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“How are they going to provide digital services in the public sector when they can’t pick up my containers?” That was the question faced in early 2017 by Martyn Wallace, the newly appointed Chief Digital Officer of the Scottish Local Government Digital Office.

Initially a project set up for three years to help Scottish councils digitally transform, the project is in its seventh year and shows no signs of slowing down. “It’s endless,” admits Wallace. “Always one more mountain to climb.”

But back to the containers. “Do you think that’s what local government is? Do we only collect your containers? he answered. Wallace describes the real scope: 5.5 million clients, the daily education of 700,000 children, social exclusion, health care delivery, telecare, births, deaths and marriages, and containers. He admits that, in the public eye, it is sometimes a thankless task. “We are an easy target for the press,” he says. Not just the press, apparently. Jacob Rees-Mogg toured the civil service departments, leaving a cheery “while you were out” note on the desks of the hybrid workers.

Given that one of the positives of the pandemic has been a widespread shift to hybrid working, this seems like a step backwards. “We’ve had a lot more interaction with the Highlands and Islands and Borders because I can use Teams to talk to anyone across Scotland,” insists Wallace. “Why would the staff come to Edinburgh when they are as far away as Stonehaven, Jedburgh and Glasgow?”

Wallace admits that the hybrid job is an incentive to stay in the public sector, as is the sense of purpose of the job. But he admits there are aspects of the role that could be improved. “Allow me to fail. In private sector organizations, the culture is to fail fast but learn from it,” he suggests. But transferring the mindset from the private sector to the public sector is not that simple. “The challenge is that we have less money and higher expectations and scrutiny and we take care of the entire population. Being able to fail and learn – instead of being crucified – that the culture of risk has to move”, insists Wallace.

Improving the digital experience

It is a challenge that they must meet. in the last Digital trends 2022: public sector in the spotlight According to an Adobe report, only 14% of respondents said their digital experience exceeded customer expectations, and more than a third (37%) admitted they were falling behind.

Neil Bacon is a Senior Digital Strategist at Adobe. He says: “We see two main barriers to technology investment in the public sector. Use of data and skills. There is an even distribution of digital skills at the leadership and professional levels. While great strides have been made in this area through the government’s GDS Academy, more needs to be done to ensure that people finish education and training with the relevant and desired digital skills to start work when they join the GDS. public sector workforce.

But not everything is pessimism. Danny Bluestone is the founder and CEO of Cyber-Duck, a digital agency that works extensively with a range of public sector departments, from local councils to the NHS.

“The government has largely adopted lean and agile management frameworks to govern, support and deliver large-scale business programs and projects that mimic the private sector,” he explains. “Combined with knowledge sharing and continuous improvement, the government can create a culture of innovation internally and with key suppliers.”

Adobe research also found that 61% of staff felt their organization lacked critical public sector digital skills, such as design thinking or journey mapping. Bluestone points out that looking to the private sector can help avoid some of the high-profile and unfortunate failures: “When government functions have tried to reinvent the wheel, spend substantial sums and only then realize that it is better to use software development for big technology companies like Apple and Android”, he says.

The differences between public and private

Wallace is at pains to point out that the public and private sectors are different beasts, noting that how technology and digital transformation are positioned in the public sector is key. He recounts how robotic process automation (RPA) made it possible to speed up and improve data sharing to address housing and social issues, leading to increased customer satisfaction and, crucially, improved community well-being. . “We need to inform the staff to go out and be on the front lines. In the housing department, they were trying to do too much and morale was low. Now, [with RPA] they are getting job satisfaction.

“We have to focus on frontline digital skills and awareness of what is digital and what is not. In the current climate, there is the fear factor that whatever you are transforming is going to lead to you losing your job,” she adds.

Bluestone has been part of many transformation projects. “Any organization can have a fantastic strategy, delivery and technology. But without the right culture, any program or project will slow down or fail. This is where models like ADKAR (awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, reinforcement) are proven change management frameworks.”

With pressures from the public, the press, internal culture and cost considerations, are purpose and work-life balance enough to keep leaders like Wallace in the public sector? “I’ve had moments wondering if I want to continue this,” he says, but adds, “We’re so risk-averse to put our heads over the parapet and celebrate wins because that’s not the culture we have in the public. sector. We’re just doing our job. But I am proud of my efforts, I am proud of my team and what we do with partners across Scotland. Why wouldn’t I want to celebrate that?

I am one of those people who have always had trouble speaking in public. In a personal conversation or in a presentation with little quorum, I’m not bad at it, but the thought of facing an audience makes my hair stand on end. So recently Natalia Gómez’s ebook fell into my hands, Public speaking and success and decided to share Public speaking techniques which I collected on more than 40 pages. Dark!

It may interest you: Master in Entrepreneurship

A selection of the 10 best public speaking techniques

Think that a good presentation is essential when it comes to selling, whether it’s an idea, a lifestyle, a product or even yourself. In fact, communication, as such, is a very important basis, because through it we show our image to the world. So… here you have the 10 public speaking techniques that I want to highlight from what I learned.

#1. show the natural

One of the best public speaking techniques is to always Be yourself and play no role, because that would make we lose the credibility of what we say. If you are a cheerful person, you don’t have to hold back because this is a serious conference. If you’re shy, you don’t have to be extroverted to present.

