The people listening to your speech are not critics. Most of them are just amazed that you are up there (and glad that they're not!) To them, you're like the host of a big party. They came hoping to have a good time. So give them one by taking care of them.
Read MoreYou've sweated over your outline. You've created some beautiful sentences. You've even got a great humanizing ice-breaker to kick-off your speech. Congratulations! You've just begun!
Read MoreBy breaking your teaching points down into questions and discussions that lead to your point, you can help the audience go on a journey of active discovery, instead of passive listening. The question-answer approach naturally builds in points for the audience to absorb and process your ideas. Your audience will be more engaged and, as a result, retain more information. They'll also have more fun along the way. And so will you.
Read MoreWhen running a panel discussion, it's usually a good idea to have some DISCUSSION. If you are a moderator, you need to constantly be looking for ways to keep the audience interested. Try to listen to your speakers with the ears of an uninitiated audience member: What context does the audience need? What about the topic is most interesting to the audience?
Read MoreInstead of thinking of your adult audience members in your presentation as “students”, you should think of them as “participants”. Instead of thinking of yourself as a “teacher”, think of yourself as a “facilitator”. Your job is to draw out your participants' expertise and interest by establishing an environment that invites their ideas, opinions, and experiences.
Read MoreWe all have habits we bring to the table when we start to explore public speaking. Some are great, some are....very not great. Those not great habits are understandable enough: we do things without thinking, or because we're nervous about being vulnerable in front of our audiences. But if we're not careful, those habits can become ingrained and then they'll be harder to break. This article by Hilary Davis on "upspeak", "vocal fry", and authenticity in public speaking has some good strategies you can incorporate into your public speaking practice to avoid bad habits and better connect with your audience.
Playing to scale simply means making sure that the size of your physical and vocal expression matches the size of your room. In larger rooms, you have to make sure that the back rows are getting a life-size version of your speech. To do that, you're going to have to be a bit bigger than life-size.
Read MoreThis great article on Audience Analysis by Andrew Dlugan goes into a lot of detail about the kinds of questions to ask and answer that can help you hone your message in ways that fit your specific audience's expectations and needs. It's one of a series that explores the topic.
Read MoreThe mismatch between the room I mentally prepared my self to speak in and the one I'm actually going to speak in is throwing me off a bit. I feel my blood pressure start to rise. Some doubts start creeping in. “Can I do this? Did I adequately prepare? What if I forget what's on my slides? What if my zipper's down and I only realize it at the end my presentation?!!”
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