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Advocacy: 10 Tips for Public Speaking and/or Conversations with Friends and Family About Commercial Fishing

Since the beginning of our economic civilization, POCFs have been instrumental in keeping the industry going and protecting our fisheries, fishermen, and fishing families. (Mic drop!)

I’m passing along tips that may help you next time you speak to an audience, chat with friends and family outside of the industry, or interact with customers purchasing from your direct-to-consumer seafood business or on social media.

10 Tips for Public Speaking and/or Conversations with Friends and Family About Commercial Fishing

1. Know Your Audience

• Understand their interests, knowledge level, and expectations.
• Tailor your content and tone to connect with them.
  • For example, you don’t need to explain terminology when speaking to a fishing community; you can give them more direct feedback.
    Explain the specific terms when speaking to the public, customers, or family members/friends. Explain to them like they’re in third grade, like someone who has never heard of fishing before. For lack of a better term, “Man-splain” to them, but in a nurturing way.
  • I was speaking to a group of business owners and former CEOs recently, and I realized that the term “fisherman” means a lot of different things to people. Fishermen can mean sport fishermen, Aquaculture fishermen, or commercial fishermen. People often don’t think of commercial fishing and what that entails, so describing the differences is essential to better understand your perspective.

2. Research & Organize Your Content

• Outline key points logically (e.g., introduction, main points, conclusion).
• Use stories, data, and examples to make your message engaging.
  • Great data point: Explain that (depending on which country you are in) fisheries are very highly regulated, which means they are sustainable.
  • Give examples of how your fisherman is monitored for their catch. (i.e., Fish tickets, gear limits, season length, regulating catch size, permits up to date, etc.)
• Keep it concise—respect your audience’s time.
  • You want it to be fun and not overwhelm them with too much data that they tune out.

3. Practice, Practice, Practice

• Rehearse out loud multiple times.
• Use a timer if that is helpful. (I do this!)
• You could record yourself and analyze your tone, clarity, and body language.
• Practice in front of a friend or mirror for feedback.

4. Master Your Body Language

• Maintain eye contact with different sections of the audience.
• Use natural gestures and avoid nervous habits (fidgeting, pacing, leaning to one side, leaning on the podium, etc.).

5. Work on Voice & Delivery

• Vary your tone, speed, and volume to keep it interesting.
• If you’re speaking to a crowd, act like you’re talking to a friend at a coffee shop. Keep it casual, not too stiff.
• Emphasize key points with pauses and vocal inflection.
  • Give each topic room to breathe and for your audience to take it in.\
• Do your best to avoid filler words (um, like, you know).

6. Prepare for Q&A

• Anticipate possible questions and have responses ready.
• If you don’t know an answer, acknowledge it and offer to follow up with them.

7. Manage Anxiety & Build Confidence

• Take deep breaths before speaking.
• Focus on the message, not yourself.
• Remind yourself that the audience wants you to succeed.

8. Use Visual Aids Wisely

• Slides are very helpful when speaking to audiences and/or government officials.
• Keep slides simple and visually appealing.
  • Less text, more images.
• Don’t read directly from slides—use them to support your speech.

9. Engage with the Audience

• Ask questions or include interactive elements.
• Read their body language and adjust accordingly.

10. Have a Strong Opening & Closing

• Start with a story, question, or statistic to grab attention.
  • Give them a reason to want to listen. Make your story relatable to the human experience.
• End with a memorable takeaway or call to action.
  • I ended my recent speech with a fun fact about the Lunar Near Year and how the Spiny Lobster is the centerpiece for most celebrations because it represents luxury (because it’s imported from the US), symbolizes the dragon (which represents strength and fortune), and the color red (which is a power color and is believed to bring luck).
  • In the next slide, I showed my contact information for the website, social media, podcast, and LinkedIn, along with a QR code that leads to a list of my contacts and community offers.

Remember: sharing a part of your life makes people more easily connect to our unique lifestyles. When you share more about commercial fishing, you are giving others a reason to want to invest in wild-caught fisheries – because they know, like, and trust you!

Next time you speak to friends/family, customers, or a crowd, please share with us how it went in our private Lighthouse community’s “reply” section.

You got this!