{"id":35932,"date":"2015-09-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-09-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glg.tempsite.space\/news\/glgs-head-of-north-american-financial-services-james-sharpe-on-giving-a-better-speech\/"},"modified":"2025-05-12T08:42:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T12:42:47","slug":"glgs-head-of-north-american-financial-services-james-sharpe-on-giving-a-better-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glginsights.com\/ko\/news\/glgs-head-of-north-american-financial-services-james-sharpe-on-giving-a-better-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"GLG\u2019s Head of North American Financial Services James Sharpe on Giving a Better Speech"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Image: Wikimedia Commons<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When I was 24, I gave a speech at my grandfather\u2019s wake. As the oldest grandchild, I took my responsibility seriously, writing my speech beforehand, carefully choosing every word and punctuation mark. But when it came time to deliver the speech, I was stiff and\u00a0sped through my words<\/a>. I got so caught up in reciting every word I had memorized that I failed to convey what my grandfather meant to me and our family.<\/p>\n

Now at age 38, I\u2019m the head of North American Financial Services at\u00a0GLG<\/a>, the world\u2019s largest platform for professional learning, and speaking in front of groups is a crucial element of my job \u2013 whether I like it or not. Until recently, I did not; and it was a personal and professional challenge.<\/p>\n

In 2013, I delivered a quarterly business update to more than 250 people. I spent weeks preparing. I scripted every sentence, joke, and pause \u2013 practice makes perfect, after all \u2013 and I hit every word. When I asked my colleagues for feedback, they told me the talk seemed rigid, rehearsed, and hard to engage with. The disappointment I felt after my grandfather\u2019s wake returned and my frustration with this feedback became the motivation I needed to finally tackle this problem head on<\/p>\n

Over the past two years, I\u2019ve read books on improving public speaking. I turned to the most knowledgeable media coaches I could find, including two of the best in the business,\u00a0Matt Kohut and Seth Pendleton<\/a>. And I learned a lot, including how to relax before speaking and how to appear more comfortable on stage. But no matter how much I practiced, there was still a mental block. The big breakthrough came when I understood that some of the tactics I\u2019d been using were actually doing me more harm than good. The problem with relying on\u00a0rigorous memorization<\/a>\u00a0is that if you confuse the order of just one sentence during your talk, the entire flow can unravel. I realized that for me, the \u201cpractice makes perfect approach\u201d gets in the way of conveying warmth. I\u2019d thought that preparation meant complete scripting, but I learned it should focus more on the central meaning and less on the precise words.<\/p>\n

The less I script and memorize, the freer I am to be myself. I got the advice \u201cdon\u2019t write out a story you already know how to tell.\u201d When I share stories from memory (instead of from memorization) my personality and sensibility come out.<\/p>\n

The first time I gave a business update without a script I was nervous, but I knew the material from running this business every day. As I\u2019ve become more comfortable without a script, I\u2019ve learned what kind of preparation tactics work best for me. Chances are they hold true for others as well.<\/p>\n

Map it out.<\/strong>\u00a0For shorter presentations, I stick to simple bullets. I plan out the major points of my presentation, but I don\u2019t write out full sentences and I certainly don\u2019t write a script for myself. For longer presentations I create detailed outlines, choose what stories I\u2019m going to tell, and I memorize the critical transitions between stops along the way. I rehearse with a focus on flow and feeling instead of recitation. \u00b7
\nMemorize key data points.<\/strong>\u00a0I like to include a few powerful data points when I present to substantiate my arguments and show command of the material. Numbers are easier to memorize than full sentences and can also serve as helpful navigation tools if you need redirection back to central points.<\/p>\n

Be patient with feedback.<\/strong>\u00a0I used to solicit immediate feedback from anyone willing to give it. Now I don\u2019t have time to linger for comments. Feedback is important, but it\u2019s not as important as knowing I\u2019m improving one talk at a time.<\/p>\n

Watch the game tape.<\/strong>\u00a0I watch recordings of my talks whenever I can. This exercise is excruciating, but the benefits are extraordinary. There\u2019s nothing more helpful than seeing what other people see and seeing the progress I\u2019m making. But I\u2019ve also had to accept I\u2019m my own harshest critic, which is why I\u2026<\/p>\n

Fix one thing at a time.<\/strong>\u00a0After I finish speaking and I\u2019ve had time to digest feedback, I identify one area to improve for next time. I set individual goals for myself, rather than striving for complete perfection in my next talk.<\/p>\n

A couple of months ago, I delivered a presentation at my company\u2019s largest annual event. Afterwards, attendees filled out a survey evaluating the presentations. The feedback on my talk was incredibly positive. One of my harshest critics called out the improvement he\u2019d seen me make. Others wrote they appreciated the clarity of the presentation, which helped them understand our business goals for the year.<\/p>\n

I felt great afterward. But I had an even bigger talk to give as the best man at my brother\u2019s wedding. Beyond fulfilling my duties as best man, this speech was my chance at redemption, as many of the family members in attendance were there 14 years ago for my grandfather\u2019s wake. To prepare, I followed an outline and planned out which stories I would tell, but I didn\u2019t burden myself with a script.<\/p>\n

My speech wasn\u2019t perfect, but it was genuine and a dramatic improvement on the past. Most importantly, I was extremely proud to have conveyed, from the heart, all that I had to say to my brother on his wedding day.<\/p>\n

Originally published on\u00a0Inc.com<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I was 24, I gave a speech at my grandfather\u2019s wake. As the oldest grandchild, I took my responsibility seriously, writing my speech beforehand, carefully choosing every word and punctuation mark. But when it came time to deliver the speech, I was stiff and\u00a0sped through my words. I got so caught up in reciting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":35934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[579,583],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-op-eds"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glginsights.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glginsights.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glginsights.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glginsights.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glginsights.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/glginsights.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35932\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glginsights.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glginsights.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glginsights.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glginsights.com\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}