How are you showing up? Public speaking is not just standing on a stage. Another option is the fireside chat. This is an interview on stage and is a popular choice for CEOs. Often a CEO will give a short address followed by a sit down with an interviewer to have a conversation.
The fireside chat creates an intimacy with the audience and enables them to get to know the leader in a different way. It’s also the perfect choice for someone who isn’t a good speaker. They can maintain their leadership spotlight without losing credibility because of poor presentation skills. It creates greater engagement because it’s a conversation and not a speech. And a two-way conversation is a confidence booster-less nerve-wracking than standing alone on a stage.
Fireside chat is best known from President Roosevelt when he addressed the nation by radio during the Great Depression and World War II. Initially, these chats were meant to gain support for his policies but became messages of hope. He delivered them from his White House desk and spoke conversationally and simply.
While it may seem like a simpler method than giving a keynote address, don’t underestimate the amount of work involved. Here are some tips to give a Knockout Fireside Chat:
Prepare and research the speaker. Don’t approach this as a “cold” interview. Learn as much as you can about the speaker and the message.
Have a free flowing conversation. A fireside chat shouldn’t sound like a typical interview. It’s two people having a conversation that is preplanned, natural sounding, and rehearsed.
Engage the audience by using polls and questions. You can pose a question to introduce each segment. This will provide information about the audience such as their insights and demographics. A poll can be as simple as raising hands in the audience or you can use polling software.
Encourage the speaker to share personal stories. The interviewer can prompt these stories based on the research and preparation beforehand. Personal stories humanize the speaker and engage the audience.
Create key points. Arrange the points in a logical sequence. Group them into themes. It’s important to time each segment. Structure is important. The fireside chat may appear seamless but there is an underlying structure to the conversation.
Announce the agenda. Reference the areas that will be covered. Then, use transitions to announce new segments.
Be inclusive. Encourage the speaker to look at the audience. Without some connection the audience will feel like passive observers and may tune out. The fireside chat is for audience.
Keep questions open-ended but specific. For example,
Tell us how you got to where you are today?
What’s the biggest challenge for the company/industry?
Where do you see the industry going in the next 5 years?
What’s been your biggest success?
Follow these tips and you’ll succeed in delivering a knockout fireside chat that will impress and engage the audience.