By Allan Kaufman and Allan Misch
(The Truths discussed in this article come from our book and 2-CD set: Presentation Truths Revealed: 101 Universal Principles to Propel Your Speaking Success available on our website at http://www.nosweatspeaking.com/tools/ptr.html .
Two other Presentation Truths that will prevent snores, engage your audience, and build rapport are Truth Number Seventy-one…
To involve your audience, ask rhetorical or involvement questions, tell stories that evoke vivid mental images, or prompt them to do something.
And Truth Number Seventy-two…
Because audience attention spans are short, every three to five minutes show an interesting visual aid… use humor… ask a question… change your body position… use vocal variety… or tell a story or anecdote related to your point.
When you lead your audience to do something mentally or physically, such as visualizing what you are describing or responding to your prompts, you move them psychologically from being passive observers to active participants in your presentation. Once they become participants, subconsciously they want you to succeed, because everyone likes to be on a winning team.
Also, from years of watching television, where every five to ten minutes there is a commercial, audiences have developed short attention spans. So every few minutes, you need to shift their attention in order to maintain their focus and keep them involved.
Using a visual aid… asking a question… demonstrating an idea using your audience… conducting an exercise… using mental imagery… using humor—these are effective strategies for engaging your audience. One word of caution—make sure that whatever you do, it should have a purpose and be related to your overall message.
Here’s an interesting observation. In a recent seminar, Allan Kaufman asked why questions are powerful in getting attention and engaging an audience.
After an uncomfortable silence, a participant in the back row raised his hand. He said, “When you ask a question, I pay attention, because I might have to answer it.” Everyone laughed. But what an astute response!
And why Truth Number Ninety-six is important. It maintains that…
Questions help to involve the audience…to obtain, focus, and keep their attention… and to check for learning.
One powerful way to use a question is to follow Truth Number Ninety-seven…
Use a thought-provoking question to introduce or finalize a key point.
By introducing a key idea with a question, you force your audience to shift mentally and think about it. They may begin to answer the question silently, or if they don’t know the answer, remain curious to discover it with your help.
By asking a question after you cover a key idea, you cause your audience to review and restate your message silently or out loud.
Have you ever watched a news feature show where the host says something like this? “When we return, our special guest will reveal three tips that could save your life.”
That’s called a teaser. It’s designed to arouse curiosity so you will hang around after the commercial and not switch to another channel.
Presentation Truth Number Seventy-three uses the same concept. It states…
To get your audience back from a break on time, tell them when to be back and include a “teaser” that arouses curiosity and motivates them to return promptly such as “Let’s take a break. Be back by 10:15. When you return from the break at 10:15, we will cover the three most important strategies to ensure a successful presentation.”
If you need to take a break during your program, follow this Truth. Your audience will be motivated to get back on time and you will keep your program moving and on schedule.
So take advantage of these Truths… Dress appropriately… speak your audience’s language… follow meeting protocol… involve your audience… ask questions… control your audience’s attention spans… and use teasers.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote that a speaker must first establish trust and credibility, which he called ethos, from an audience in order to influence them.
When you engage audience members and they feel a bond with you, then you position yourself to influence how they will accept your message.
That is part of your success on the platform. The other part is how well you apply the Truths about delivering your message.
For more Truths, go to http://www.nosweatspeaking.com/tools/ptr.html.
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