Episode #342: Speak Louder When Presenting

There were three experts on the panel for this luncheon event. One man and two women. They were using microphones but that didn’t help in one case. A very well presented, professional woman was adding her insights and point of view on the topic, but I couldn’t catch what she was saying. My table was situated right in front of her but to no avail. The man had a strong voice, as did the other woman expert and I had no problem gathering in their contributions. This other panellist however was beyond my ken.

I was wondering about why this was the case. There were a couple of problems and one was microphone technique she was using. Most of us don’t use a microphone very often so we are not always au fait with the tech. Definitely her technique wasn’t working. Waving the microphone around while speaking defeats the purpose and the audio engineering. If she had held it a little higher, in the one spot and spoken across the mesh of the microphone, then we probably would have had a better chance of hearing what she was saying. Here is a hint – don’t wave the microphone around folks!

The other issue is she had a rather soft voice to start with. Many people have this attribute, which can be quite charming in a one-on-one situation, but generally doesn’t work all that well in a formal speaking situation. It is often the case with women speakers also I have noticed, but men too can be speaking up, but their voices are not carrying. I see it as a mindset shift which hasn’t taken place for the speaker, in order to be effective as a presenter. When we are sitting with someone, one on one, we don’t need to project our voice. They can hear us just fine. Having said that, I have noticed many Americans can be quite loud in these same situations, so the whole conversation is audible, if you are sitting close by. Being an Aussie, I guess that is a cultural aspect and probably Americans are not the only ones who do this, but I have noticed this aspect of their behaviour. I would see that as a plus though because it means they are better equipped to go from a one-on-one situations to speaking to a crowd and adjusting their volume accordingly.

If we are not used to using microphones and we are softly spoken, then we need to make some adjustments when we are presenting. Using the equipment, as it is designed, is a must. Speaking more loudly is also called for, but this is very difficult for softly spoken people to them, it sounds like they are screaming. I notice this in pour presentations training. I am asking some of the participants in the class to raise their volume and they adjust it only microscopically. They cannot imagine speaking more loudly and so they restrain themselves. In these cases, I turn to the rest of the class and I ask them if they think the speaker is screaming or speaking too loudly. They, of course, say no and I need to keep encouraging the presenter to go bigger with their voice range.

Why do they need to speak more loudly? Being a presenter is different to chatting with your mate or girlfriend over coffee. You are there to be taken seriously, your personal and professional brands are on display. We will make a judgement not only about you, but we will extend it to your whole organisation. If you are a dud, we think everyone down at your shop is a dud. If you are brilliant, we think the whole crew are brilliant. By bringing enough volume to the presentation, you lift your credibility, because it comes across as more confident and considered. Obviously, you also increase the odds of the audience actually hearing what you are saying as well.

We video the participants presentation and we have a separate coach in the review room analyse it and then coach them. When we play the video back, they can hear the first coach in the main room asking them to increase the volume. We ask them in the review room, “does that seem too loud or too crazy?”. They always answer “no” and they start to realise that they can get out of their comfort zone and improve their presentations, as a consequence of making a few small changes in volume delivered to the audience.

It is always a good practice to get to the venue early and practice with the microphone to work out the right distance and elevation from your mouth, in order to make sure you are going to be heard and appreciated. Getting it right doesn’t take long and will make a big difference in how you come across. When you are tool loud the equipment tells you straight away with the static you produce but being too soft has no warning signal.

In general, we buy confidence and presenters who speak with a strong voice come across as confident. If you don’t have a strong voice, at least try to speak louder than normal and if possible, always request a microphone to allow the tech to help you be understood by your audience.