How to quickly connect with your audience
John Ribeiro
??I help corporate professionals elevate their careers and businesses through one-on-one and group coaching and in-person and online workshops.??
Hello everyone! Welcome to July 31st top 5 speech tips. This week I attended a talk by Dr. Alan Middleton at the Schulich School of Business at York University. He spoke on the topic of Management in a "Black Swan"/"VUCA" world. I'll let you click on the link to answer the question "what exactly is a Black Swan".
The subject matter was interesting, but was more interesting was how Dr. Middleton connected with his audience so quickly. I'll be highlighting 5 techniques that Dr. Middleton used to quickly engage and connect with his audience.
Smile: Dr. Middleton opened his talk with a smile. If you want to see what the smile looked like, just click on his name. His smile put the room at ease. It also gave us an indication that the presentation was going to be fun and entertaining. It set a great tone right at the beginning.
Eye Contact: He made sure to look at everyone in the eyes. We were in a small room with 20-25 people. Dr. Middleton walked up to every table and made sure that they were engaged in the conversation through eye contact.
Touch: This is one of my favourite techniques for small audiences. Right before the start of his talk, he walked around the room and shook hands with all the audience members. He physically connected with everyone; it's a great way to feel welcomed.
Question: He opened up his talk with a simple question, which also served as a survey. His question was "has anyone heard of the Black Swan". He acknowledged the one person that said yes and than went on to explain it to the rest of the room.
Permission: Dr. Middleton gave us a permission to ask questions during his talk, which allowed his audience to become part of his conversation. The audience knew that it was ok to jump in when the concepts seem unclear.
Weekly Speech Exercise: The next time you deliver a speech shake hands with as many people as possible before you start. Let me know if feel like your audience felt more engaged during your speech.
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Ajudo coaches, consultores, mentores e pequenos empresários. Juntos, criamos sistemas de vendas inteligentes. Diariamente, geramos potenciais clientes qualificados. Tudo isso com menos esfor?o e mais previsibilidade.
3 å¹´Great, John :)
Keynote Speaker, author
8 å¹´Good summation of these 5 points John. These are points that people would do well to keep in mind when they speak. I especially liked the 'call to action' near the conclusion.