Public Speaking - Audience

Capture the audience In Your Speech

You can’t expect an audience to be enthusiastic about a product or program you aren’t excited about. Presentation author Doug Staneart concluded, “Your audience will have just about as much excitement about your presentation as you do, and no more.” Enthusiasm is very catchy. Most audiences will match your level of enthusiasm pound for pound.According to the Lamalle Report on Top Executives of the 1990s, one of the most important factors in determining financial success by those earning over $250,000 is being enthusiastic and having a positive attitude (46%). Apparently, along with being incredibly enthusiastic, successful people never underestimate the power of positive thinking. Why does having a positive attitude matter so much? Research solidly indicates that expectations influence behavior meaning if you expect to succeed, it is likely that you will and if you expect to fail, you are more likely to be unsuccessful. Expectations create outcomes because we work toward the outcome we expect, even if it is failure. Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or think you can't--you are right.”

“There are a few things to learn, public speaking can make you a golden god, capturing your audience and maneuvering it wherever you want.”

Enthusiasm has amazing transformational powers. As you release your energy using positive nonverbal behaviors (gestures, movement, loud voice, etc.), you will begin to relax. And, your audience will quickly become excited. It works like magic! Watch how easily you can transfer your enthusiasm to your audience. NEVER Apologize, Confess, Or Make Excuses!
Presenters say the darndest things…“I’m sorry but I have a cold today so my voice may sound a little funny” (apology) OR “I just found out about this presentation yesterday, so I didn’t have as much time to prepare as I would have liked” (excuse) OR EVEN “I’m so nervous…” (confession). It is always surprising how often and how easily presenters use these NEGATIVE phrases.Up until now, that is.

If you want to WOW your audience, you have to adopt and live by the motto: NO APOLOGIES, NO EXCUSES, NO CONFESSIONS. When you APOLOGIZE, MAKE AN EXCUSE, or CONFESS at any time during your presentation, you are in essence saying to the audience, “Don’t expect a lot from me today because I’ll disappoint you.” Instead of APOLOGIZING--“I’m sorry I didn’t bring in a sample, but I couldn’t arrange it on such short notice,” try framing it in the positive, “I am working on getting you a sample and I can deliver it next week.” Instead of making EXCUSES, put your energy into delivering the best possible presentation and then stand behind your performance--“I did the best job I could given the circumstances.” And limit your CONFESSIONS--especially those the audience has no business knowing such as “I’m so nervous”--to church! Get Your Audience Involved!
Have an inviting opening. Greet your audience with a statement that conveys your genuine pleasure in seeing them and in being there. People are notoriously BAD listeners. In fact, the attention span of the average American is just nine seconds. That means every nine seconds each member of your audience takes a little mental vacation from the taxing work of listening to your presentation.Summarize your main points. Inform your audience from the beginning about the structure of your presentation. When you do, they more likely will follow your presentation until its close. They will, consequently, be better able to follow each successive point as you develop it. Back your main points with examples, statistics, or facts. Caution: Be careful of overwhelming the audience by turning it into a scientific or technical presentation when presenting to a general audience.