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Know your audience.
Before designing a presentation, you should
familiarize yourself with participant statistics.
Identifying factors such as types of careers
represented, level of management responsibility,
gender, age, and other pertinent information will help
you build a program which is relevant and focused.
Discover industry terminology and buzz words. Have fun
with them when it’s appropriate. Anything you can do
to show your participants that you cared enough to
learn about them will enhance your rapport building
efforts.
Understand your delivery
style.
Recognizing your personal impact on the audience is
crucial to developing a speaking style which is
engaging to others. Consider hiring a speaking coach
to evaluate your platform skills and determine the
areas which require fine tuning. Often, only small
changes are needed to dramatically transform a
presentation. If a major overhaul is required, get the
checkbook ready. Remember, ultimately, it’s not about
you…it’s about the participant and their ability to
receive the knowledge you want to share. If you’re not
effective, you waste everyone’s time.
Be real.
Fundamentally, successful speakers connect at an
emotional level with participants. The term
“authentic” comes to mind. Presenters must invite
others into their world. I’ve learned that people feel
privileged when they are treated like family. Give
audiences an opportunity to learn about you at a level
that shatters superficial banter.
Turn up the volume.
Is drama needed in the presentation to maintain
audience attention? How about special effects and
quirky mannerisms? Will mastering comedy and inserting
it skillfully throughout the session make your
delivery memorable? Possibly. Locate areas of your
program that naturally invite interaction and energy.
Remember, it’s not about shouting down the outside
influences which work to disrupt attention spans.
Turning up the volume is about creating a program
where your content is enhanced by deliberate efforts
to engage the participant. Make your delivery
compelling and the audience will actively listen.
Focus on the details.
The search for content must be diverse and personal.
The process of digging into you own experiences and
understanding of a concept balanced against other
points of view will culminate in a program bursting
with heart, sincerity, and expertise. Provide highly
detailed information in a variety of formats - visual,
auditory, participatory, group discussion, town hall
question and answer periods - any manner which places
details within easy reach of the majority of your
attendees. Supply audiences with only the information
they can easily absorb in one session by selecting
your data carefully for most impact.
Speaking
is what you do. Educating is what drives you. Go
ahead… create memorable moments that will last a
lifetime. Forget about the burden and accept the
privilege you’ve been given.
Your
blank page and audience are waiting…
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Written
by Karel Murray, DREI, CRB, CRS, GRI, ABR, Our Branch,
Inc. Dynamic national motivational humorist known for
her straight talk in keynotes, seminars, and sales
training. You can reach her at karel@karel.com. To
sign up for her on-line newsletter “Straight Talk”,
access her website at www.karel.com or phone her at
866-817-2986.
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