Public Speaking

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japped187

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So I’m set to start my career in finance this summer.
I believe that my main weakness is public speaking. Usually when I make a presentation to a class, I’ll get stage fright, start shaking, and stutter every other word I say.
How important do you guys think public speaking skills are in the working world (I’m part of a finance rotational/middle office)? Also, is there a good way (tips) to get better at it?
 
yeah agree with JTLD. This kind of ties in to the fact that having really strong general social skills is extremely important to succeed in finance. This was something that I didn’t really get fully until I graduated and starting working.
 
It’s very important - even if you’re a “quant geek”.
supersharpshooter Wrote:
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> join a toastmasters club
+1
But if that is too difficult you’ll have to start with something else, stretching from drafting a three minute presentation (about something) to give to some friend(s), taking classes, or whatever is appropriate in your case.
 
I assure you, I’m the worst public speaker–maybe in the entire world. In college, we had to take a public speaking class. I would sweat profusely, shake, and stutter. What have I found in the real world of finance? My inability to publicly speak has had virtually no negative impact, mostly because guys in the entry-to-2 or 3 years-out area do very little speaking in large groups.
Now, you’ll have to have good social skills to talk on the phone, get along with co-workers, speak in small-to-medium sized groups of familiar faces, usually in a meeting type setting. But public speaking (that is, giving prepared speeches to groups of people) is a different animal that rarely comes up for low level guys. However, I am taking some acting classes right now to work on my ability to hold a crowd and to practice being in front of people because upper level personnel do need to have strong speaking skills (it’s one of the reasons I think men tend to go all the way to the top while women are stuck in middle management. Men tend to hold a crowd better).
 
What kkent is saying is that you don’t need it for your first job, so you don’t have to worry about it immediately, but since it takes a while to learn, you should go ahead and take those classes and later, you might unexpectedly have to present something to an audience.
Interesting point about women and middle management. I believe it’s also their voices: things doesn’t sound as trustworthy when presented by someone with a shrill voice. I also once read an interview with a female banker who said she would refrain from wearing a pastel-coloured jumper (sweater) and pearl necklace since all visitors would take her for her own secretary if she did, and ask where is Mr so-and-so (her surname). It was at that time quite simply unthinkable to have a female head of a bank. And who would want to appoint someone if it’s unthinkable; that’s an untolerable risk to take without any clearly foreseeable upside.
 
You’d be surprised how many socially inept people seem to have worked their way into finance.
That said, public speaking is definitely an asset that’s valued in certain places. Toastmasters is a place where you can practice and develop skills in a less stressful situation. Look for a chapter near you.
 
What the hell is there to be nervous about? You need to approach public speaking with a “who gives a sh!t” mentality, and just say what you want to say. If you know what you’re talking about, it should just flow. It’s not like you have to be Barack Obama, just get your point across.
 
kkent Wrote:
——————————————————-
> I assure you, I’m the worst public speaker–maybe
> in the entire world. In college, we had to take a
> public speaking class. I would sweat profusely,
> shake, and stutter. What have I found in the real
> world of finance? My inability to publicly speak
> has had virtually no negative impact, mostly
> because guys in the entry-to-2 or 3 years-out area
> do very little speaking in large groups.
>
> Now, you’ll have to have good social skills to
> talk on the phone, get along with co-workers,
> speak in small-to-medium sized groups of familiar
> faces, usually in a meeting type setting. But
> public speaking (that is, giving prepared speeches
> to groups of people) is a different animal that
> rarely comes up for low level guys. However, I am
> taking some acting classes right now to work on my
> ability to hold a crowd and to practice being in
> front of people because upper level personnel do
> need to have strong speaking skills (it’s one of
> the reasons I think men tend to go all the way to
> the top while women are stuck in middle
> management. Men tend to hold a crowd better).
I gave my first formal business presentation in a Finance meeting yesterday at my bank. It was a Monthly meeting the finance department has w/ the CFO…and I bombed. The presentation was 10 mins long and I managed to pull it together towards the end but it was def the worst presentation I’ve ever given. In college I was nervous but hid my nervousness well, and I gave good presentations… it’s been years since I’ve given one. In the beginning- voice cracking, stuttering, pausing w/ fear….ahhh terrible. It was the Treasurer’s idea to have me present and he know I’d be a wreck but wanted to get me in front of the CFO. He told me “good job” after…so did the CFO, he said “thanks for having the guts to get up there, and I learned a lot.” He also sometimes get a little nervous but of course never that bad (type A personality and the strive for perfection I’m sure). I’m not a fan of “pitty points” and people treating me like I’m in the Special Olympics….so the “good job” crap I can see right through and makes me feel even more like a failure. I’m not going to get canned or anything but boy do I feel stupid/embarrassed. It’s my first real finance/banking job out of college…I’m 25 years old and the youngest person in the Finance/Treasury Department but I have a junior front office role under the Asst Treasurer. Toastmasters and Self-Development book section…here I come :/
Can anyone relate or at least help me feel a little better?
 
First of all, it’s pretty rare that your audience percieved your mistakes as well as you do. That doesn’t mean that they didn’t see anything lacking, but your brain is probably on overdrive there.
Practice is the best medicine. Also, the old trick of imagining everyone sitting there in their underwear ofen helps, unless, of course, that new hottie admin is in the room (in that case it is more distracting).
Remember that impromptu stuff is not usually held to the same standard as prepared stuff, so that may be why you got “good job.”. In fact, as an impromptu speaker, you might actually have done a good job.
 
