Ten Ways to Make Your Audience Explode with Excitement!
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Ten Ways to Make Your Audience Explode with Excitement! |
By DawnMarie Vestevich
Think of the last time you saw a speaker give a stellar performance. You left inspired and exhilarated and so did others. All day afterwards, you found yourself telling other people about the talk and how on target it was. "They were remarkable." Literally. Are you shaking your head "yes?" Well, yes, there are stellar speakers out there. Thank heavens. More often than not, however, we sit in the audience thinking: "well, their information is good, but¡K I don't know. They're just not too interesting. I think they could use some public speaking training!"
We communicate all day long in a myriad of ways. But when it comes to our businesses and coaching practices, our ability to communicate powerfully is even more critical.
"But I'm a good coach" you say, "not a public speaker. Does it really matter that much?" Yes, yes, and yes. Our delivery is coaching. Our delivery answers the question on the minds of our audience members: Should I get involved? Is this for me? Coaching has become more familiar to many people, but for most, it's still something of an enigma. For these reasons, we must be crystal clear in what we say and how we say it, especially if it's their first time hearing about it.
Here are 10 ways to get your audience to value the time they spend with you:
1. Start with a BANG!
We've all seen film footage of someone testing their skills riding a mechanical bull. How long can the average person hang on once it starts? (10-15 seconds at best?) That's how long we've got to grab the attention of our audience.
Starting with "Hello, my name is¡K and I'm here to talk about coaching" isn't awful; it's simply boring. Everyone does that. Do you want your coaching practice to blend in like the dozens of "life coaches" that are out there? I think not. Make yourself stand out and avoid blending in by doing what everyone is expecting. Ask a question (provocative or rhetorical) and make sure you let the audience answer before moving on. Start with a quote, a story, a parable. Tell them about something you saw, read, heard and then link it to coaching.
2. Be interesting
Famous ad-man, David Ogilvy said: "No one ever sold anybody anything by boring them to death." It may sound trite to suggest "be interesting." After all, who would intentionally be boring? ("I'm going to wow those people in the audience. And after I get going, I think I'll give their minds a rest by slinking into oblivion with too many facts and data. Yeah, that's what I'll do!"). Do we need to be reminded to not be boring? We all know the painful but true answer to that. Choose things that interest you and incorporate those elements into your presentation. Situations, quotes, marketing ads, commercials, a book you read, and so on. You'll be able to speak with passion, energy or conviction and chances are, your audience will find it interesting, too. Try it, I dare you. See what happens.
3. Go with the Flow
Whenever we speak, it's best to have a structure throughout so your audience can follow easily. Repeat certain steps"there are 3 main things we're going to look at in the next half hour." Then, as you go through them, repeat "# 1 was________, # 2 was _______, now let's look at # 3¡K. " At any given point, the group should know where we've BEEN, where we ARE and where we're GOING. For example, what # are we on now?
4. "Energize Me!"
As the speaker, we are responsible for the energy in the room. We want to take our audience members on a verbal and visual roller coaster ride. The best speakers take us to different places - cerebral, mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, visual, inspirational. We can do this by designing a riveting talk and then bringing different levels of energy as we deliver it. When a person comes to your home, do you open the door and then walk away and leave them standing there, uncomfortable and left to fend for themselves? No! We warmly invite them in, show them around, make them comfortable, don't we? It's the exact same thing when speaking to a group. We are the ones responsible for their time with us, not them. Give them your energy.
5. Be visual
We've all heard the phrase "a picture is worth ¡K." We know visuals work, but why do they work so well? Our brains work this way. We're visual creatures. We take in over 80% of information through our eyes and research shows visuals increase retention up to 75%. Isn't our goal to get people to remember our content and us? Use visuals!
6. "I'm Alive (involve me!)"
Most audiences want to be involved in the presentation, so 98% of the talks we deliver should be interactive. Remember, the audience isn't responsible for doing this. You are. Try this 3-step process called "think-write-share." First have them think about something (ask a question, throw out a concept, etc.), then have them write down their response. And, finally, have them share it with someone near them. This also makes it easier to illicit some of those responses from the group in front of the whole room. Other rapid-fire tips to make it interactive: Ask "Who's seen/experienced this?" or "Isn't that the way it goes?" or "Have you had that happen?"
