Managing stress and crises
Chapter Seven: Effective public speaking
My partner’s hand was shaking noticeably as we signed our weigh-in tickets. “You cold?” I asked. “Naw,” he replied. “I’m just nervous about getting up on stage and talking in front of that big crowd.” His response reflects a common difficulty among tournament anglers. Even at the local level, tournament organizers often interview contestants before, during and after competitions. Pros and amateurs alike find it challenging to speak in a confident, calm way, especially when large audiences and television cameras are involved.
However, it’s fair to say that effective presentation skills are more often acquired than inherited. Let’s look at some techniques and tactics the tournament angler can employ to become a better public speaker.
Reflect and review
As we have pointed out in other situations, the first step in effective problem-solving is accurate problem identification. To start with, it would be worth spending time thinking about what specific part of public speaking you find most troublesome. Some people worry that they will begin to stutter; others are afraid they will freeze up and say nothing. Many of us are apprehensive that we will spit out something foolish, embarrassing ourselves in front of a large group. A few anglers find giving prepared presentations to community groups or sponsors even more difficult than spontaneous interviews.
You also might want to discuss your public-speaking difficulties with friends or co-anglers. Outside observers can often notice things you may not have seen. Use your Tournament Angling Notebook to write down your findings. Once you have identified the elements of public speaking that are most difficult, it will be easier to decide which specific techniques you should focus on practicing.
Anticipate and prepare
Let’s say you have discovered that responding to questions on the weigh-in stage is your biggest challenge. If you are primarily concerned about having something intelligent to say, get together with your tournament colleagues and make a list of the toughest questions you have been asked at previous weigh-ins. Of course, you know I’m going to suggest you write these questions down in your Tournament Angling Notebook. When you have your list of questions, write down two- or three-sentence answers to each of them. You may come up with multiple answers for some questions. Great! Multiple options are almost always better than a single option.
One of the biggest mistakes I see anglers make on stage is trying to say too much. The tournament director asks how deep he was fishing, and the dude with the big bag of fish tries to describe the contour map of the lake! As suggested above, two, maybe three sentences are almost always preferable to several paragraphs. And don’t try to make up a story or fabricate an answer. If the interviewer asks you a question you don’t want to or can’t answer, just give a polite smile and say, “Beats me” or “I don’t think I can help you there Frank.”
Also, be sure to take off your sunglasses, and do your best to look directly at your interviewer. If looking someone in the eye is distracting (it is for many people), focus on the person’s shoulder or hat. Keep your chin up and your eyes off the floor. And when you look out at the audience, do what singers and actors do on stage: Pick a spot in the back of the room above everyone’s head, and lock in on that while you talk. It will make the whole experience a lot easier.
Practice presentations
As your success in tournaments increases, you will be called on to do public presentations. In the beginning write out exactly what you want to say. While it may seem awkward at first, there’s no shame in reading from a script. Lots of people do it, including the president. After you’ve given the same talk several times, you may get by referring to a few note cards.
However, it is most important in the early stages of building public-speaking confidence that you practice your delivery. Put on the same tournament shirt you will wear when you give your presentation. In front of a mirror, practice standing tall, looking straight ahead and holding onto your script with both hands. Later on, when you know what you want to say, you can practice walking around holding your script in one hand and gesturing with the other. If you go through your presentation three or four times, remembering to speak slowly and smile frequently, you will feel much more confident when you step in front of your audience.
One final thought: Find a couple videotapes of your favorite professional anglers and watch how they present themselves. What you will notice is that most tournament pros speak from the heart in a sincere, genuine, down-home manner. With a little practice, you can come across in the same way.
Jay T. McNamara, Ph.D., L.P., is a psychologist, who is also an avid bass and walleye angler. With more than 25 years of professional experience complemented by participation in competitive fishing at local and national levels, he is uniquely qualified to illustrate how performance psychology principles apply to tournament fishing.