How do you feel about public speaking? Do you get nervous? Power through it, but breathe a sigh of relief when it’s over? Or maybe you’re confident until the microphone is in your hand and all eyes are on you? “If you’re someone who dreads public speaking, you’re not alone, says Leah Mether, communication speaker and trainer.
Research shows that public speaking is one of the most common fears, even more than death. Jerry Seinfeld famously joked: “That means to the average person, if you have to go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.”
As an Executive Assistant, you may not see yourself as a public speaker, but make no mistake – your role often requires it. Whether it’s presenting in meetings, facilitating events, or confidently representing your executive in high-stakes conversations, your communication counts. Here’s how to make speaking less daunting and more effective.
Know your audience
This is the golden rule. Whether you’re briefing your executive, addressing a room of stakeholders, or speaking at a team meeting, adapt your message to suit your audience. What do they care about? What tone will resonate? What level of detail is needed? It’s not just about what you want to say, it’s about what your audience wants and needs to hear. Know their context and speak into it.
Avoid death by PowerPoint
If you use slides, keep them simple. Stick to dot points, images, or short videos. Avoid blocks of text, tiny fonts, and unreadable graphs. Nothing disengages an audience faster than a screen full of words or a presenter saying, “I know you can’t read this, but…”
Facts tell, stories sell
Stories and anecdotes create a human and emotional connection. They make your message relatable and memorable. Whether it’s a project win or a process improvement, bring it to life with a real example. Keep your stories short, relevant and purposeful.
Practice – in your head and out loud
You always sound better in your own head. But speaking aloud helps you catch clunky phrases and tricky transitions. Practice out loud (in the car is my favourite) and time yourself. If you stumble, fix the rough patches before the big day.
Ditch the word-for-word script
Tempting as it may be, reading every word will likely make you even more nervous. You’ll worry about mistakes – and probably make them. Practice with a script if you must, but when it’s time to present, use dot points as prompts. If you veer slightly from your plan, your audience will be none the wiser.
Nerves are normal – channel them
Don’t be surprised when nerves show up – they’re normal and mean you care. That surge of energy from your fight-or-flight response? Use it. Your body reacts the same whether you’re nervous or excited, so reframe the feeling. Instead of “I’m nervous”, try “I’m excited”. Use that energy to show passion and engage your audience. Take a deep breath, stand tall, and talk back to that little voice of doubt: “I care about this – and I’ve got this”.
There are no boring topics, only boring speakers
Exciting topics can be made boring with poor delivery, and even the driest topic can be made interesting when delivered with energy and creativity. Speak with enthusiasm. Show your audience you care. If you’re switched off, they will be too.
Pause with purpose
“Um”, “ah”, “like”, “you know” – filler words sneak in when we’re uncomfortable with silence or thinking. But a pause isn’t a problem. It’s a powerful public speaking tool. It shows confidence, helps punctuate your message, and gives your audience time to digest what you’ve said. Pausing also stops your audience from becoming distracted by your filler words and counting how many times you say ‘um’ rather than listening to your message (don’t pretend you’ve never done that either!).
Project your voice
Speak so the person at the back can hear you clearly. Don’t shout – project. Confident volume signals control and helps keep people engaged. Having people call out, “Speak up, we can’t hear you!” only feeds nerves.
Always run on or slightly under time, never over
Respect your audience and the agenda. Know how long you’ve got and stick to it. Adapt and adjust your content as needed. Your audience will thank you for it.
Leah Mether is a communication speaker and trainer, obsessed with making the “people part” of leadership and work life easier. She is the author of two books, “Soft is the New Hard: How to Communicate Effectively Under Pressure”.
