3 PRESENTING TIPS TO TAKE AWAY FROM ANTHONY ALBANESE’S OPENING TRAIN WRECK … ER … PRESS CONFERENC
Imagine, at the beginning of the Australian National Safety Council Conference, the Association’s Chair tripping on the stairs on the way up to the lectern, breaking an ankle in the process.
That’s kind of how Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese began his election campaign.
In his quest to convince voters he and his party didn’t deserve the perception of being economic numbats, he totally gave the impression of being an economic numbat.
For those who don’t have their fingers on the pulse of Australian Politics … ie. international readers or members of the United Australia Party … Mr Albanese (pronounced ‘Al-Ban-Easy’) was asked if he knew two of the most basic economic indicators: the current level of interest rates and the current rate of unemployment.
In a nutshell, despite the Government repeating these figures a lot lately, he got them both wrong, showing he had a low rate of interest in interest rates, and such a shaky grasp of the current unemployment rate that he strongly risks personally increasing that figure after the campaign is over.
It was worst nightmare stuff, only made survivable by the fact that his opponent, Scott Morrison, is highly likely to stage his own train wreck moments in the coming days.
But, like in all disasters, there are opportunities to learn, and here’s what anyone who steps up to a microphone should keep in mind.
LESSON 1) DON’T ONLY PREPARE WHAT YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT
Everyone knows that preparation is important before public speaking, but even more important is knowing WHAT to prepare.
Most speakers focus almost entirely on preparing “The Information I Want My Audience To Know” … and that’s a mistake.
You also need to spend some time preparing at least a little bit in these two areas:
1. “The Information My Audience Wants To Know About The Topic”
Which is looking at the topic from THEIR perspective, not yours, and
2. “The Information My Audience Wants To Know I Know”:
This is all about maintaining your credibility and connecting with your audience.
For you to truly engage with an audience they have to believe and trust you, so it’s important that you know and correctly use:
- jargon important to them and their industry
- the correct pronunciation of people, product and process names
- basics numbers and statistics relevant to them.
It was in this area that Albanese fell down.
LESSON 2) IF YOU STUFF UP, ‘FESS UP
As mentioned in the previous point, a connection with an audience depends on factors such as trust and honesty.
If you’re speaking at an event and someone asks you a question that you don’t know the answer to, the BEST thing you can do at that moment is be honest and say, “I don’t know the answer to that”.
And if, like Albanese, you are asked a question you SHOULD know the answer to, and it would seem too embarrassing to just say, “I don’t know the answer to that”, here’s what should be done.
Still be honest.
Just say, “You know, I SHOULD know the answer to that, but I can’t think of it right now”.
It won’t make all the awkwardness of the moment disappear, but it will leave you with some integrity intact, which can be very handy in the recovery phase.
3) WHAT TO DO NEXT?
There is a famous scene in Fawlty Towers where John Cleese’s character, Basil Fawlty, is SO embarrassed after a series of his stuff-ups, that he tries to fold himself up into his own jacket.
Whilst our own instincts are to run away and hide when we’ve made a fool of ourselves … it’s important to remember that, if we disappear, or if we pretend that nothing has happened … we won’t get to have an influence on the fallout.
And, if WE don’t get to influence the fallout, then someone else will (and they’re likely to be FAR less worried about the effect on you than you would be).
YOU need to be the one to approach the awkward, clumsy elephant that you brought into the room, and address it.
Using a little humour at your own expense is a good way to begin.
If I was Anthony Albanese, I would have begin my next press conference by saying:
“Ladies and gentlemen, the unemployment rate is 4%. Interest rates are at 0.1%. Inflation is at 3.5%. GDP growth was 4% from the previous year. The price of petrol is $1.89 a litre. Milk is $2.39 for two litres. Bread is about $3 for a normal loaf but you can pay up to $7 or $8 for specialised gluten-free, low-GI organic bread … but if you’re buying that, you’re probably going to vote Greens. The point is, I’ve been trying to do my homework!!”
It wouldn’t have made people forget his howler. But humour focuses a light on a person’s positive attributes … their humanity, their relatability … and throws a shadow on the negatives.
And it is always harder for someone to make fun of something about you, that you’ve already made fun of yourself. This is definitely the time to unleash some humour at your own expense.
I only wish I could give you some great examples of how … but I don’t think I’m any good at being self-deprecating.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
Preparing more completely is the best way to avoid embarrassing on-stage moments.
But if you find that you’ve stuffed up, there’s two tactics to turn to:
1. Be Honest at the time, and
2. Take Control of Your Recovery by Addressing the Elephant and Using Humour.
Darren Isenberg is one of Australia’s most booked and re-booked Corporate MC’s and Presenters. He also speaks to groups on how to improve their Positive Influence and the Presentation Skills.
You can learn more about him by heading to www.dipresents.com.au or by asking his kids. But don’t talk to his mother. She still has no idea … but thinks he’s great at what it is anyway.