Three (3) Things that Make Your Audiences REALLY Happy

After every workshop or speaking engagement, I make it a point to get feedback from several people from my audience.

Two things I make sure I find out from them:

1. Among the things I said, which one was most significant and useful to them; and
2. How did they feel after listening to me.

This habit has made me understand my audiences better. Today, I can say I know what works with audiences and what does not.

I also know what make them happy. Really happy.

Here are three (3) things audiences appreciate much.

1.  A clear Purpose
2. A crisp Overview
3. A coherent Flow

They love it when you say right at the start why you are there, why you are making the presentation or delivering a speech. They appreciate a clear statement of the Purpose. They say it helps them "tune in" to the speaker or presenter. It helps them understand how they should listen, what items in the speech or presentation they should pay close attention to and what they are expected to do at afterwards.

Here's another winner - a crisp Overview. Overview is "telling the audience what we are about to tell them". My audiences say the Overview helps them organise the ideas in their head. A crisp Overview is their "mental map" of the presentation or speech. If the Overview tells them that the speaker or presenter intends to cover Three Points, then they know that when Point 1 is done, Point 2 follows. And they know that when Point 3 has been covered, that's the end.

Overview is a forgotten yet powerful tool. Let's start using it again.

Lastly, a coherent Flow. This is a no-brainer. Our listeners "demand" two things from us. One, that each and every part of the speech or presentation be related. It has to be a "family of clearly connected ideas", not a neighbourhood of strangers. Two, that the train of ideas makes sense, follows a pattern, and comes to a logical conclusion.

Purpose. Overview. Flow. They make the speech or presentation seem like going on a smooth journey. You leave port with a clear destination. You have a good view of how the whole journey will proceed. Then, you sail with the current and with the cool, gentle wind behind you.

Three Things Standout Speakers "Own"

We've heard public speaking mentors say we must "own the room" if we want to command the audience's attention and hold it to the end of our speech.

That's true. I have seen standout speakers delight, inspire and move their audiences using varying styles and with one thing in common - they all "own the room".

Public speaking mentor Timothy J. Koegel, in his book "The Exceptional Presenter" (Greenleaf Book Group Press, 2007), defines "owning the room" as a originally used to describe " an actor who is so completely in character that he walks on stage with total confidence".

Well, "the room" is just one of three things every standout speaker must "own".

Here are the other two:

1. The standout speaker "owns the message"

2. The standout speaker "owns the communication process"

Why "own the message"? It is because audiences expect the speaker to be an authority on what he is telling them. Otherwise, it would be better for them to just read up on the subject matter or google the net to find out what others have already said about it.

We listen to a speaker because, no matter what the subject matter is, at that particular moment, the message is his.

Here are the three elements in a speech or presentation that tells the audience that the speaker truly "owns the message":

1. The speaker "feels" the message. 

    The movements in his  face, voice and body reflect his the importance of what he is saying and that he, himself, believes  it.

2.  The speaker "knows" the subject matter of the message.

    He knows it so well that he can highlight the points that truly matter to the audience, can use simple words to express them, and can present them from the "first person"viewpoint.

3. The speaker "lives" the message.

   He can explain the message using examples from real-life experience, and  enrich the message by injecting his personal insights and viewpoints.

I will share my insights on  "owning the communication process" in the next post.

[Archie Inlong helps speakers "own" the room, the message and the process through workshops or personal coaching. For information, email archie_inlong@yahoo.com]