How to Know If Your Speech Is Good (Before You Present) - Episode 5

Ultimize. One of the biggest sources of fear in public speaking is uncertainty. You've prepared something, you've written notes, maybe you've even practiced a little, but there's still a question in the back of your mind: is this actually good? That uncertainty creates anxiety. You wonder, will people even understand my message? Will they stay interested? Will they think this presentation was useful? Will they think I'm stupid or look dumb or nervous? Or will they sit there wishing they were somewhere else? Now, here is something important to understand. You don't have to guess. There's a very simple way to find out whether a speech works or not. You test it. This is exactly what comedians do. A comedian writing new material doesn't sit alone in a room trying to imagine whether a joke will be funny. They go to a small club. They try the joke in front of a real audience. If people laugh, the joke stays. If people don't laugh, the joke changes. Then they try it again. That process continues until the material works consistently. Now, the good news for speakers and presenters, we don't have to get laughs. All we have to do is not bore people to death. So you don't have to micromanage and hyperanalyze every word. The way a comedian does, but speakers can use more or less the same approach. Once you've recorded yourself practicing your talk on video, the next step is simple. Share the video with a few people you trust. They might be colleagues, friends, family members, but ideally somebody who is close to the audience you're actually presenting to. So if it's a work audience, maybe your family is not the best ones. Find someone who works in your field who will be similar to the audience you'll be speaking in front of in real life. You want anyone who's willing to give you honest feedback. Ask them a few very simple questions. Not, "What did you think?" They'll say, "Oh, you were great." Not, "Did you like me?" No, they'll say they like you. That's not it. You want to ask them, "What do you remember from the messages, the stories?" Then ask them, was the message clear? Was anything confusing? Was anything too long or too short? What part was most interesting? What stories do you remember? This is gold. This is focus group research, and you can get it for free. Now, if they tell you, oh, everything was great, wonderful, that means you didn't communicate. If they say, oh well, everything was really professional, nicely done, It means you didn't communicate. You're asking them what messages do they remember. If they don't remember your messages, it means you didn't communicate. Ask them what slides they remember if you use slides. If they didn't remember your slides, it didn't work. These questions produce extremely useful information because people watching the video are seeing the presentation the same way a real audience will see it. They're not imagining the speech. They're actually experiencing it. Often the feedback will reveal small improvements you can make. Maybe a point needs a clear explanation. Maybe one section should be shorter. Maybe an example would help. Maybe a story you did give, they loved it, and they can tell you every single aspect of that story again. Now you know it works. Now you know you better make sure that story stays in. Now, these are easy changes, and once you make them, the presentation becomes stronger. More important, something else happens. You now have evidence, evidence that other people understand the message if in fact they are telling you what your message was. Now, friends, family, others, they can lie to you and say they thought you were great and professional even if they thought you weren't. But they can't lie to you and tell you what your message was if they didn't understand your message. That's why it's so valuable. Evidence that parts of the talk are interesting. That's what you're looking for. Evidence that the speech works and evidence changes everything. Imagine you're about to give a presentation at work, but you know that 3 people already watched your practice video and they all told you that the talk was clear and useful and they remembered your key points. Suddenly the fear becomes much smaller. Not because someone gave you a motivational speech. Not because someone gave you a motivational speech, but because you have proof. Proof that the presentation works. This is the same reason experienced speakers often feel calm before speaking. They've already tested their ideas many times. They've already seen audiences respond positively. So the stage is no longer a place of uncertainty. It's simply another opportunity to deliver something that already works. Now, let me address a concern some people have. Ooh, what if the feedback is negative? That's actually one of the best possible outcomes because negative feedback early in the process is incredibly valuable. It's not too late to change things. It's not too late to improve it. It's like if a friend catches a typo on your resume, You change it before sending it to the job interviewer. No harm done, right? So when someone gives you negative feedback, it shows you exactly what needs to change. And making those improvements before the real presentation protects you from problems later. Imagine sending your resume to your dream employer without asking anyone to review it first. You might miss obvious mistakes. But if 2 or 3 people check it in advance, those mistakes can disappear. You're going to get the feedback telling you exactly what you did wrong. I know I, for some reason, misspell "from." I always spell it F-O-R-M, but when someone catches that and tells me, I can change it. The same logic applies to speaking. Feedback helps you fix problems before the real audience ever hears them. and the preparation dramatically reduces anxiety. Now, there's another benefit to sharing your practice video. It forces you to take preparation seriously. When you know someone else will watch the video, you naturally focus more on clarity. You organize your ideas more carefully. You explain things more clearly. The entire presentation becomes stronger. This habit, recording your talk and sharing it for feedback, can transform the way you prepare for speaking. Instead of guessing whether a speech works, you know. It's not in your gut. You know it because you've got evidence. You're hearing from other people. It's a science. It's not guesswork. Instead of hoping the audience responds well, you've already seen positive reactions. Confidence grows from that evidence. Before we finish this episode, I want you to take one more practical step. If you've already recorded a short practice talk, choose one or two people you trust. Send them the video. Ask the questions we discussed earlier. First and foremost, what do you remember from my presentation? Meaning, what message do you remember? What stories do you remember? What examples do you remember? Then ask them, was the message clear? Was anything confusing? Too short? What part was most interesting to you? What do you think I want you to do after hearing that presentation? Their answers will help you improve quickly, and those improvements will strengthen your confidence. In the next episode, we're going to bring everything together. We'll learn a simple preparation system you can use before any presentation, speech, or important meeting. A step-by-step approach that replaces uncertainty with preparation and turns public speaking into a skill you can improve every time you practice. You know, there's one thing I always find interesting. People will listen to a podcast like this, get ideas, maybe even feel a little motivated, and then just move on with their day. Nothing actually changes. And I get it. Information alone doesn't do it. Repetition does. That's actually why we built Ultimize. So if you're getting any value from this, just go to ultimize.com. That's spelled U-L-T-A-M-I-Z-E.com. There's a free course waiting for you there. You can start with communication skills, but the whole idea is simple. Don't just hear something once. Actually build it into your life. Again, it's free. Go to ultimize.com.