Speaking in Front of a Big Crowd

00:00 So if you've never spoken to more than 20 people before, 50 people all of a sudden seem like a really big crowd.

00:06 If you're used to speaking in front of 500 people, then maybe for you the threshold is 5000 people.

00:12 But for most of us there is some threshold of an audience size where we think, Wow, this is different and this is scary.

00:22 Well, let me share with you the secrets you really need to know, for starters.

00:26 It's not that you need to really do things that differently, speaking to a large audience, from what you do when you're speaking to five or ten people.

00:36 The problem is, your body is going to get nervous and tense up.

00:40 So what happens is people change themselves when they get in front of a larger audience, and they change themselves for the worse, they get scared.

00:47 So instead of walking around, gesturing, naturally, they freeze up.

00:52 Instead of being conversational.

00:55 Giving examples.

00:56 Telling stories.

00:57 They feel like they need to play it safe because they might forget.

01:00 And they start reading a script or reading bullet points, which is the kiss of death. So, so much of being a great speaker in front of a large audience is really doing exactly the same thing you do when you're speaking to a small, comfortable audience and simply not changing yourself.

01:20 Part of it is just getting more comfortable by doing it more often, part of it by rehearsing in the same venue.

01:26 If you've never spoken on a large, elevated platform or stage, get to the place the day before, or at least several hours earlier when no one's there and practice on that stage.

01:39 And of course you need to practice on video , so you have an image of yourself coming across exactly the way you want.

01:46 There are a few minor technical differences.

01:49 When you're speaking to a really large group, you need longer pauses. It takes time for your sound to filter around a large auditorium.

02:02 Walk a little more, create a little more variety if you're on a large stage, that can help.

02:08 And if you just make everything a little bit bigger, more energy, slightly bigger hand motions, everything sort of bigger.

02:16 But don't make the mistake of yelling, because the problem a lot of people have is they see an audience member who's now 300 yards away.

02:24 So they feel like they have to speak like this, projecting.

02:27 And that's awful.

02:29 That can wear out your audience.

02:31 It seems like you're shouting, you're going to have a microphone or you better have a microphone if you're speaking to a large audience.

02:37 So you want a conversational tone in your voice.

02:42 That's one of the telltale signs when you see people speaking at major national political conventions.

02:47 They're not regular speakers talking to 5000 people.

02:52 So they tend to shout, My fellow American, and it just makes them seem phony and staged and contrived.

03:00 So you want that full, normal, conversational tone of your voice.

03:05 Do that and you'll be great.

03:07 Here's the other thing about speaking to large audiences because it scares people so much. If you do it, and you do it competently, people are going to think you're a genius. They're going to be like, Oh my gosh, I could never do that.

03:20 And really, all you're doing is the same thing is when you talk to 20 people. So if you have the opportunity, take it.