I am obviously uncomfortable about misquotes of my work. From the very beginning I have tried to give people the correct limitations of my findings. Unfortunately, the field of self-styled ‘corporate image consultants’ or ‘leadership consultants’ has numerous practitioners with very little psychological expertise.

Albert Mehrabian - 31 October 2002

Have you ever been told that 93% of communication is about how you deliver it? And that only 7% is what you say?

It is a myth…

Presentation or public speaking coaches usually pedal these figures – and despite these having been debunked by the originator himself when applied in this fashion, they are still rolled out on a regular basis…

Mehrabian’s studies involved participants judging the feelings of a speaker when listening to a recording of one single work when spoken in different tones of voice.

One single word.

Not a sentence.

Not a speech.

There is no doubt that the way a presentation or speech is delivered is extremely important. However, using these statistics can be damaging. It can undermine the confidence of more nervous speakers who have been told that their ‘delivery’ is of such high importance and significance…no matter how relevant, important, or interesting their content may be.

Rather than push these statistics, we value attention being paid in equal measure to the key elements of any presentation.

Body

It is about ensuring we are not sending out nervous signals – we can consciously control some of the messages our body language is transmitting so that we appear more confident than we truly feel.

Voice

It is about ensuring that we are audible, clear, and using our breathing system correctly. Varying pace, the use of appropriate pause, and varying our levels of projection will get us through.

Content

It must be relevant and of interest to all those ears listening. Inclusion of individual experiences or anecdotes can be a useful tool for engagement as we humans tend to be inherently nosy – we like hearing about the life experiences of others. We are story-telling machines…when we catch up with friends and talk, we are telling a series of stories…

Structure

A clear beginning, middle and an end always helps. A key message that flows through a presentation will ensure that, no matter what bits you forget, the whole point of you standing up and speaking will not be lost.