Ep 46 How to Give a Speech When You are Sick

So what do you do if you have to give a speech, presentation or media interview and you're sick?

Speaking the show about effective speaking in public to the media, at work and in life. Speaking with TJ Walker.

So, folks, life happens. There are times when you have to give a presentation and you've come down with the flu, a bad cold, you're feeling horribly under the weather, you feel bad, you want to give people your best. You don't necessarily want to quit or back out or leave them stranded. What do you do? Well, here's what a lot of people do. They start off their speech with apology, oh, I'm really sorry. I've had the flu, I've had a cold, you can tell my voice, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Stop. Folks, I don't mean to sound mean or cynical or have a negative view of humanity, but people don't care about you. Now, if it's close family members or friends, sure. But what people are thinking about first and foremost is, will this person say something interesting to me? Is this person going to say something useful to me? Otherwise, I am perfectly capable of amusing myself by pulling out my cell phone and checking email or going to Facebook or Snapchat. So do not lose sight of that fundamental value and that fundamental issue that's going on. Audiences are trying to decide whether they should give you their attention. There are so many people, factions, organizations, websites and others competing for attention of our audience even when they're sitting right in front of us. So please do not lose sight of that. Now, I'm going to break my own rule here, but it's for a purpose, to make a point that I hope it's useful and relevant to you. I'm sick. I have a bad cold. It's been coming on for a couple of days. It's harder for me to talk. My throat is a little sore. To my ears, it sounds different. And this is the seventh show that I've recorded today. Now, I didn't mention that I'm sick with any of the others because I decided that not that you dislike me, but you don't really care. You come to this podcast, you've come to this show to get value for you. So that's for starters. The next thing is my voice sounds differently to me because I have a cold and that has messed up my ear tunnel as it does with everyone. And so I don't hear my voice the same way. But for a relatively mild cold that I have, it's not going to sound that much different to you. So why go on and on and on about it. So my recommendation is when you're going to give a presentation and you're just feeling under the weather, don't talk about it. There are exceptions. If you have a giant cast covering your arm and shoulder, and if you don't address that issue, the only thing anyone's going to be thinking about the whole time is what happened to this person. Is this to make a point? Is it a problem? Yeah. If it's something that terribly noticeable, you may have to address it. But if you have a stomach ache, if you have a flu, if you have a cold and you're just feeling a little bit lower energy or your throat hurts, my advice, don't tell anyone. Just give them your best. Now realize that people don't really know how you feel. They can't feel you. They don't necessarily. Unless it's the same group of people in your office, they don't really know how you are when you are at your best. So don't assume any of that. Just focus on giving them good, interesting content. Don't apologize. Let's say you twisted an ankle, your ankle sore, and it's painful to stand. My recommendation, have a stool. I had a close family member where this, this happened to her and I recommended don't talk about it. She was giving a presentation and she was speaking in a classroom. So I suggested just walk out, sit on the desk in a casual way, be gesturing, talk. Then you don't have to call attention to ankle or foot problems. So it's the same thing. If you all of a sudden can't walk, you have a health problem, or you can't walk as easily, or you can't stand. Just have a stool or a chair out on the stage or in the front of the room. Sit down as if you were planning on doing this just because you like to be relaxed and conversational and fluid. Do that and the focus will be on your ideas and not poor little woe is me.

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The next thing I want you to think about, if you are sick, under the weather and you have to give a presentation, is realize, you know folks. There are construction workers, there are waitresses and waiters. There are people who do all sorts of tough jobs, manual labor. They got to go to work with headaches, stomach aches. So if you're in a position to be giving a presentation as a part of your job, chances are you're better off than most people in life. Let's be candid here. And you might not be 100%, but if you're giving a presentation for 10 or 15 or 20 minutes, it's not grueling physical exercise. It's one thing if you have a splitting headache and you're being asked to run a marathon, well, that really does put you in a difficult bind. But if all you're doing is talking and you have a headache, my recommendation grind it out, get it out, try to do it the best you can. Now, this is all the more reason to have rehearsed on video, to practice, to have been so comfortable with your presentation that it doesn't require all your mental energies. And that's the problem so many people have, is they didn't prepare at all. They spent all their time gathering information, creating PowerPoints. So if they have a headache and they've lost 10% of their mental faculties, everything is thrown off because they need it 100%, because they're trying to think of the speech, read it, process it, say it for the first time all at once. And that's when it falls apart. So that's why yet again, another reason. As if you needed another reason why it's critically important to rehearse speeches on video. Because then the actual day when you're giving a presentation, something happens and you're off. You're not going to need 100%. And that's part of why I hope I'm still coming across well today is because everything I've said here, I have said before to my students, to my clients in real trainings. I've thought about these issues, I've written about these issues before. So the fact that I'm a little headachy now and it's a little bit hard to talk and I've got a cold and congestion, it's not. At least in my mind, you may have a different opinion affecting how I do things because I'm not having to spend so much energy thinking of it all the first time and saying it for the first time.

