that works for me. Preparation is the first step. I always spend time researching and writing an outline before every talk. I have given six graduation speeches over the years. Each time, I prepared a written speech and also had an accompanying outline. I worried that if I got nervous in front of 5,000 people, I could revert to reading my speech. I am happy to report that each time I used my outline, which I hope, made my words sound natural. The fact that I had the written version at the ready helped calm any nervousness that might have developed. When I am in front a group, I like to experiment with my routine. Here are several techniques that have helped me:
- Always look at people in the audience. By connecting directly with them, I find it easy to develop a comfortable atmosphere.
- Feel free to stray from the podium. I use a podium, or small stand for my notes, but audiences like to look at the speaker.
- Avoid distractions like overusing your hands or constantly playing with your papers. These actions take away from your message. Rubbing your hands together is another audience turn off.
- Help the person making your introduction by providing a short biography of your career. Long introductions exhaust audiences. One short story and a handful of accomplishments is appropriate.
- Try not to speak while wearing reading glasses. It reminds people of the old school teacher that seemed to hide behind the glasses. Print out your notes using large type and make sure the podium is well lit. At all costs never wear sunglasses, even if you are outside. Take the sunglasses off for your speech.
- In a long room, set up the podium in the middle of the room so you connect with the entire audience. If the podium is all the way in front of a long rectangular room, the back half will not see well, and not connect. This also helps to prevent audiences from talking during your speech.
- Use simple sentences. Never use the word, “Um” or repeat lines two or three times. Another over used word in the English language these days is, “Like.” Try to avoid using trendy vernacular. Speak at a slow pace so people can understand your words.
- Never use foul language.
- Never drink alcohol before a speech. You need to focus on your words and message.
- Speak with an enthusiastic voice. If you are enthused your audience will stay with you.
When I was first hired by ESPN to commentate on the America’s Cup races, I called a broadcast veteran who I had sailed with several times. The man’s name was Walter Cronkite. I can still hear his voice on the other end of the phone line when he responded to my question about what I should do to be a good commentator. He told me, “Gary, make every word count. Speak clearly and slowly. Do your homework in advance, even though you will never use 90 percent of the information. You want to be prepared. And, if you don’t have something good to say, sometimes it’s better to just be quiet.” This was good advice from a seasoned hand. I have followed his suggestions to this day.
The heart of any lecture is good story telling. I like to surprise people with new stories that either have an inspiring message, or offer some humor about the topic. There are times that call for a serious reflection; at a memorial service for example, or after some kind of calamity. A speaker can be somewhat upbeat, but brevity is a good policy during emotional moments.
I use a series of short films to augment my presentations when I am talking about sailing. This takes considerable effort to acquire worthy footage and edit the footage into compelling sequences. I add appropriate music to each sequence that does not overpower my words. Narrating videos live is a strong format. It helps to memorize the words so you are not reading from notes when the films are running. I usually show about six separate films in a lecture that averages 2-8 minutes in length.
People attend lectures to learn something new and this is why research and preparation are so important. It is good practice to offer your opinion and view on issues. People may disagree with your viewpoint, but they will listen and consider your thoughts. I have had a few hecklers over the years. It can be hard to ignore a loud voice coming from the back of the room. I have invited the heckler to the stage on occasion, or let the heckler run out of steam. Happily, audiences generally do not appreciate an uninvited voice and will help you turn off the distraction.
At the end of most of my lectures, I take questions. When you answer a question, paraphrase the question in your answer, so the whole audience understands what has been asked. Always be grateful for any question. If you don’t know the answer it is better to say, “I don’t know,” and not fake it. Someone in an audience will know if you state something that is inaccurate. Avoid asking for a show of hands. I find audiences generally don’t like it as it reminds them of being back in school. Avoid reading your speech from a computer that makes an audience feel like you making a canned speech. It is absolutely essential that you write your own speeches. It is acceptable to have help and get advice, but you will always present better in your own words. It took me a long time to realize I was a better television commentator when I wrote my own material.
Clothing is a complicated issue these days. My father used to tell me, “You’ll never go wrong wearing a jacket and tie.” Many meetings and conventions tend to allow attendees to wear “casual” clothing. My rule of thumb is to always try to be just a little bit more dressed up than most of the people in the audience. Wearing a blazer always works.
It is a great thrill to share knowledge with an audience. It helps me learn about new topics. I like to present material that is not found anywhere else. My favorite talks are in front of a new audience that has never heard me before. No one knows what to expect. For me, it is almost as much fun as winning a sailboat race. By the way, to my great surprise, I won the election to be the home room representative to the student council in seventh grade, so my speech might not have been as bad as I thought, but it sure inspired me to work on my speaking style.
Gary Jobson is a world-class sailor, television commentator, author, speaker, board members to several national and local nonprofits, and longtime resident of Annapolis. He is the pre-eminent ambassador of sailing of the U.S.
See Speakers in Action at Ignite Annapolis #5
For the fifth time, Annapolis will play host to Ignite Annapolis, a high-energy evening of talks by people who have a burning idea—and the guts to get onstage and share it with their hometown crowd.
The event is scheduled to take place on Thursday, March 12, at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, with an opening reception at 6 p.m. and the program beginning at 7 p.m. The event is produced in partnership with Annapolis-based nonprofit The Friends Foundation and proceeds will benefit The Capital Gazette Memorial Scholarship Fund, benefiting students of the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
Ignite #5 will feature 17 thought-provoking speakers, each presenting for five minutes with 20 slides. The evening will be emceed by local radio DJ Rob Timm of WRNR and will include topics like civic discourse, religion, healthcare, sexual assault, race, fertility, addiction, the environment and much more.
The selected speakers (and their topics) include:
Sandy Travis Bildahl (Bravery Becomes You: On the Road Fearless and Free • Meghan Brennan (Let’s Face the Music and Dance) • Anne M. Brooks (Scars into Stars) • Felicia Barlow Clar (The Death Positive Movement: Reclaiming Our End of Life) • Chanel Compton (Black Museums Matter) • Dr. Michael Freedman (How to Survive an Apocalyptic Healthcare System) • Chris Hopkinson (1 Oyster, 50 Gallons of Water, and 200+ Miles of Paddle Boarding) • Marissa Jachman (How We Prevent Rape) • Nancy Johnson (The Unflattering Side of Fashion) • Stacy Korbelak (Argue Like an Ancient Greek) • Derek Matthews (Falling Down and Getting Back Up) • Christopher McCleary (Corporate Partnerships and Public Housing) • Suzanne Ratti (The Face of Addiction) • Sherry Samuels (Nine Months & Counting) • Ermis Sfakiyanudis (Disconnected in a Connected World) • Patrick Shurney (Religion & Politics) • Carol Velandia (Language as an Equalizer)
Tickets for Ignite Annapolis #5 are $10 and are available for purchase at www.igniteannapolis.com.
Gary Jobson is a world-class sailor, television commentator, author, speak er, board members to several national and local nonprofits, and longtime resident of Annapolis. He is the pre-eminent ambassador of sailing of the U.S.