First of all, it’s pretty rare that your audience percieved your mistakes as well as you do. That doesn’t mean that they didn’t see anything lacking, but your brain is probably on overdrive there.
Practice is the best medicine. Also, the old trick of imagining everyone sitting there in their underwear ofen helps, unless, of course, that new hottie admin is in the room (in that case it is more distracting).
Remember that impromptu stuff is not usually held to the same standard as prepared stuff, so that may be why you got “good job.”. In fact, as an impromptu speaker, you might actually have done a good job.
 
Hi TPain,
I can definitely relate to your situation and possibly offer my advice.
A few years ago I had to give a presentation to a group of 30 individuals within my firm, including the CIO, head of research, and a few portfolio managers. The remaining audience members were either analysts or directors. Suffice it to say that my experience was similar to yours (minus the pity congratulations - it was more like silent disapproval).
I presented myself very well in a small group setting, but had almost zero experience in public speaking.
I want to echo the advice given by my fellow AFers. Practice! Practice! Practice! At first, it may be difficult, but its well worth the embarrassment, awkwardness, etc. Today, I regularly deliver presentations to an audiences of 60 of my peers and feel confident in my ability as a public speaker.
Don’t sweat the small mistakes (this definitely qualifies). Use it as a learning opportunity to grow personally and professionally. You should focus less on how others perceive you and more on developing and crafting a good presentation. Pick up a few books on the subject. They are all going to tell you how to structure your message, target the audience, etc. And I’m doing fine today - the incident was a minor bump in the road - so don’t dwell on it.
Best of luck.
 
Try to give the presentation in front of a mirror, or you can record yourself. Try it, it worked for me in the beginning of my career.
 
Oh man, speak of the devil. I just gave my first presentation yesterday albeit there weren’t any big guns in the room. I had to get up and give a 15 minute presentation on things I do in my dept to about 20 of my peers and low-level managers twice (the group changed each time). I was fairly nervous in the first one but I think I hid it well - no shaking, voice remained fairly constant, etc. The second presentation came much smoother and I felt much more comfortable and people came up to me afterwards and told me good job in a good kind of way.
I also would like to practice this skill. Maybe I’ll join toastmasters one of these days.
 
A good presentation also includes a good sense of humor. Not saying you should be a clown up there, but 1 or 2 jokes well placed can go a long way.
I went to a conference the other day where 4 seasoned finance professionals were giving speeches, and by far the most memorable one and the one that received the loudest and longest applause was the presenter that included humor. Your audience is more captive that way. And making them laugh from time to time could compensate for minor flaws.
 
I am pretty bad at communications and public speaking too and there are some really good takeaway pointers in this thread which I have jotted down.
- Join Toastmaster
- Try speaking in front of the mirror (a prepared speech)
- Add humor to easen up the audiance (and more importantly, you!)
I had some councelling done with one of our inherent AFer and the most important recommendation was to join Toastmaster.
Will really give it a though after exam - any good ones in NYC?
 
Practice the hell out of your presentation. Know your audience, know what points you want to emphasize to this audience, and know how you want to emphasize them. Say it out loud, standing up, and do it until you’re comfortable. You should time yourself to get a sense of how long it is (and adjust your material accordingly). Heck, if you’ll be wearing a suit, practice with the suit. Get comfortable with the material and your self-presentation and you’ll do just fine.
When I got out of undergrad, I waited tables for a couple years. So when it comes to presentations, I like to tell myself that I’m just selling a different kind of appetizer.
 
A couple of years ago my boss asked an entry-level chick to do a presentation in front of a MD and a few managers. It was her first week and her presentation was not really important so it was good to break the ice, the boss thought. She bombed it badly because she wasn’t really familiar with the topic, and received the “Special Olympics” words (<—lol) from all of us, including the MD. She was furious with the boss for two weeks after the incident and barely could talk to him, thinking that that embarrassment was unnecessary.
People bomb presentations because they don’t really know what they’re talking about, or they suddenly get a panic attack talking to VIPs or a crowd. Probably those embarrassing experiences help way more than talking to the mirror.
 
A number of people here have provided some interesting public speaking anecdotes, and have stressed the importance of practicing aloud. I couldn’t agree with that more. Beyond that, I also recommend that you tape-record yourself or even practice in front of someone that can give you objective feedback (and not someone that will just nod their head and agree with you all the time – you really want to find a friend that knows what they’re doing and can pay attention to you). Practicing in front of a mirror without hearing how you really sound or without getting any feedback doesn’t do you that much good; a lot of the time, how you think you sound can be very different from how you come across.
In addition to practicing aloud and recording yourself, you want to put yourself in real-life situations that require you to polish your presentation skills. Toastmasters is one way that a number of people I know sign up for. Personally, I’ve never done Toastmasters, but at a younger age, I myself was not a very gifted public speaker. However, rather than allowing myself to be paralyzed by my fear of speaking, I seized the opportunity to find situations that would force me to step out of my comfort zone. Whether it’s giving presentations to people, being a youth mentor, serving on the leadership committee of a local board or alumni chapter, these are all situations external from work where you can improve your speech abilities. And you will feel compelled to work hard, because even though you can’t typically get fired or released from these roles, the responsibilities of being a good mentor or community leader will most likely drive you to improve yourself.
I know there’s a great deal of focus on this board on CFA, MBA, resumes, etc…all of that stuff helps you get your foot in the door of an industry, but making an impression on your colleagues or prospective employers comes down to your personal presentation. Even in the most competitive jobs, there are enough people that look like they could do the job based on how they look on paper; ultimately, who gets hired or promoted often has to do with how you present yourself and how you captivate the attention of the people around you.
As such, I believe that public speaking is one of the most important skills you can have in any industry (normally I would have said “leadership,” but that’s really more of a personal quality or attribute than a skill). Hope this helps!
 
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