Dear Audience: Please . . .

This is the second of two Open Letters to upcoming audiences. The first summarized my responsibilities.

Dear Audience:

Read, Understand, and Follow these Suggestions:

The essence of my first Open Letter was:

I know you are investing time, perhaps money, and opportunity cost, meaning you could be doing something else, to attend my speaking event.

I need to exceed your expectations.

My presentation to you is a two way street:

I respect your investments and want you to respect mine.

To that end, I’m offering the following â€œAudience Suggestions.”

Arrival

• Show up well ahead of time.
• Know where the building is located.
• Allow time for parking, finding the presentation area, restroom, etc.
• Another reason to arrive early is there is often a registration desk where guests sign in, get name badges, and seating assignments.
• Find your seat, sit down, and meet and greet people around you.
• Arriving late is disruptive to me and the audience.
• Consider meeting me before the event.
• I meet and greet as many people as possible before the program begins. 
• Meeting you beforehand helps me perform better and increases your take-away.

Sit so your Entire Body faces me.

• I’ll be ‘taking the temperature’ of the audience to see how you are receiving my message.
• Don’t sit with arms crossed.
• That gesture sends me a negative, non-verbal message.
• It closes you off to new ideas.

Be an Active Listener.

• Lean your body towards me and listen intently.
• Make eye contact with the me.
• When you agree with me, nodding your head in agreement sends positive feedback.
• If you’re confused by something I say, let that expression show. I might catch that non-verbal communication and restate my thoughts to clear up any misunderstanding.

If you want to ask a Question.

• Wait till the proper time.
• In my opening I’ll tell when and how questions will be handled.
• Don’t interrupt by waving your hand.
• When asking your question, be polite even if you disagree with me.
• This is not the time to start a debate!
• Ask your question clearly and distinctly. Keep in mind less is more!

DON’T

Talk to others, text, eat, drink, or do anything that could be distracting to the audience or me.

When the Speaker Closes their Presentation â€“ APPLAUD!

I put time, thought, and effort into my speech. Whether you agreed or disagreed; liked it or not, thatshould be respected and acknowledged.

If time permits, stick around and thank me.

Shake my hand mentioning specific things gained from the presentation. I’d love that!

Better Audience = Better Speaker

Following these “Audience Suggestions” will insure you and other attendees will receive the best presentation I can deliver and it will be – NO SWEAT!

More Public Speaking and Presentation Tips here: NO SWEAT Public Speaking!