Justin Bieber wants you to love yourself. Eminem would prefer you lose yourself. But when it comes to public speaking or media interviews, what matters most is being yourself. Being authentic; the real you.
Indeed, when I hold speaking training sessions, being yourself is one of the six key elements I advise nailing down before going in front of the cameras, investors, colleagues, or on stage (I’ll outline the other five in another post).
For many, that’s easier said than done. What if you don’t like yourself? What if others don’t like you? To that end, some speakers adopt a persona. Take former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (bear with me). Love him or loathe him, most would agree that with his unkempt blond mop of hair and propensity to quote Shakespeare and other literary greats, he’s a bit of a “character”. Like many, I saw this as a sign of his authenticity; the reason why many people like him – until I read this eye-opening account by broadcaster Jeremy Vine of how Boris’s messed-up mane, lack of preparedness and aura of chaos is just his shtick. “Is this guy for real?” Vine concludes.
For most mere mortals, doing “a Boris” isn’t an option. But there is only one you. And when it comes to public speaking and media interviews, you should always lean-in to what makes you unique. It makes you more relatable and more credible, which means people are more likely to listen to you.
One founder, whose startup was successful, if rather dull, brought me in to help prep him for a talk he was due to give at a major tech conference. He wasn’t what you’d call a natural. He was nervous and had a slight speech impediment. As we got to know each other, though, I discovered he’d gotten into coding when he was 10; tried to turn a calculator into a joystick for his Commodore 64; enjoyed ocean swimming; and played the guitar. We worked on incorporating more of him into his talk.
Of course, being yourself isn’t a silver bullet. If you don’t do any prep or practice, fail to understand who your audience is or why they should care, you will probably still struggle. And even if you do do those things, speaking in public or being interviewed can still be daunting. You may be dealing with nerves, a tough crowd, a clicker that’s not working and perhaps even a smouldering sofa (as happened to me once). But making yourself – and your personality – part of your answers, or your speech should literally come naturally, and be one less thing to worry about. After all, no one knows you better than you.