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In celebration of women who take the leap to publicly speak

By 7th March 2023Blog
Woman public speaking

“Do I do this or not?” That was the question Paula Donoghue grappled with when invited to deliver a keynote at London’s Excel to an audience of around two thousand.

Paula, a senior technology and services leader, admits it would have been far easier to pass up the opportunity given her other work commitments, especially given this was to be her first external presentation since the pandemic.

Lots of people fear public speaking, but women’s voices are acutely absent on the public stage, with research suggesting almost 70% of all event speakers are male.

Pushing aside any apprehensions, Paula agreed to give the talk. It went on to be voted the second-best talk of the entire two-day ‘Women of silicon roundabout’ event – designed to attract more women into tech careers.

So, in celebration of International Women’s Day, Axiom invited Paula to share why she took the leap to speak and to offer her top tips to other women who are considering speaking publicly – perhaps for the first time…

“We need to be careful as women that we don’t limit ourselves,” begins Paula.

“Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy. We compare ourselves to others, we think we can’t do it or won’t be as good as someone else, when what we’ll be is different. I think we need to be bold, to try new things, and experiment. Some things will fail, but we shouldn’t be frightened of that because we learn so much.”

Of course, part of the fear around public speaking is that we could fail, but the excitement is that we might succeed.

Two things swayed Paula that the benefits outweighed the risks with this talk.

The first was that she felt she had an important story to share, one that would resonate and be useful to others.

Having been one of only six women studying for her Master’s in Computer Science, followed by a substantial chunk of her career in the male-dominated industries of pharmaceuticals and banking, Paula explains, “I thought the next generation would be different, but it’s not. We’ve still got that same problem. How do you encourage women into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).”

Encouraging the next generation to pursue careers in STEM industries then, is something Paula is passionate about and invests some of her time in.

“Technology is revolutionising every sector; it’s transforming how we are living and working. It’s such an exciting time to work in tech and it’s such an awesome area because it’s so diverse. I’m convinced there’s a career for everybody within technology – you just need to discover what suits you.”

So, the message was the first thing that drove Paula to say yes, but who she was sharing it with was the second.

“If people can’t see themselves in a leader where’s the motivation to step up?”

34.3% of women occupy senior executive leadership positions in the UK’s largest 100 companies. That’s according to this year’s FTSE Women Leaders Review. While that’s up nearly 2% on the previous year, there’s still an awful long way to go to balance the top teams leading business, further still to truly embrace equity – this year’s International Women’s Day theme.

“I see speaking publicly as part of being a leader. We have an important role in inspiring others, particularly future generations. It’s a core part of leadership, engaging and inspiring people is just what we should be doing. You are always going to get that rush of adrenalin but the more you do it, the more comfortable you get with it. The important thing is you give it a go.”

And for anyone thinking of doing just that, here are Paula’s top 10 tips for reframing how you think about and prepare to give a top talk:

  1.  It’s not all about you. When you’re the one in the spotlight it’s hard to get your head around, but your talk is about what you are giving your audience. It’s called a PRESENTation because you are gifting your audience a present – this reframe was a helpful mindset shift for me.
  2. Mindset matters. Fear and excitement are the same emotion. It’s how you interpret those feelings that determines which of the two you experience. There’s a fantastic book I’d encourage anyone to read: ‘If in doubt wash your hair’ by Anya Hindmarch. Visualising yourself doing your talk brilliantly, can also work well to shift your mental outlook.
  3. Know your key message(s). Really understand from the outset what key message(s) you want your audience to take away, then build everything around that.
  4. Be visual. Slides can augment your talk, but nobody can listen and read at the same time. Keep words on slides to a minimum. Visuals that you talk around are far more impactful.
  5. It’s what you say AND how you say it. It’s easy to spend a lot of time on content and ignore your delivery. The content matters, but whether or not people take it onboard is about more than what you say, it’s also how you say it – how you engage with your audience. You also want to look like you are enjoying it – however you are feeling.
  6. Practise but not perfect. Rehearsal is a must to ensure you; run to time, land key messages, are familiar with the tech, think about your stance and body language. Rehearsing gives you delivery confidence but don’t over-practice – you want to sound natural and authentic.
  7. Open & close. Pay particular attention to your opening and closing statements. You only get one opportunity to make a first impression and those first few statements are when you are most nervous. People also remember the last thing you say. To go out with a bang not a whimper, you want a killer closing line, that you don’t rush.
  8. Boots and wings. My previous CIO gave me this phrase to remind me to think about my stance and posture. The right posture makes you look and feel more confident, it also makes it far easier to breathe. Your breath is what gives you the vocal energy you need to deliver your talk with purpose and impact.
  9. Get a critical eye & ear. Work with someone impartial who can listen and give you candid feedback. If you are presenting to an external audience, ideally you want this to be someone outside of your organisation to ensure you aren’t using industry or inhouse jargon.
  10. Go for it! Don’t limit yourself. Give it a try and experiment. Try hints and tips like these, then use whatever works for you. Ultimately, it’s about doing whatever it takes for you to do the best that you can do and be the best you can be.

And the most surprising thing about doing this talk for Paula?

“Giving the presentation felt really good and it delivered the intended result. What was great for me was the conversations it sparked afterwards – both about the content and why I wanted to give it.”

It would seem Paula’s courage then not only encouraged young women to think differently about STEM careers, but also inspired them to think differently about leadership and the benefits of public speaking.

Paula partnered with Axiom a couple of months before the event to help her prepare for delivering her keynote. About that she says:

“Axiom really helped me distil the key message I wanted my audience to take away, to ensure everything was on message and tweak my slides to simplify them. We also did a proper walk through. From beginning to end they gave me so many hints and tips in areas I hadn’t necessarily thought about – some of which I’ve shared here. For me it was super useful to have someone impartial, who has the experience of knowing what good looks like and can coach you.”

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