By Peter Mosley
(Links to previous parts at bottom of the article)
You have to motivate your audience!
What can I say … this is critical!
There is no question to that the old saying "You do not get a second chance to make that first impression" rings very true here. The very first moment you appear before your audience and begin your presentation. You have on the average between one and two minutes at the most to set the tone of your presentation, some say you have even less time to capture their attention and hold it.
You and I have sat through more than one meeting or presentation in our lifetime, where just really dull
and boring or worse! We obviously had a hard time just staying awake during it let alone pay attention.
What the speaker failed to do was motivate us enough to stays awake to listen, lets us take a quick glance at some reason that can happen.
Unknowingly, the first thing that many speakers or trainers do right off the bat wrong is with their voice. Yes the voice. It is a proven fact and the quickest way known to make your audience unmotivated and start dropping off like files is to use a semi-monotone voice in the same pitch and speed. I will go into this at length later ….
I think the next best way is hiding behind the podium and never looking up while reading using the same monotone voice. Only to glance up occasional as to check and to see if anyone is still there listening. If they are not interested in looking at me why should I pay much attention to what they are saying.
Never assume everyone completely understands what you are speaking about. If they did, why would they be there in the first place?
Keeping your audience motivated, listening, and interacting with you requires work on your part. Here
are a few suggestions that may help you.
- Change your voice pitch and speed
- Use gestures (the art of using your hands)
- Use humour (anecdotes and personal experiences are best)
- Move away from the podium whenever possible – Interact with your audience.