Public speaking and professional speaking are very different animals. My recommendations below will help you, regardless of whether you are a public speaker or a professional speaker.
audience engagement
I donated a year of my time to serve on the editorial board of Speaker magazine, published by the National Speakers Association. My job was to write a monthly column where I interview people who book professional speakers. One point these people often make is that they want a speaker who will ENGAGE the meeting attendees.
I recently attended a meeting planner site familiarization tour in Breckenridge, Colorado. After the second day of skiing, instead of joining the “jacuzzi” group, I joined the “bar” group. The entertainers, Swing Crew, a local two piece group, did an amazing job of ATTRACTING their audience by bringing some people up on stage and signing some up at their tables. For this group, tips were high after their series. And the important lesson was about engaging an audience through participation. I don’t think I’ve ever seen bar entertainers do such a masterful job of including their audience.
In a one-hour talk, could you have two or three interactions with the audience? Not just asking everyone to raise their hands or repeat after you, but real interactions. Give it a try.
Overwhelming Barrier of Worry
For your presentation to be effective, you must first capture the attention of your audience. Those people sitting in the seats in front of you are thinking about their jobs, their friends and loved ones, and all the problems around them. They’re worried, and it’s their job to break down that barrier. It goes without saying that it is best to do this at the beginning. Start with your introduction; make it short and it needs to sell you. Your presentation had better give your audience a reason or two why they should listen to what you have to say.
Then your opening should be based on your introduction. Your opening is more than just what you say; it’s also what you do. Check your nonverbal statements. What you wear, how you look, how you stand, the way you approach the platform after your presentation, all speak volumes about you. What do these nonverbal statements say about you?
While you wait to present, take the temperature of the room and determine if your meeting planner gave you the correct information about your audience. This “last chance” to adapt is crucial. I know, who wants to change at the last minute? Any quality presenter, professional or not, is willing to make last minute adjustments to better serve the audience.
The first words out of your mouth are being judged by your audience, it’s just human nature. Don’t fight him, go with him. Lean on your strength at first. He really tries to “sell yourself” to your audience in the first few minutes of a presentation. Your effort will make the experience better for everyone in the room, including you.
use mental images
One of the stories I often tell from the platform is about the importance of having the necessary skills before trying to implement. It’s a story of when I learned to ski. My goal is to create an image in the minds of my audience members before I start using my body as a visual element. I start the story with “I wish you had been there; it was a sunny fall day in Yosemite National Park in the Badger Pass ski area…” This evokes something on everyone’s mind. Make your presentations more powerful by frequently painting mental pictures for those in your audience.
Deep personal inner exploration
Consider the idea of a deep personal inner exploration of your core message, wisdom, and universal truths in preparation for your next presentation. My good friend, John Alston, CSP, CPAE, once told me to get rid of the “grease” around my universal truths. He told me that it is this “fat” that spreads the power of my message.
As we strive, I think, to develop content to share with others, too often we abandon what Mark Victor Hansen, CSP, told me is “Your Inner Knower.” Yes, we have to trust ourselves. In presenting our ideas to others, there is a monumental need to access our inner core beliefs. This is necessary in order to muster your passion to effectively influence others. In contrast, think of the monotonous speaker who reads through his PowerPoint bullet points, one at a time, at an excruciatingly slow pace.
Compare in your mind’s eye the vision of the slow, monotonous speaker with that of a strong, committed, and powerful speaker, such as John Alston. To influence others, he must delve into his soul to determine his true beliefs on any subject in order to share the subtleties of the subject through his window to the world.
Before each speech, consider taking the time to calm the static in your head, explore your beliefs, and determine the core message (on any topic) you want to share with your audience.
Twitter on the back
If you’re presenting to an audience where there are at least a couple of people under the age of 40 (maybe 50?), I can assure you there’s someone on Twitter. What is Twitter? Visit twitter.com to see. Twitter is kind of like an instant blog website where people can post from their cell phones using the text messaging feature. Your friends who follow you get a notice of the other person’s post. You may not realize it, but it’s quite possible that there are multiple people commenting on your speech with each other, in real time, as you speak.
What should a presenter do? Acknowledge it first. Say something at the beginning of your speech like, “For those of you tweeting in the back, say something nice about my speech.” This is being proactive. Let them know that you know. Also, if possible, leave the podium (definition of podium is; dais or stage, not lectern) and walk to the back of the room, you may keep them off guard and may tweet less. Of course, this assumes you have a wireless lavalier microphone.
For years, broadcasters have been successfully treating RUDE people who leave their cell phones on “ring” instead of “vibrate” with the belief that they (the offender) are more important than the entire audience, which is fine bother the others. trying to get some important information. Presenters today are also successfully enduring the second generation of “disruption through technology.”
How powerful is your closure?
Your audience members will likely remember your opening if it’s powerful and the same for your closing. Ross Shafer shared his formula at the National Speakers Association annual convention: Open with “B” material, do your “C” material, then close with your “A” material. It’s not a bad formula, do you agree?
And what about that closure? Consider the following:
1. Stop talking long before your audience is done listening.
2. Go out with a big bang; story, video or disappearing act.
3. Give your audience some action to take immediately or upon returning to their home or office.
4. Give attendees something insightful, emotionally penetrating, or inspiring to remember.
Make yourself heard and make a difference for your audience.