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So I'm going to give you an advanced tip as a backup as preparation for a speech in case you get most of you are not going to follow this. But hey, if you're listening or watching a daily podcast about public speaking, I'm going to assume you want some really, really deep dive advanced tips from time to time. Well, here's one of them, and that is practice your speech on video. You've already heard that. But do one where you've got a nice backdrop or decent lighting, and you've taken the time to put a lav mic on, which you can buy for $10 on Amazon. And do one version where it's fairly high quality. And that way you can email the speech. Let's say you're too sick to even go to the venue. You can email the speech on video, and the conference organizer or the meeting planner can hit play and project it on a computer and then on a LCD projector with speakers. And the whole audience can experience your speech. So you can have it as a backup. I've done this from time to time. I mean, let's say you're giving it a speech and you're not charging for it. Let's say it's something you're doing for a charity or volunteer activity, and then all of a sudden your regular job requires you to be out of the city or out of the country. You absolutely can't get out of it, but you don't want to leave the first audience high and dry. You can create your speech on video in your own home. By the way, I'm in my own home now, folks. Those of you listening on audio, it's not surprising to hear a podcaster podcasting from home. Those of you watching on video, I do have professional lighting and backdrop and the trappings of a traditional TV studio. You don't have to be this fancy. But if you create a video of your speech, that way you're protected either way. If you get sick or if you get called out of town, you can't make the speaking engagement. Do what I do. Send the video, and you're covered either way. In a moment, I want to give you some tips on ways of decreasing the chances of getting sick in the first place.

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So, folks, yes, all the usual caveats. I'm not a doctor, and you've certainly heard that traveling can make you more susceptible to illnesses, you're exposed to more bacteria. The air quality on airplanes is notoriously bad. Certainly if you are traveling internationally and you're on a flight for a long time, the air is so dry that if you have any alcohol, it tends to dehydrate you even more. Which could mean that if normally you can have a glass or two of wine and you Feel great the next day, you might actually feel like you have a hangover. Sometimes after even one glass of wine, if you got a hangover, you got a headache. It's going to be a lot harder to give that speech with the same energy, enthusiasm and being in the moment. So one piece of advice, just don't drink alcohol on airplanes or drink less than usual. Now do I? Occasionally. If I'm on a nice international trip and the wine selection goes by and it looks great, do I have a glass of wine? Yes, I do. But I also try to build in an extra day of recovery, not from the drinking, but just from the travel and jet lag when I do go to another country. So that's another tip for you is don't plan everything to the very last minute. If you are giving a presentation or speech domestically, don't take the last flight out of your town to get in to the town you're going because chances are it'll be delayed. Missed it. Then you can't get to the speech at all. Whether you're sick or not, you're a no show. So do some things to reduce stress. I like to get to the airport plenty of time in advance. Not just for international flights, but domestic, even though I'm not checking bags. Eat well when you travel, but don't overdo the alcohol because sometimes just the different altitude can make it easy for you to have a hangover. And when you got a headache, it's harder to think. I do not enjoy giving a speech or a presentation when I have a headache, but I don't ever tell my audience unless it's something like this where I'm specifically doing a tutorial on how to present more effectively if you are sick, bottom line, do everything you can to increase the odds that you're going to be in peak health when you're giving a presentation, number one. Number two, if you are sick and it's not tangibly noticeable, I mean, I mean to everyone, you may think it's noticeable that your energy's down or your colors a little off, but unless it's really noticeable to everyone, my recommendation, don't tell anyone. Number three, if you are just feeling weak or tired, there's nothing wrong with presenting on a stool, sitting on the edge of the table. You don't even have to comment on it. Just make people think that's part of your style, being more relaxed and more comfortable and you should be in perfectly fine shape. And number four, realize everybody gets sick from time to time. It's not the end of the world. Your close friends, your close family members may care. No one else really cares. And realize that you're not having to work at peak performance for a whole day or four hours or even two hours. Most likely you're just talking. Whether it's a 10 or 20 or 30 minute speech, do the best you can. Put a little bit of a smile on your face. Try to put a focus on the ideas that are important to your audience and you can go rest and relax when it's all done. And then someone says, wow, that was a great speech. You had such a great job. Then you can tell them if you want to, thanks. I was actually very sick, so I'm pleased to know that you still enjoyed it. You'll find quite often they will be surprised and even more impressed with you. I'm TJ Walker. May all of your presentations in life, whether you're sick or healthy, be a huge success.

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