Respect the Room: Elevating Public Speaking
Great public speaking is about being in service of the people sitting in front of you. I've been to many panels, discussions, fireside chats, and networking events, and sometimes I wonder why some speakers don’t make more of their moment on stage.
People sometimes say they think I’m hard to impress when I’m in the audience. But my standard is actually very simple: just respect your audience’s time.
Hundreds of people blocked out their calendars, traveled, and showed up to listen to you. If you don't hook the room immediately and respect their investment, your authority is gone before your core message even lands.
Whether you’re moderating, hosting, or sitting on a panel, here are a few suggestions on how to elevate the room:
1. Stop piggybacking on other panelists. Nothing kills an audience’s interest faster than hearing "To echo what so-and-so said..."Even if your experience is similar, differentiate your perspective, frame it through your specific industry lens, or bring something fresh to the table.
2. Ditch the resume intros. When introducing a speaker, don't list off 15 past career accomplishments; we can all look that up on LinkedIn, tell the room why this person is relevant to the topic today.
3. Don't be afraid to respectfully push back or reconfigure a moderator’s question so you can deliver a high-value answer. Audiences love a little controversy and differing points of view, just make sure you can back it up.
4. Anchor the discussion with a statement of intent. If you’re moderating, ask yourself what you hope to surface for this specific audience? If you're answering, prep enough to know the thesis, but leave enough room for a natural, unscripted conversation.
5. Build a diverse bench by looking beyond the typical demographic. Bringing depth, varied backgrounds, and unique lived experiences to a panel makes the discussion infinitely richer for everyone in the room.
6. Relying heavily on dense slide decks or word-for-word scripts destroys authority. Know your thesis inside and out so you can speak with genuine narrative clarity and real-time audience connection.
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