Educate, Energize, Entertain, and provide an experience for your audience

1. The most important objective of any speaker is to appear credible and knowledgeable about the subject.

2. Embrace your audience. Remember, it is about them, not you. Are you going to challenge them to think or behave differently, or perhaps confirm or explain something they already feel?

3. Speak to your audience as if you were having a conversation with them. Dont lecture the audience. Be inclusive. Say us, not you.

4. People learn by three means; the visual (what they can see), the auditory (what they can hear), and the kinesthetic (what they can touch and feel). Try to include all three in your speech.

5. Be competent. Concentrate on your audience and customize your remarks to show that you know what is important to them.

6. Have the right amount of information. The talk should have substance and show your knowledge of the clients business. People pay attention to what impacts them directly.

7. Develop rapport with the audience. Do your research to find out what really interests them. Interview a few of the attendees several weeks before your speech.

8. Be sensitive to the audience. Do not use ethnic stories or off-color remarks. Politics and religion should be avoided unless you are a member of the clergy.

9. Prepare your own introduction. Keep it short and relevant to your audiences interests. You can use some humor too.

10. The opening is the most important part of your presentation. Use strong openings, such as an inspiring story, a startling comment, a quotation, a challenging question, opposing ideas, or a funny experience.

11. First impressions are crucial. Match the energy level of your audience. Rev em up a bit. Be sure to sustain the energy throughout your presentation.

12. Engage your audience in the first 30 seconds with a controversial provocative question, such as, How many of you have enough money?

13. Share a story that relates to solid content. It is always best to tell your own story to make your point, because whether you are a kid or an adult, everyone loves to hear a personal story. Screenwriter Robert McKee says, Stories are the currency of human contact. Strive to be a great raconteur and tell a good story, but dont overuse your story. Keep it short.

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COPYRIGHT: 2006 by Sandra Schrift. All rights reserved