Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening.
Dorothy Sarnoff
Generally there isn't a drum roll as we step up to the dais or platform.
OK. So you do get a drum roll whenever you get up? In that case I am not speaking to you, but to all the rest of us who usually don't get one.
We then have to create our own aura, sense of interest, excitement.
It is widely understood that the first few moments, perhaps 10 seconds that a speaker spends on the stage are amongst the most critical of their entire address. In fact, even their ascendance to the stage, the very act of rising from the floor, or their seat on the platform is just as critical.
We only get one chance at a first impression. One chance at that vital impact that makes us memorable to an audience.
Audiences seem to have this perceptive on/off switch embedded in their minds that is activated immediately the speaker is introduced. Within seconds it swings one way or the other: I like this speaker, or I don't!
And once triggered it takes much, much more energy to change the position of that switch (if it can be done at all) once the address is properly underway so the message is clear: get it right first up!
It is always advisable to demonstrate an impression of enthusiasm, liveliness immediately our cue is given.
Never, ever just lounge up to the stage, with our face fixed on the floor and meander casually to the dais. Even worse is to, once having shuffled to the dais, spend 10 seconds or so sorting notes, adjusting microphones, sipping water and generally doing all the things that should have been organized well before.
This just breeds a perception of a speaker that is disorganized, careless and in all probability, boring.
It is best to spring to our feet, move at a brisk pace to the platform or dais and then simply spread our prepared notes (if we are using notes) in one smooth motion while keeping eye contact on both our host and the audience.
Eye contact is just so important even at this early stage of an address so it is advisable to do everything possible to keep the audience attention on your eyes, not on the surroundings.
They are, even at this point, instinctively working out whether they will listen to us, or not.
For this reason it is usually best to transport our notes in a matt black folder that is basically invisible to the audience while we are moving: not a bundle of loose, flapping pages that give the appearance of a newspaper caught in a wind gust.
Once ensconced at the dais, depending on the event and the audience, great energy and expectation can be created by maintaining an interested, roving eye contact with the audience for a few seconds, coupled with appropriate body language, before uttering our first (very carefully chosen) opening line.
Whilst it may seem forever, a well executed pause at this critical moment of about 4-5 seconds will almost have our listeners lifting out of their seats in expectation. It is almost like inflating a balloon right up to bursting point: the audience are almost holding their breath waiting for the bang!
At this point, for a few critical seconds, the world is our oyster.
The selection of our opening words, the first 5-10, is key to creating the life and energy that will either turbo charge or stall our entire address.
I once was commissioned to introduce a keynote speaker, from WorkCover, a key Government agency responsible for employee safety at an industry conference.
My opening five words were "WorkCover is killing this industry".
Everyone went quiet.
Our CEO's face looked like the blood was draining from it. I could see him thinking "what is Neil doing, what have we done, how am I going to apologize to our speaker?"
But, the audience attention was palpable.
What the CEO (and the audience) didn't know was that I had done my homework in advance. As any speaker should. I had spoken with the keynote before the session, talked over his content to make sure that I didn't detract from his key address.
And, I had meticulously explained, and gained his consent to open with an inflammatory remark.
We got the attention of the audience. Our keynote was pleased. Our CEO recovered his composure and didn't have a heart attack. The session went well.
Our first few moments on the stage will often determine our success. Plan them well, execute them well and our audience response will be positive.
Neil Findlay has been involved in the business and Not For Profit sectors for nearly 40 years in Australia and abroad. During this time he has been an active public speaker. Take a moment and review his website at http://www.neilfindlay.com or his e-business card at http://play.goldmail.com/k44iejhkvq62
[Note: the links to Perfect phrases for Executive Presentations has now been fixed!!]
I know we would all like to feel the mastery that this performer has achieved with his violin. I also know that we would all hope to be able to deal with interruptions just as masterfully - with grace and humour!!
Yes that's a Nokia ring tone!
I have always loved this quote ... I like the thought of words taking on their own energy.
Sometimes I feel they do, and that is when they truly can engage an audience ... or assault the unthinking.
Words ought to be a little wild for they are the assaults of thought on the unthinking.