You don’t have to dress feeling uncomfortable; to speak in public, you don’t need to wear a suit, tie and shoes. If you don’t like them, don’t wear them! It’s best to dress a little casually and not worry about your clothes for the duration of the conversation.

Be careful, be yourself, but respect for the public who will listen to you

#of them. know your audience

This is what you should think about the most. These are the people who will listen to you and don’t let them get bored. Before you start wondering how you will say things, how you will be dressed, how you will move in space… you have to put yourself in the place of the “listener”.

Why are you here ? What do you need ? What are you expecting from me? how much time do you have? It’s important that you stick to what they’re going to get out of your presentation, not the other way around.

Beware of pedantry or overstatement. Sometimes we sin by believing that the audience knows everything we are going to talk about. Be careful with that! The public is not omniscient, so eexplains things neatly and clearly, and without leaving you with details. But try not to overdo it, your audience isn’t stupid and you don’t want them to feel that way.

#3. the best at the start

Uses a good sentence at the beginning. With this, you will create more expectations and a greater predisposition in your audience to listen to you. You can use famous phrases, crazy ideas or a little joke. Even though beware of the use of humor, because it is one of the most powerful public speaking techniques, but very difficult to use successfully. Not everyone laughs at the same things.

starts from positive way, the attitude with which you speak is also transmitted to the public. And a little smile is not too much, since the public will be more affable with you.

#4. control the nerves

The big dilemma! The fear of public speaking is one of the most common phobias. More than 80% of the population admit to being afraid to speak in front of large gatherings of people. So don’t worry, if you’re one of them, you’re not alone. As much as I’ve read on the subject, I still think that there is no perfect cure. Also, much of the advice in articles and books contradicts each other. So I guess every person should find the cheats they feel comfortable with.

Although what you should always keep in mind is that if you have prepared well and conscientiously, the chances of anything going wrong are minimal. If at any point you get stuck, breathe, count to 5, drink some water, and resume your speech. And if none of this is enough, you can resort to the typical “imagine your audience naked”.

#5. Prepare the presentation

Sheets, a video, supports, diagrams… and above all practicelots and lots of practice. Public speaking can be a gift, but it’s also something to be learned, make no mistake about it. So you can always get better, and you get better with preparation and practice.

There are people who practice in front of the mirror, others prefer to record themselves so that they can observe and analyze themselves later, and others simply perform their presentation in front of friends or relatives. In a friendlier environment, it is generally easier for us to be ourselves and this helps us achieve safety.

prepare your backing material, but remember that it is just that, a support. Risto Mejide said:

Let’s kill the Power Point and present by looking into the eyes

risto mejide

It attracts so much attention that even we look at it excessively. With that, I don’t mean we’re getting rid of materials altogether, as they’re useful for giving turns, breaks, grabbing attention, or even adding a touch of humor.

I remember a professor at my university who, in the middle of a class on Internet history, put a picture of a smiling monkey on the Power Point.

We were all taking notes like crazy, not paying much attention to what he was saying. And suddenly, with this photo, we all stopped and looked at each other without understanding anything. He said, “I put this, well…because I like monkeys, and I wanted to see a monkey” and continued with the class. It made us all smile, we had a moment of pause which helped us focus again on listening and assimilating what he was telling us. It was a break, a wake-up call, a touch of humor… It served him a bit of everything.

#6. Look at your entire audience

Speaking of not focusing on supporting material… Don’t focus on just one person either! As important as he is, or as interested as we see him. You are in front of an entire audience, your audience wants to be treated the sameso do it.

Use the “beacon gaze” and look at each person in your audience. If it is a very large space, do it in sectors. Eye contact is a very powerful weapon, which will make your audience even more attentive if they think you are speaking directly to them.

#seven. The importance of rhythm

Do not use ditties. When we give long, well-rehearsed speeches, we often memorize the words as well as the rhythm and tone. This is a big public speaking mistake.

Vary speed, pitch and force during speech. Score the most important points well with strength and a slow pace. Leave pauses if what you have said requires time for your audience to think. Give it rhythm, bring the speech to life!

#8. Indicate what you are talking about

As I said, your audience does not know everything, and as much as the title of your presentation gives an idea of ​​what they are going to hear, it is always better to specify it. And if necessary, repeat it.

If you see yourself starting to derail, go back to the start. Repeat your theme and come back from there. To do this, it will be very useful to have a preview of the complete presentation, which you can show or not to your audience.

#9. speaking in public = telling stories

The narration It’s a big help. For some time it has been used in advertising and marketing for the power of conviction they have. Everyone loves a good story. They allow the audience to identify with the characters and make everything personal. It is important that the stories are:

• Personally, the more the better, as it will be easier for you to explain them naturally.
• Original and extraordinary.
• That they highlight a certain value of our speech
• They fit in, it wouldn’t make sense to put stories in the middle because they’re funny, period.

#ten. Save the second best for last

When you start the presentation, you have to get attention to get them to take care of you, but just as important is to call it at the end so they remember you. Think carefully about your last sentence, because it’s the first thing your audience will remember when they leave the room. A good strategy, therefore, is to save the second most important thing in your speech for the end.

What did you think of this article on public speaking techniques? If you know more, share it in the comments.

If you have a project that you want to present or are starting to undertake, reinforcing these techniques will be very useful to you. Train with us at Master in Entrepreneurship and learn to apply agile methods in your projects. We are waiting for you!