In the last article post, I talked about what you as a speaker should do if you find yourself in a bad situation with your audience (“If You Find Yourself in a Bad Situation With Your Audience, Do This…” dated February 5th). The last comment I made referred to taking preventative measures to make sure they are and stay happy, so that’s what I’ll discuss today.
But for starters, what is that “Bad Situation” I referred to exactly? Simply put, it’s finding yourself, somewhere during your talk, facing a annoyed, disgruntled, or even angry crowd. And why are they angry? It’s usually due to one basic reason. They’re not receiving the information they were expecting and your audience is feeling like they’ve wasted their time and money on you.
This can easily be prevented! The key, as presenter, is to be structured, organized and explicit in your communications with your audience in advance of as well as during your presentation. Below are five tips for ensuring this is the case for each and every time you speak:
1) In your marketing, be clear and honest about the benefits of attending your presentation.
2) Use clear and specific objectives to organize the content of your presentation.
3) Practice your timing carefully so that you achieve your objectives within the allotted time period. Better yet, plan to have some free time at the end for extra questions or to let your audience take a break or go home early.
4) Research your audience in advance and then frame or adjust your content to maximize it’s relevancy to their specific needs
5) State your thesis — what you’re going to share with them and why it’s important– within the first 2-3 minutes of the presentation. They need to know where you’re going and why in order to stay interested.
To sum up, create clear expectations in your audience’s minds, and make sure you deliver on them fully!
I think I’ll go join those kids I see sledding from my office window now. Have a great weekend-
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