There is one all important item that makes public speaking, public speaking....HAVING AN AUDIENCE. If you don't have an audience then you aren't public speaking, you're talking to yourself.
In sales there is a saying that the customer is number one; the same holds true in public speaking.
Tips for a Terrific Talk: Secrets from the Pros
states that "when speaking to an audience, it's not about you; it's about them."
In order to be a successful public speaker you MUST understand who your audience is!
IMPORTANT!!! Your message is only as successful as how well it is received.
In order to have the greatest chance of success, a great public speaker will do the following:
- Prepare a message that will meet audience needs and wants.
It is important to realize that an audience will evaluate a message in their own way, based off their own perception, rather than your own attitude, beliefs, and values. There is skill (and practice) that is involved in preparing a message that allows you to keep your own style and convictions while still giving a speech what they want or need.
Usually you will be asked to give a presentation and this is where the discovery process begins. Ask lots of questions to the person who asked you or the person in charge of organizing the event. Some questions might include: - What is my topic and why does the audience want to hear it?
- How much does the audience know already about the topic?
- What does the audience (or those organizing the presentation) want to accomplish?
- What's the goal or end result supposed to look like?
- How will you know that you as the speaker have been "wildly successful?" (This is one of my favorite questions to ask myself)
- What is the age, socioeconomic status, education level, religious preference, political preference, and cultural of the audience?
- Evaluate the audiences attitudes, beliefs, and values toward message topic.
Knowing your audience attitudes, beliefs, and values goes back to asking questions in the very beginning and doing your homework. Here is a quick breakdown of each one:
Attitudes are our general evaluations of people, ideas, or events. Attitudes deal with how someone feels about something (i.e. "Public speaking is fun," or "Public speaking is hard").
Beliefs shape attitudes. Beliefs are the ways people perceive reality.
Belief is the level a confidence that is felt about something (i.e. "I know/believe that Bigfoot is real"). Often belief coincides with faith, which is believing in something that has not been seen but is "felt" to be true.
Values actually shape attitude and belief. Your value system is your ultimate judgment about right and wrong and is shaped by culture, experiences, and knowledge.
Once you determine your audience's core values, beliefs, and attitude, you can refer to them in you speech, which will help you build TRUST. (Trust is key in creating value) - Establishing trust with the audience.
There is a secret that will help you build instant trust with an audience (or anyone). The quickest way to build trust is by making someone smile and laugh. Now once this trust is established you must build upon it and strengthen it. - Prepare a message at the level of understanding for your audience.
We are living in a time where there are some very distinct generations that affect "understanding." Each generation, each business industry, level of education, culture, etc. will impact how information is received and processed. We are currently living in a time of a MASSIVE CHANGE AND INNOVATION and there are some generational gaps that one must understand.
CLICK HERE for a great article on Generations.X, Y, Z and the Others. - Prepare a message at the level of knowledge of the topic the audience has.
Here are the guidelines for appealing to different types of audiences (Comes from the Speaker's Guidebook). - If the topic is new to the audience...Show how the topic is relevant to them by relating it to familiar issues and ideas the audience already holds a positive attitude towards.
- If the audience has some knowledge about the topic...Explain the topic's relevance to them, use background information and defined unclear terms to help the audience connect, and stay away from jargon.
- If audience holds negative attitude toward the topic...First establish trust, rapport, and credibility. Find areas of agreement rather than challenging the audience (they will win). Offer credible evidence of why topic is positive/good (not why the audience is wrong in their perception). Have good reasons why DEVELOPING a positive attitude is beneficial. It's all about baby steps.
- If the audience holds a positive attitude about the topic...Reinforce their positive attitude with vivid and colorful language and stories.
- If you are working with a captive audience...Pay close attention to time. Find areas of interest and relevance. Pay close attention to body language if possible.
- Take in consideration the socioeconomic, religious, political, age, race, and cultural differences of audience.
- Avoid stereotyping and using sexist language.
- Aware and prepare for audience members with different types of disabilities.
There are some good techniques that you can use to gather information on your audience, they are:
- Interview the person who set up the presentation or you can interview potential audience members. Interviews can be done face-to-face, over the phone, or via email.
- Surveys or questionnaires. There are many different surveys or questionnaires out there (Google it). The best advice for using one of these it to make sure it supplies you with what you need. Ask a better question and you will get a better answer.
- Pew Research Center
- National Opinion Research Center (NORC)
- Roper Center for Public Opinion Research
- The Gallup Organization
- Know the size of your audience and the physical layout of the setting. This will help determine how you can present and how personal (up-close) you will be.
- A good rule of thumb is:
- An award acceptance speech = 3-5 minutes.
- A toast = 1-2 minutes.
- A presentation to boss = 1-10 minutes.
- An in-depth speech = 15-20 minutes.
- A training = 30-45 minutes.
- What generation are you and how is your generation (Boomer, X, Y, or Z) different from other generations? Why would it be important to understand the values, beliefs, and attitude of your generation and others? (See article link on Generation X, Y, Z and the Others)
- What does it mean to avoid stereotyping and sexiest language? Have you ever experienced this (giver or receiver)? What is the fallout of such language?
- In the article Tips for a Terrific Talk: Secrets from the Pros, which tip do you like and why?
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