Master the Art of Emotional Connection

As he waits to take the conference stage, John is experiencing his usual pre-speech butterflies.?

But over the years, he’s learned to make that familiar queasy feeling in his stomach work for him.?

As uncomfortable as dreading the oncoming encounter with the crowd feels, he knows that experiencing some fear is necessary for him to do his best work on stage.

When he is finally introduced and walks onstage, his mind is working twice as fast as it normally does. He’s become keenly observant as he makes eye contact with the crowd.?

GRABBING ATTENTION

He wastes no time hooking them emotionally.?

He tells a personal story about how good it feels to be back in this part of town, where as a teenager – in an era before smartphones and texting – he overcame his self-doubt to ask a classmate he liked out on a date for the first time.?

It’s not just an isolated story; it relates to his central message, which is about the importance of breaking through your comfort zone to achieve your goals.?

John feels the story resonate – the smiles and nods he’s getting from the people in the seats confirm that he’s succeeded in getting them emotionally aroused and curious to hear what’s next.?

PREPPING THE CROWD

Over the next 30 minutes, he builds on to this attention and works it to an inspiring conclusion that paves the way for them to follow a call to action.

The point: when we appreciate that we are all – first and foremost – creatures of emotion, we can position ourselves to create a genuine impact on the crowd.?

It's imperative to get them emotionally aroused from the get-go and throughout the narrative.

Otherwise, getting them to respond to the logical talk that is to come - especially if our aim is to get them to book a call, click on a photo or donate money to a cause - is going to be an uphill battle.?

What’s more, we’ve got to accept how emotions like fear have the power to transform us and propel us to great achievements on the speaking stage.?

Public speaking has earned its mythic reputation partly because so few people know what to make of their sensations when their hearts pound, their throats get dry, or queasy feelings rise in their stomachs as they contemplate the prospect of speaking in front of an audience.?

But it’s only one side of the experience.

The other side is the positive physical sensations we experience as chemicals are automatically released into our bodies as we grapple with a perceived threat to our security.?

Our energy level goes up. Our minds work faster. There’s a chance that if we didn’t experience the positive sensations, we could end up boring our audience.

To tap into your superpower on the speaking stage, you've got to become aware that people’s everyday habits, routines, rituals, attitudes and perceptions are all influenced by their emotions.?

Things to do in that regard:

• Appreciate that emotion has greater power to move a crowd than logic. What may be logical to one person may be completely illogical to the next. Conversely, what you may consider illogical may make perfect sense to somebody else. On the other hand, emotions are universal.
• Learn to leverage the power of emotions to captivate audiences. Notwithstanding cultural differences around various topics, these emotions are universally experienced: fear, anger, joy, sadness, disgust and surprise.
• Keep asking yourself: how can I make this speech more relatable to the crowd to ensure engagement? What elements that will arouse them emotionally do I need to mention sooner to get them with me? Have I buried anything that deserves to be moved up?
• Celebrate the power of stories. Stories grab audiences because our brains have to work differently to process language, images, and literary elements. That's also why audiences tend to remember stories better than drily delivered facts.
• Make stories relatable. I once delivered what I thought was a fantastic humorous contest speech about inadvertently hiking to the top of the wrong mountain. I used every trick at my disposal to try to engage my audience. But it turned out they couldn’t relate to hiking up mountains, no matter how amusing, or instructive I tried to make my takeaways from the experience. ?
• Dig deeper into yourself. Journaling about how you feel about events that trouble you or delight you will sharpen your ability to bring out your feelings in talks.
• Learn about the emotional forces that drive the dynamic between speakers and audiences. When you speak, you are a performer. Your speaking area is a stage. Your listeners are an audience. And audiences expect performers on stages to put on shows. I explain the speaker-audience relationship in depth in my book, “How to Become a Super Speaker: The 7 Principles for Speaking with Confidence and Connecting with Audiences.”

For a quick tutorial in motivating audiences to follow your calls to action, click on the link under my headshot on my LinkedIn profile that says, "Watch the Free Training Video!"

DID YOU MISS THESE GREAT POSTS LAST WEEK?

'Speakers Who Think Differently, With Michael Barris' Continues

My 12th guest was Kris Hughes. He creates compelling content for scaling startups and agencies. Kris talked about some of the biggest misconceptions people have about running an online business on LinkedIn.

If you missed the original LinkedIn live show, click?here ?for the recording.?

Guest number 13 will be Gena Cox. She is the author of the award-winning book, “Leading Inclusion” an award-winning guidebook for building inclusive organizations from the top down. Gena has also advised leaders in the Fortune 500 and other large global companies to build psychologically healthy and engaging organizational cultures that drive business outcomes.

We Need to Know How to Tell Stories to Make Our Messages Memorable.

The brain works differently to process language, images, narratives and other elements of storytelling - and this process makes stories stick.

Stories also are valuable in helping to convey our vision and values to others, build trust and rapport and inspire and motivate teams, among other things.

Know how to use these tools to make your stories incandescent:

• Statistics
• Compare the familiar to the new with analogies
• Use sensory images

Find out the details in the post below:

The Eyes Have It.

This is the BEST way to get around your fear when you look at the people you’re presenting to in person.

It’s well known that making eye contact with your audience is critical for making a presentation impactful – it’s a window into the presenter’s personality, and people often will decide to do business with you on the basis of your personality.

Check out the details in the post below:

MICHAEL'S MOTIVATING MISSIVE

The opportunities and goals you seek don't just happen, you have to create them.

Here's a mindset tip: don’t limit yourself into thinking that you can only do what you have always done or seen others do.

You can go as far as your mind and determination allow you. Believe in yourself and what you are capable of.

THANKS FOR SPENDING TIME READING THIS NEWSLETTER! LET ME KNOW HOW YOU LIKED IT.

And remember, as the US business consultant and author Price Pritchett says: "If you must doubt something, doubt your limits."

Join me on Tuesday at 2 pm ET on LinkedIn Live for the next broadcast of "Speakers Who Think Differently." These shows will introduce you to a variety of professionals who will talk about their body of work and how they use their public speaking skills to get their unconventional messages across. You'll learn lots of useful tips you can put back into your business, be it in speaking in meetings, webinars, media interviews, conferences or impromptu situations.

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SEE YOU SOON ... UNLEASH THE POWER OF YOUR VOICE!

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