the answers to these Every admonishment tool and tip on these pages originates with this goal; to get the message across to the audience. That is what presenting is all about. (Frankly, that's what all communication is about, but that's for another time and another book.) As we look at that makes a great presenter and what makes a great presentation NO MATTER WHAT it will all tie back to getting the message across to the audience.
Why am I harping so on this? In working with presenters for years now I find that inevitably they come to me in trouble or get themselves into trouble because getting the message to their audience is not their focus. Think about it, especially if you're a nervous or insecure presenter. Who are you thinking about? Who are you really focused on? that's right. Yourself. You're totally occupied with YOUR nerves or YOUR reputation or YOUR promotion or YOUR position. The pronoun is all wrong. (And you'll hear me say this over and over throughout the book. Listen, old habits are hard to break, but if there's one thing i am it's relentless.)
Presenters who are focused on the audience and getting their message across to their audience will succeed every time. Presenters who are focused on themselves; not so much.
Of course we'll talk about you, the presenter, and what you should do to assure that the audience gets your message. We'll talk about do's and don'ts, what's important and what's not. But then we'll move on the what's more important; your audience. Assessing who they are, what matters to them, what they're worried about, what their problems are and how you can solve them. We'll examine their level of knowledge of your subject, how familiar they are with the "language" of your subject. Like a good host or hostess we'll even think about the logistics involved, the time of day, the location, the event.
once we've got a PhD in our audience we'll BEGIN building our presentation, again with them in mind. We'll structure it so that it follows their line of thinking, and so that we have the greatest chance for success not only in getting our point across, but in convincing them that it is good fro them to agree. If we are using visual aids we will create ONLY those that truly aid our audience in comprehending our message. We won't, for example, build slides that serve as our speaker notes. Again, the focus is on them, not on us.
Have I sufficently beat this dead horse? Are you about ready to beg me to stop making this point? do you get it? I hope so, but just in case you're still harboring doubt, or are so consumed with fear that it is all you can think about not to worry; this is a theme that will come up time and again. Much like the old political addage of decades ago, "It's the AUDIENCE, stupid." (no offense.)
Here we go.
Great news! The most important thing you can do to connect with your audience is (drum roll please) be YOURSELF. No kidding. You don’t have to be beautiful, funny, or even charismatic. If you happen to be any of these things; congratulations! Use your gifts wisely. The rest of us will have to be content with just being ourselves. Frankly, it’s the most important thing you can be, and here’s why.
Whenever we meet someone for the first time, the first thing we’re determining, immediately and virtually unconsciously, is our level of trust. If the person we’re meeting makes eye contact, smiles warmly, even shyly, and feels authentic and sincere, we allow ourselves to trust him or her, albeit provisionally at first. The longer we come in contact with this person and the more consistent their behavior, the more trust develops. Conversely, if we meet someone who doesn’t make eye contact, doesn’t smile, doesn’t feel authentic and sincere, our guard immediately goes up. We will be skeptical and untrusting of that individual. What’s more, it will take a lot of time and effort on his or her part to negate our first impression.
What occurs in a one-on-one meeting is that same dynamic we experience when watching a presenter. Our first concern, before subject matter, length of speech or even viewpoint, is trustworthiness. In plain language the audience wants to know; “Are you for real?” “Do YOU believe what you’re saying?” “Are you willing to let us in?” “Do you really care about us?” If the answers to these
Why am I harping so on this? In working with presenters for years now I find that inevitably they come to me in trouble or get themselves into trouble because getting the message to their audience is not their focus. Think about it, especially if you're a nervous or insecure presenter. Who are you thinking about? Who are you really focused on? that's right. Yourself. You're totally occupied with YOUR nerves or YOUR reputation or YOUR promotion or YOUR position. The pronoun is all wrong. (And you'll hear me say this over and over throughout the book. Listen, old habits are hard to break, but if there's one thing i am it's relentless.)
Presenters who are focused on the audience and getting their message across to their audience will succeed every time. Presenters who are focused on themselves; not so much.
Of course we'll talk about you, the presenter, and what you should do to assure that the audience gets your message. We'll talk about do's and don'ts, what's important and what's not. But then we'll move on the what's more important; your audience. Assessing who they are, what matters to them, what they're worried about, what their problems are and how you can solve them. We'll examine their level of knowledge of your subject, how familiar they are with the "language" of your subject. Like a good host or hostess we'll even think about the logistics involved, the time of day, the location, the event.
once we've got a PhD in our audience we'll BEGIN building our presentation, again with them in mind. We'll structure it so that it follows their line of thinking, and so that we have the greatest chance for success not only in getting our point across, but in convincing them that it is good fro them to agree. If we are using visual aids we will create ONLY those that truly aid our audience in comprehending our message. We won't, for example, build slides that serve as our speaker notes. Again, the focus is on them, not on us.
Have I sufficently beat this dead horse? Are you about ready to beg me to stop making this point? do you get it? I hope so, but just in case you're still harboring doubt, or are so consumed with fear that it is all you can think about not to worry; this is a theme that will come up time and again. Much like the old political addage of decades ago, "It's the AUDIENCE, stupid." (no offense.)
Here we go.
Great news! The most important thing you can do to connect with your audience is (drum roll please) be YOURSELF. No kidding. You don’t have to be beautiful, funny, or even charismatic. If you happen to be any of these things; congratulations! Use your gifts wisely. The rest of us will have to be content with just being ourselves. Frankly, it’s the most important thing you can be, and here’s why.
Whenever we meet someone for the first time, the first thing we’re determining, immediately and virtually unconsciously, is our level of trust. If the person we’re meeting makes eye contact, smiles warmly, even shyly, and feels authentic and sincere, we allow ourselves to trust him or her, albeit provisionally at first. The longer we come in contact with this person and the more consistent their behavior, the more trust develops. Conversely, if we meet someone who doesn’t make eye contact, doesn’t smile, doesn’t feel authentic and sincere, our guard immediately goes up. We will be skeptical and untrusting of that individual. What’s more, it will take a lot of time and effort on his or her part to negate our first impression.
What occurs in a one-on-one meeting is that same dynamic we experience when watching a presenter. Our first concern, before subject matter, length of speech or even viewpoint, is trustworthiness. In plain language the audience wants to know; “Are you for real?” “Do YOU believe what you’re saying?” “Are you willing to let us in?” “Do you really care about us?” If the answers to these