John Maynard Keynes
Speak to Win: How to Present with Power in Any Situation
Brian Tracy
EAN:978-0814401576
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Amacom
Published in: United States
Published: January 2008
There's nothing worse than sitting in the audience while an inept speaker stumbles through an ill-conceived business presentation-- unless, of course, you're the one floundering in the spotlight. In 101 Ways to Captivate a Business Audience, Sue Gaulke, founder of the Speaker's Training Camp, strips the mysteries from the process by showing how to prepare and present an effective address that will successfully involve your audience and deliver your message.
Does being afraid that you cannot effectively field questions by the audience keep you from accepting opportunities for public speaking? You are not alone; believing you will look like a dummy and lose your credibility (or the sale) for not knowing an answer can be overwhelming.
Growing beyond this concern starts with a look at this possibility from your audience's perspective. The audience has arrived because it has all ready been determined that you are credible and know what you are taking about. Agree with the person who gave you the nod to speak to this group.
Agreement is powerful and a two-edged sword. Two or more people who believe presenter may get themselves in trouble must be avoided at all costs so tell those close to you who are concerned to hush. Remember the audience is not thinking in this vein. These opposing actions can create a perfect storm. Did you see the movie? This is not a good thing.
Managing the, "I don't know" scenario is the same on and off the platform. You have a few ways to handle this.
1. Get Real and Plan: While planning the presentation play devil's advocate by intentionally trying to stump yourself. Looking at the presentation in an attempt to pick it apart is a best practice and is a terrific way to ward off a potentially uncomfortable scenario. If while asking tough questions about your material you may discover a key point that needs to be added to the body of the presentation. If so, add it.
If what you discover is important and should be the pivotal point of the presentation, then rewrite the introduction and work it into the body and the conclusion. Your opening statements should be statement with a promise of sorts to prove your statement and therefore must be within the body and the conclusion of the presentation.
By the way, the trick of speaking well into the Q&A session to avoid questions is not unprofessional nor does it work.
2. Be Real and Fess Up: It is going to happen you know - getting stumped. If you are not Elvis and have, "left the building" someone, at some point, will approach and leave you speechless. Whether this happens from the platform or one-on-one after the presentation - your answer can be the same, "Good Question. And, (pause) I do not know. I will, however, quickly research that answer after we are finished here or if you would prefer, leave your contact information (eMail) with ____________ (name your host) I will get back with you before day's end." If you are stumped during the presentation you may also add, "Is anyone in the audience know the answer or this question?" As always be sure all members of the audience can hear the question and the answer to every question.
Warning: Not following up with an answer will cost your credibility, the sale, or both.
3. Be Professional and Network: As an ongoing practice, surround yourself with people who know more than you so you may call upon to help you with the answer (and more). Dr. Ted Becker, one of two people in history who have a PhD in human performance said, "It is important to be the dummy of the group. The only way there is up." Surprisingly, knowledgeable people often cannot find a person in to mentor. Recently, Karen Timmons with Dell, Inc. said, "It is not a crime to not know the answer. It is, however, a crime to not know who does."
Consider this incident:
Lat week I was in the exam room with my doctor when he took his cell phone from his pocket and searched for the answer to my question. This was blatant evidence that my doctor doesn't know all things medical. This came as no surprise to me as even the best cannot answer all things. Nor is it reasonable to think so. (Your audience knows this.) In my mind my doctor's credibility actually increased as it appeared that my question and I were important to him.
Get Real. Be Real. Be a Professional.
Be Not Afraid.
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Kathryn is owner of Write Speak Transcribe Business Services
Kathryn has been a freelance writer for fifteen years and a Food Service Management Specialist for eighteen years.
She is a dynamic speaker who provides her client's end users with a presentation that yields responses like, "Thanks for telling me that!" and "Where do I sign?" She specializes in providing her client's an opportunity to contribute to their customer's knowledge base in a particular area -- a customer enlightenment that oft times is not sales related yet produces an increase in the bottom line of those who utilize her.
Timely and accurate transcription services are managed by Kathryn's mother, Onita Walker. Onita types 120 words a minute with accurate spelling and punctuation and has 40 years experience transcribing confidential conversations in the field of law.
Words are powerful and words are our passion.
Kathryn
Cell (928) 713-1812
Web: http://www.writespeaktranscribe.com
Email: kathryncrew@cableone.net
Email: Onita@cableone.net
The goal of effective communication should be for listeners to say, "Me, too!" versus "So what?"
