As part of National County Government Month (NCGM), the National Association of Counties offers the NCGM 2016 Toolkit, a resource that helps counties highlight effective programs and raise public awareness and understanding about the many services you provide to your community.

To help spread the word and celebrate NCGM, ICMA will be providing tips and best practices on various topics to help counties (and cities, too!) raise public awareness about your community's initiatives all month long.

In our first post, we highlight how to give effective presentations to the public. The section, ‘Open the County to the Public,’ in the NCGM 2016 Toolkit, includes the following ideas to engage and speak with the public in April: hold an open house where county employees are available to discuss the services, offer tours of facilities, hold public outreach events at the shopping mall, senior center, recreation center, county library or other locations where people are expected to gather, and more. To ensure that your staff is ready for such speaking engagements, here are several effective presentation tips to keep in mind this April and beyond.

1. View your staff as a dynamic speaking team or speakers bureau.

Key support staff can provide vital information (and advance their careers) by sharing their expertise with various select audiences. Consider these suggestions when setting up a speakers bureau within your local government:

• Choose the members of your bureau carefully. Make sure they are coach by an experienced speaker.
• Choose topics that both meet the needs of potential audiences and articulate your local government’s message or stance on important public issues.
• Make sure your speakers have access to visual aids such as flip charts, slides, or video.
• Publicize your speakers program among appropriate groups.

2. Initiate the three steps to successful preparation: research, analysis, and creative reaching.

• Research – and overresearch. You want to be both comfortable with and masterful on your subject. Save ideas, notions, and all materials that may relate in any way to your talk.
• Always be prepared to catch your thoughts.
• Be ready to list or dictate your ideas, views, and observations anywhere, any time.

3. Develop a demeanor.

The wonderful thing about your voice and manner is that it both can be continually improved. Yet many local government managers have no idea how they sound or look to others. Tip: videotape or audiotape your next presentation and watch and listen for the following:

Pay close attention to your tone. A message may be positive and well meaning, but a boorish tone can turn it into a demeaning put-down. Monitor how fast you talk, and notice the length of your pauses.

• Assess your body language. Are your gestures natural and helpful? Do you appear open, receptive, patient, and caring? Are you aware of your facial expressions?
• Are there any “down” times, or moments when you stumbled? Go back and analyze them again to figure out why.
• Do you discern a spirit of leadership? Are you projecting the dynamic, sincere, caring self that you envision? 

4. Keep the message consistent.

Once you have developed and refined your message or position, immediately share it with your organization’s public information staff and other key members of your team. That will ensure consistency of message – the essential to high staff morale, good information management, and a favorable public image.

5. Control audience participation patiently but directly.

• It’s your stage; so manage it well. First, always take the higher road, conveying a positive, hopeful tone. Use the power of transformational reasoning: a problem is a challenge that may also be seen as an opportunity.
• If you are blindsided by a question or comment on an unfamiliar topic, be candid: “I’ll look into that and get back to you.”
• Pay attention to your posture and facial expressions.
• If you are heckled, “stay in character.” Ignore brief catcalls. If a heckler persists, something turning toward him or her silently, holding a pause, then continuing your talk will be sufficient.

6. Be positive, uplifting, and in control. 

• You are the master storyteller, the caring advocate, and the objective, highly informed specialist. Your job is to champion your county.
• Jitters are normal. When managed, they can add an undercurrent of energy to a talk. Take a few deep breaths, and believe – really believe – that you will do well.

Remember to view your skill at public speaking as your most effective communication tool. Always be ready, and use it wisely.

Information in this blog post has been adapted from the ICMA publication: Effective Communication – A Local Government Guide.