Three Killer Ways to Engage Your Audience

If you want to know how to engage your audience, you have to focus on what really matters.

Not necessarily what matters to you…what matters to your audience.

Engagement starts with what your listener (your audience) is thinking.

Here's a three-step process to help you engage your audience, and make your message matter.

Step 1.  Stop focusing on yourself. 

Your material is not as important as your audience.  

Start a killer presentation with what your audience is thinking.  

Sounds counter-intuitive, doesn't it?  I mean, isn't it all about "the content"?  The data, the research, the innovation, the new initiative, the projections for 2017...blah blah blah.  None of it matters much if you don't start with what matters most: your audience. 

You have to “take in” your listener, if you want to really engage. Are they agitated? Concerned? Closed off to new ideas?  And what if you listener isn’t just one person – what if you’ve got an entire room, or an entire company, to address?  Check out the video below - on the real competition you are facing, when it comes to your brand and your message:

Step 2:  Don't tell me what I already know; Engage in New Ways

A compelling conversation starts in a way that is unexpected, sometimes disarming.

Don’t feel like you have to start off with a joke.  Or some comment about “how glad you are to be here” or some other time-waster.  If you really have something to say, it’s best to get to it!  

Haven't you been there - waiting and longing for something real and valuable in a presentation, while the speaker continues to verbally assault you with platitudes, fake "thank-you's" and a false enthusiasm that's just a mask for uncontrolled nerves, a miserable lack of content, or just plain poor presentation skills?

For your topic: what is it that people have not heard about the subject at hand? What insights can you offer that can change the conversation?

Step 3:  Recognition is the Key

Good openers come from a place that says, “I recognize you. I recognize your concerns. I am a solutions provider that could have exactly what you need.”

Notice the words above:  “could have”. Be careful about coming in too strong.

“I’ve got all the answers” is not captivating, because no one really does. You have promoted yourself to a suspicious status, if you claim too much too soon.

“I know what you need” is a bold statement, the verbal equivalent of kicking down the door. Even if you do have what someone needs, please knock first.

If you have a solution, prepare us to listen.

It’s not your job to judge the validity of your remarks (“they’re great” or “they stink” are both wrong, and it’s not your place to choose).

Concentrate instead on captivating your audience, not intimidating them. You have to focus on the delivery and on grabbing your audience’s attention. If you’ve got all the answers, your listener immediately thinks, “Why do you need me?” and then, “Why do I need to listen to you?” as they await your orders.

Instantly, you’ve lost your audience. Any intro that’s a version of “Here’s my way, there’s the highway” is a total turn off.

Recognize your audience.  Identify with the universal concerns of your group - whether it's just your boss, or 1200 of your closest friends in your industry.  

And remember to keep it brief.

“I believe that my 43-page treatise on the budgetary comparisons for the next five years, based on last week’s pro forma as modified by the finance department at our West Campus…”  NOOOOOOO!

Wow.
You lost me before the first quotation mark.

Without a captivating opening, your message is over before you even start. You’ve got to have a “hook” – some sort of reason that connects your listener to your message. And speaking of a message…

What’s yours?

About the Author, Chris Westfall:

Chris Westfall is the US National Elevator Pitch Champion, coaching clients onto Shark Tank, Dragon's Den and Shark Tank - Australia.  With an extensive career in broadcasting and video production, he has appeared on CNN, ABC NEWS, NBC TV and many other media outlets.  He's the publisher of seven books, and an award-winning MBA instructor at a top-20 program. 

To find out more about his keynotes, workshops and trainings, visit his website at westfallonline.com - you can also follow him on twitter @westfallonline