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www.bespeakpresentations.com
email: beheard @bespeakpresentations.com |
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Greetings!
I hope you are all off to a great start to the new year. As you create your presentations, think of yourself as a trusted guide, taking your audience on a journey. Let's get them to the intended destination without any detours, road blocks or wrong turns. Make your next presentation an easily navigable "trip" for the audience and you will be heard.
go get 'em!
debbie fay
dfay@bespeakpresentations.com |
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"You Are Here": signs and signals for your audience
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When giving your presentation, be sure to let the audience know where you'll be taking them. A simple sentence like, "Today we're going to explore the three reasons why our system will work for you." will immediately put everyone at ease and help them put their "listening ears" on. Include signs and signals along the way. Audiences love signs ; words like; first, second, last or most important, equally important, to a lesser extent. You may feel like you're broadcasting the obvious, but they will love you for it. The next time you're speaking and you get to a really important point, try saying, "If you remember nothing else, remember what I'm about to say next." Then pause, say the really important thing, and repeat it. Watch the room go quiet and the audience hang on your every word.
Whatever you do; don't promise your audience one destination and then deposit them at another. I use the analogy of a site-seeing cruise. If you get on the boat and the cruise director tells you you're going to see the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the South Street Seaport, they'd better not take you to Chinatown, Wall Street and Ground Zero! Those may be great sites, but that's not what you paid to see. Audiences have the same kind of expectations for presentations; don't confuse or disappoint them.
On of my favorite clients was guilty of "signaling left and going right". His goal when we began working together was to be more charismatic, more engaging. Let me tell you, this guy is about as engaging as they come; super hand gestures, great at audience involvement, terrific facial expressions. Unfortunately, he told the audience he was taking them one place, and then ended up in another! The look he was seeing on their faces was one of confusion, not boredom. These poor people were trying to figure out where they were and how they got there. Not a lot of fun, and certainly not something that's going to yield nodding heads and smiling faces.
You know and I know, the goal is nodding heads and smiling faces, (and the subsequent commitment to your product, service, suggested next step, etc.). You can help that outcome along by doing all you can to help the audience arrive at the destination you've promised. Oh, and signs and signals along the way won't hurt either. They'll insure that you'll be heard.
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be clear and be heard
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In order to create signs and signals for your audience, you must know where you're headed. "If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there." Yogi Beara famously said. Make sure you have a one or two sentence statement of the PURPOSE of your presentation. Refer to that purpose as you structure your content. This is your destination. If you find yourself including things in your content that take you off course; take them out! Remember; audiences are trusting you to take them where you promised to take them. Don't let their faith go astray by leading them to an unknown, unplanned, unpromised place. |
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| Overwhelmed with building your next presentation? Have an idea of where you want to go with it, but no idea how to get there? Don't spend another MINUTE worrying about it, or worse, putting it off. Contact bespeak NOW and let us help you build a presentation that will be heard.
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