An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Set your intention. Maybe this is too much of an assumption, but before you pop on a stage, we hope you understand why you are speaking. But have you ever put thought in to understanding how you want the audience to feel? When you set your intentions before speaking, about how you want the audience to feel, you condition your talk to elicit that effect!
At some point in our lives, many of us will have to give a talk to a large group of people. What does it take to be a highly effective public speaker? How can you improve your public speaking skills? How can you overcome a fear of speaking in public? What does it take to give a very interesting and engaging public talk? In this interview series called “5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker” we are talking to successful and effective public speakers to share insights and stories from their experience. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Steve Shain.
Steve heads LTC Contracting, which is a team of clinical and financial professionals who liaise between Healthcare Providers and Insurers. They negotiate contract terms, rates, and ongoing patient care needs. Steve is passionate about healthcare, and speaks nationally on this crucial topic.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up in a rural farm town, an introvert’s heaven! In our free time, instead of catching a bus downtown, we spent it catching up with friends.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
My father is a dean of a college, and on a regular basis is at the podium giving talks to his students, alumni, and community. Seeing how he’s able to connect with the crowd and leave an impression on them is something I’ve always admired and still try to emulate.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I was invited to give a talk to a group of healthcare workers in a large hospital. This was the same hospital I personally benefited from as a teenager. I was hit by a speeding car and hospitalized to full recovery at this hospital. The topic I was to speak on was about job satisfaction, and there was no better example of the wonderful work they do when I was able to present myself as a walking talking result of their work!
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Relying on tech too much. I was at a national conference in California, and used a nifty polling app to get some audience participation. Small Issue, the hosting hotel’s Wi-Fi and internet didn’t reach the conference area. Enter- Ad Libbing me! While it actually was fun being off the cuff, it taught me to always have a plan B.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I wouldn’t attribute any accomplishments to any one person, there are many in my life who influence me. Instead, I would attribute it to a work ethic I’ve been trained to live by in my career. Everything you do, do it all the way- don’t just do it enough to get the job done. As the great Steve Martin put it- Be so good, they can’t ignore you!
You have been blessed with great success in a career path that can be challenging and intimidating. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
Imposter syndrome is real. Every public speaker has struggled with this at some point. Know you are in good company, and keep in mind that any thought leader was not one until they decided they were. You decide what you are, no one else.
What drives you to get up everyday and give your talks? What is the main empowering message that you aim to share with the world?
I try to never give a talk without an actual tangible take way. If it is a business talk, there should be practical takeaways the attendees can use in the office tomorrow morning. If this is a motivational concept, even more so. Instead of being fluffy and energizing for the 60 min. you are on stage, give them practical advice how to implement 1 change tomorrow.
You have such impressive work. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Where do you see yourself heading from here?
We are excited that both virtual and in person conferences are now the norm. We are scheduling a national tour for healthcare educational events, alongside some webinars for healthcare professionals that choose not to get dressed and go to a conference in their Pj’s!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Nobody care’s how much you know, they just want to know how much you care”. This idea is a strong influence for those involved in community care and healthcare.
Ok, thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker?” Please share a story or example for each.
1. Set your intention.
Maybe this is too much of an assumption, but before you pop on a stage, we hope you understand why you are speaking. But have you ever put thought in to understanding how you want the audience to feel? When you set your intentions before speaking, about how you want the audience to feel, you condition your talk to elicit that effect!
Say you are teaching the attendees the value of taking the foil wrapper off before they chew a stick of gum. ok, now we know why you are speaking. But what is the feeling you want to leave them with? Perhaps it is to remind them of that metallic taste of chewing foil. Great! Now as you craft your talk, and present it with this in mind- you will give that feeling over to them that much more effectively.
2. It’s your way, not the highway.
As your doctor may have told you in the past about that odd rash you decided to self-diagnose: Google is not always your friend. If you googled what prep to do for a big talk coming up, you will see many ideas like: Prepare in front of your family and friends– yeah just sit them down for an hour, not if you want to keep them as friends. Learn about the audience and what they appreciate– sounds a bit creepy, doesn’t it?
The problem with these Google suggestions becomes twofold: Firstly, you are preparing in a way that may not work well for you. Secondly, if you don’t get ready the way they tell you, you will feel ill prepared and think you’re doomed for failure. This not the case at all! Instead, ignore all the noise and prep the way you know will make YOU most comfortable.
Review your notes once a week, OR once before you get up. Whatever your level of comfort is to feel prepared. Would you feel more comfortable checking out the space where you are speaking before walking in? Then do that. Perhaps you want to bounce one of your points off a friend, just to make sure you’re not like one of those contestants on AGT who’s mom is the only one they’ve ever auditioned in front of until they got on stage to get a snickering Simon Cowell and three X’s quicker than you can say “Did you really think that was good?” The point is you know you best, follow your gut not Google.
3. A sandwich without solid bread, can quickly become a mess of food stuff- with no utensils!
Wouldn’t you agree? A talk is the same. Make sure you have a solid hook to get started. The average human attention span is 8 seconds. You’ve got 8 seconds to convince them that you will be more interesting that their iPhone. That’s a hard sell, so make sure its strong!
A good talk without a strong closing is like a beautiful website with no contact us page. it’s all great, but doesn’t accomplish much. Your closing is your call to action, an important piece many speakers fail to recognize.
4. Suggested speakrobe- business casual
Think back to the most boring talk you ever had to sit through. My bet is there was a monotonous voice in the front of the room, and a PowerPoint that had many words on it, that they proceeded to read to you slooowwwwly.
Instead take a casual approach to your talk, similar to how you’d chat with some coworkers. Make it a conversation, ask questions; get their input; talk about that funny noise the vent keeps making every time to Air Conditioning goes on! This will relax them, relax you, and keep a natural conversation.
5. Rinse and Repeat.
Very often after a talk you may look back and realize ‘I missed that point, or I went out of order’. Or you may see a recording of if and say “ Wow, I really didn’t give that over well”. What I’ve learned over time is not to sweat these much, because 90% of the talk was amazing! That final 10% is your room for improvement, and the more you get up on stage the smaller that % becomes. Keep perfecting and repeating. You’ll never get it to 100%, but at least you’re confident you’re not singing off tune like that AGT contestant!
As you know, many people are terrified of speaking in public. Can you give some of your advice about how to overcome this fear?
Just keep going! The more you speak the less frightful it becomes. Pssst here’s a little secret: It actually becomes enjoyable as you keep going. Don’t stop!
You are a person of huge influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I am not a huge influence (yet), so will have to pass on this one.
Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!
Scott Kirby ,CEO of United Airlines. I feel there are so many ways to improve the flight experience in air travel and would love to pick his brain. Obviously, I would make sure he is served airplane food for lunch, so that he is inclined to agree with me that there is room for improvement!
Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?
Yes, primarily @ linkedin.com/in/steveshain/
This was so informative, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
Steve Shain On The 5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
