Public Speaking Tips for Authors

You’re a master weaver of words and you’ve written works that demand to be read by a captivated audience. Now you’re getting requests to appear for signings and special events, but what are you to do when these events expect you to deliver a speech that is as enthralling as your book?  Learn how to speak effectively in front of a crowd and ensure that your speech gathers eager listeners who will turn into eager readers of your work.

Unless you’re an entertainment writer, you’re probably unused to writing a script. You’ll need one for your speech, but remember: write your speech as a speaker, not as a writer. You may be used to crafting artful sentences for your book, but the spoken word is different than the written word, so something powerfully evocative on paper may come across as clunky or awkward when delivered verbally.

Try to write the script how you’ll say it, sacrificing conventional form and grammar if necessary to make your speech sound as natural as possible. Liberal use of contractions or ellipses can help your delivery more closely resemble natural speech.  The writer inside you may cringe at the lack of punctuation, but the public speaker in you will flourish from it.

Even if the grammar of your speech is unconventional, remember to keep it easy for you to read when you’re practicing your speech. If removing punctuation causes you to stumble over your words when you’re reading your speech aloud, keep the punctuation how it was. If you find that the pacing of your speech works better when you add extra ellipses or italicize certain parts, add them in as much as it helps you. The only reader of your speech is you; everyone else will hear it. Whatever is on paper should be best formatted for your eyes.

You will hopefully have your speech memorized, but certain events (like podcasts or radio shows) may allow you to read directly from your script or a teleprompter. Make sure to write your speech as well as any cue cards in a way that you can smoothly follow along and easily jump back in if you happen to take your eyes off the teleprompter.

You were likely booked for a public speaking gig because the event hosts trust you to share information as an expert in your field. However, the market for speakers and experts is oversaturated. So how do you set yourself apart from the crowd? Take what you’ve learned from writing queries and media pitches: make your speech uniquely memorable and stimulate your audience’s higher thinking.

Explain what you know, but take the extra step and tell them how you use what you know to challenge conventional ideas. For example, what questions keep you up at night, and how do you go about using your expertise to answer them? Audience members have probably asked the same questions and want to know how to utilize the information that you’re giving them. 

Make your speech relatable by considering how your content applies to various areas of your audience’s lives. How do you relate to your listeners on a societal level? How about at a community level? Individually? You’ll allow your audience to make a deeper connection if you address these different facets. 

You can find ways to connect with your audience without customizing your speech to every venue. It’ll be a lot more work for you to deliver your material at X podcast if you have to change all the references you made for the audience at Y bookstore. Try to limit the customizations you make to your speech to make it easier to remember. 

The old adage “practice makes perfect” has withstood the test of time for a reason. Some suggest that making it up as you go is the best way to sound natural, but if you dedicate yourself to practicing a fixed speech, you can sound just as natural and guarantee that you hit all the talking points you need to. 

Practice at the same volume and with the same amount of space you expect to have when you deliver your actual speech. You’ll get a feel for how naturally you can deliver what you wrote at an audible volume for the audience, and you can experiment with utilizing the space you’re given. Some lines may sound strained when you’re projecting your voice, and staying stationary may seem awkward if you are given a full stage. Get a feel for what’s comfortable before you show up to speak. 

It’s likely that you’ll give the same talk at following events or features, so don’t give up practicing after you nail your first speech. Try recording yourself during the event so that you can rewatch it later and pinpoint parts where you can improve. Even if the venue promises to record it for you, it’s best to ensure that you have your own version in case they have technical difficulties or don’t send you the recording in a timely manner.

You don’t have to practice your full speech every time. If you’ve discovered a specific part that gives you more trouble than others, isolate those few minutes and practice just that part for the next week or so. Then you can workshop your speech as a whole again to see how it all flows together. Once you’ve perfected one part, you can repeat the process with other sections you want to improve. 

Where do you go once you’ve dazzled the audience with your mesmerizing speech? Onto the next event, where you will probably be expected to deliver the same speech, or at least a very similar one. It will most likely be booked by someone from your previous audience who loved what you did, or by a third party to who they referred you. 

Independently, event organizers will evaluate you based on your fame, entertainment ability, and expertise, but they are much more likely to book you for a gig based on referrals that they may get about you. Keep track of which events or people get you the most referrals so you can identify patterns and make an informed choice of which events to prioritize in the future.

You will probably start doing these events and speaking for free, but you might begin to charge and raise your rate as your demand increases. Your speaking may become another source of revenue that will magnify your book. To that end, even for free events, draft invoices that list different discounts (nonprofit discount, offseason discount, etc.) so that you can give an agreeable reason for upping the price for the next event. 

Speaking opportunities are a great way to promote your work. To be a successful public speaker and ensure that similar opportunities are in your future, pay attention to the formation, content, practice, and ability to repurpose your speech. The work you put into improving your speaking skills will do wonders to increase the visibility of you and your book. 

~ Nanda