Jim Rohn
I recently attended a terrific, high-powered panel presentation that unfortunately became hijacked by what I’ll call “a Q&A hog.” You’ve probably witnessed a Q&A hog in action at a conference or presentation.
Q&A Hog, defined: an annoying creature that rambles incoherently during the Question and Answer period of a presentation. The hog typically takes up to 5 minutes to ask the presenter a very specific or off-topic question that no one in the audience has any interest in discussing. Q&A hogs usually have some personal agenda or simply love to hear the sound of their own voices.
The panel presentation I witnessed? The Q&A hog actually grabbed the floor mike and took over. It was a bad scene, man.
The hog held the entire audience hostage with non-stop rambling. The panelists and audience members started shuffling and checking their smart phones. The moderator looked wild-eyed around the room, vainly searching for armed gunmen with tranquilizers to shoot the beast down.
Boors don’t pick up on obvious visual cues of disinterest. It’s not in their nature. They’re going to keep talking — until you shut them down. Mere body language and facial gestures won’t do the trick.
Audiences Are Your Friend
For the rank amateur to the ignorant professional, audiences create the same effect no matter how small they are to a speaker. Fear and anxiety.
From a single person to a crowd as big as the fans in the Super Bowl, speaking in front of a serious listening audience is the true test and baptism of fire.
Despite this, audiences are predictable. Audiences listen to you because they want to learn something from the speaker.
Following this logic, the speaker would do well to follow the strategy of making it informative as well as interesting to listeners to see your speech through till the end.
Here are some tips on how you can have the audience listen in rapt attention. http://bit.ly/bMXs4u
The first question a presenter must answer involves the listening audience. The composition of a group influences what and how one prepares. Determining the makeup of an audience involves certain considerations that can be broken down into two categories: Demographics and Psychographics. "Demographics" help us define "age cells," while "Psychographics" inform us about "type cells."
Demographics. Initially, it is helpful to determine the demographic composite of the audience. We start by determining the average age of the crowd. Are there children? If so, what age? If they are teenagers, are they young teens (13-16) or older teens (17-19)? If we find they are young adults, are they 18-24, 25-34, etc.? Now let me explain why this demographic analysis is so important.
The age of an audience influences the type of language, examples, and illustrations presenters use. For example, if I were talking to a group of young adults 18-24 years old about recent changes in the music industry, it would be more effective to drop names such as "The All-American Rejects" and "Green Day" than "Chicago" and "The Beach Boys." Talking about the former would help me sound relevant and credible, while using the latter would date me and make me sound out of touch.
The key is to know the demographic makeup of your listening audience. Some audiences are demographically narrow in scope, but most are not. Generally, you will find that audiences are comprised of mixed age groups, and knowing this will help you tailor your examples and illustrations to impact the larger segments within the group.
Psychographics. Determining the psychographic profile of the audience is imperative as well. As previously stated, psychographics refers to "type cells," and all audiences are comprised of them. These cells inform us of the audience's inclinations and preferences, which is helpful information when addressing a group. Below is a short list of potential "types" you might find in a particular audience:
Males or females
Blue-collar workers or professionals
Senior-level or junior-level managers
Managers or employees
Post-grad students or undergrad students
Wine drinkers or beer drinkers
Conservatives or Liberals
Religious or non-religious individuals
Doctors or lawyers
Teachers or students
Early adapters or late adopters
Animal lovers or hunters
Suffice it to say that the age and type of people in any given audience will greatly impact the way you prepare to speak to them. But while the audience's profile will influence your method, it must never compromise or cause you to water-down your message. Instead, the core message simply needs to be packaged in terms relative to the audience at hand. Consequently, it is highly beneficial to know everything you can about the demographic and psychographic nature of the audience you will be addressing.
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Dr. Gary Rodriguez is President of LeaderMetrix http://www.leadermetrix.com and author of Purpose Centered Public Speaking http://www.amazon.com/Purpose-Centered-Public-Speaking-Purposeful-Presentations/dp/1450727085/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288971818&sr=8-1
Gary is committed to helping aspiring and active speakers improve their presentations skills. This is accomplished through Purpose Centered Public Speaking Workshop and personal one on one mentoring. He also offers a free public speaking phobia test and monthly newsletter to those who visit his website.