7. V3 - Validate, Validate, Validate
Once we involve the group, every single person who speaks up should get praise for contributing. As the speaker, we respond by a quick: "Yeah! Thanks! Who else?" Even a hearty shake of the head in agreement gives affirmation to that person and sends a message to everyone else that it's not only safe to participate, it's easy and it's worth it because your response will be valued. Make sure to do it for every single response, but do it in a variety of ways.
8. Are your wipers on? (Use analogies!)
What's the purpose of window wipers on our car? Please answer out loud. (Yes, I mean you. Out loud - while you're reading. Now. Thank you.) Did you say: "Gives me a clearer view out my front window?" (Thanks for playing along.) One way to make our messages clearer is by using analogies. Comparing a topic that's strange or unfamiliar with something that is familiar. Always begin by giving the familiar topic first.
There are two main ways of developing analogies. The first way is by asking "where else?" Begin by describing your topic in a 2-3 sentences. What's the essence of it? What are the main ideas of the concept? Now you can develop the analogy by asking: "Where else (in life) does this type of thing/action happen?"
For example, if trying to explain the coaching relationship. Step one: In coaching, we don't give answers - we ask a lot of questions and the "answers" appear. Step two: Where else in life does this occur? (Where else in life do we get asked a lot of questions before we get any kind of answers / responses / recommendations?)
Analogy: When we go to the doctor and tell them we aren't feeling well. They ask us many questions, run some tests, prescribe medication or a regime change, then schedule another appointment to check in with us.
It's exactly the same way it works with hiring a coach. Your coach will talk with you, ask a number of questions, look at your situation right now, what you want it to be, what the barriers are, what's in it for you if you get through those barriers, then begin the process of looking at solutions. They will most likely give you action steps to do before you meet with them again.
The other way to develop analogies is to force it. In what way is coaching relationship like running a marathon? Or learning a new language? List out the steps it takes to do both your topic and the thing you're forcing the comparison on, and use your creativity to make the linkages. People like analogies. And they'll like you if you use them.
9. In 250 years¡K (none of this will matter)
This tip is about getting over our ego-driven selves. Bottom line? If we miss a point in our talk, the world will not crumble. If we talk too fast or say something that isn't - well, our best work in articulation - it's okay. Audiences care about themselves more than us. Do we want to make a good impression? Yes. Do we want to motivate and inspire? Of course. What I am suggesting is not getting so caught up in ourselves that we forget about the most important thing: the group and whether they're engaged in our material.
A quote from the "Art of Possibilities" by Ben Zander sums it up best: "Don't take yourself so darn seriously; we are not that important - we are just not."
10. Stick the Landing!
Just as important as having a strong, attention grabbing opening, we must "seal the deal" at the end with a strong, memorable close. Many speakers end by saying "Ok, that's it. We're outta time. Thank you for coming." Neither of which is wrong or bad, it's just predictable and well, boring. We want to stand out. Differentiate ourselves. So, send them off with something more than what everyone else says. Throw down a challenge, get them to make commitment, give them a call to action, end with a quote. Remember to pack your close with a punch!
So, my newfound friends, in the name of a close to action: What are you going to do differently from reading this article? Quick, write it down and tell someone. This is exciting, isn't it? Until next time, go be your best!
Since 1993, DawnMarie has been involved in both sales and training with the international leader in performance-based training.
Her current position is with the Chicago franchise as Director of Corporate Training, where she divides her time designing and facilitating on-site corporate programmes and public seminars, as well as coaching and developing the larger Chicago training team. In 2004 she was awarded the international "Top Five Trainers" award, and in 2005 she fell in the top 10 trainers worldwide in multiple categories. She is a consultant for the Fearless Living Institute.
Her areas of expertise are Public Speaking, Human relations, Team Building and Leadership. She has a BA in Communications and a Masters in Adult education.
To contact DawnMarie, email: dm4peace@gmail.com
