Thought for Thursday – inheritance
What you have inherited from your father, you must earn over again for yourselves, or it will not be yours.
--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Your audience knows whether you are speaking to them, of just presenting information. They will either feel the connection or tune out very quickly. With any conversation, whether it be informal or a formally presented speech or something in between, you keep that conversation going by choosing things to talk about that interest the other person, get them responding. So you need to know what interests your audience, what they will respond to.
This is what underlies the construction of most of your content.
It is the reason to talk about the benefits of a product instead of the features.
It is the reason to use language the audience understands. Look at your technical terms, and any jargon that they may not understand. Use examples, stories, quotes and other support material that has relevance to their lives and their interests. You will keep their attention and their interest.
And if your presentation has been advertised in media or in a conference program, the material in that advertising is what drew people to your session, so try to stick to it, or they will disengage very quickly.
So research you audience before you create your presentation if you can.
Find out as much as you can – their age range, gender, income levels, dreams, needs, wants, culture.
You can gain much from a registration form.
You can ask the event manager.
In your preparation routine, you can mingle with them before your speech.
Then you can use that information in constructing your speech. If you need to persuade, for example, you can use your knowledge of their interests and dreams.
You will choose language that they understand, and that is not irritating or offensive to them, and subject matter to suit that audience - themes, supports, anecdotes all will be tailored to them. Find out how best to dress, speak and what will meet their needs, or solve their problems and you have the first step to keeping their attention.
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(c) Bronwyn Ritchie
If you want to include this article in your publication. please do. but please include the following information with it:
Bronwyn Ritchie is a professional librarian. writer. award-winning speaker and trainer. She is a certified corporate trainer and speech contest judge with POWERtalk, a certified World Class Speaking coach, and has had 30 years experience speaking to audiences and training in public speaking. In just 6 months time, you could be well on the way to being confident, admired, successful, rehired. Click here for 30 speaking tips FREE. Join now or go to http://www.30speakingtips.com
Start the week with … an inspiration … feeling safe
"Security is when everything is settled, when nothing can happen to you; security is the denial of life."
-- Germaine Greer
"There are no guarantees. From the viewpoint of fear, none are strong enough. From the viewpoint of love, none are necessary."
-- Emmanuel
"One thing we can do is make the choice to view the world in a healthy way. We can choose to see the world as safe with only moments of danger rather than seeing the world as dangerous with only moments of safety."
-- Deepak Chopra
"Until we take how we see ourselves (and how we see others) into account, we will be unable to understand how others see and feel about themselves and their world. Unaware, we will project our intentions on their behavior and call ourselves objective."
-- Stephen Covey
by Lee Childs
A bus crashes in a savage snowstorm and lands Jack Reacher in the middle of a deadly confrontation. => http://bit.ly/IVwWyq
Working the Room
by Nick Morgan
Through entertaining and insightful examples, Morgan illustrates a practical, three-part process—focusing on content development, rehearsal, and delivery—geared toward engaging an audience on every level: emotional, intellectual, and physical. Presenters from novices to seasoned orators will learn how to:
• Craft an "elevator speech" that concisely nails the key message.
• Prepare a compelling "story line."
• Rehearse effectively.
• Involve the audience.
• Choreograph body language to reinforce the core idea.
• Channel nervousness into positive energy and passion.
• Master the technical details of voice, posture, gesture, and motion during delivery.
Whether speaking to a handful of employees or a keynote audience of hundreds, anyone can use these principles to give speeches that challenge minds, impassion hearts, and empower audiences to change the world, one idea at a time. http://bit.ly/IwOYLn
Thought for Thursday – public speaking
Mere words are cheap and plenty enough, but ideas that rouse and set multitudes thinking come as gold from the mines.
A. Owen Penny
How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg?
Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.
– Abraham Lincoln
Let thy speech be better than silence, or be silent.
Dionysius Of Halicarnassus
