Why would you give your audience homework?
How could homework be a gift?
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Most school children hate homework, or at least see it as a chore.
Why do school children have homework?
I imagine there are many reasons, but one must be to solidify the learning done in school.
Because we learn by doing.
We reinforce theory with practice.
We multiply the learning by applying what we have learned to our own lives.
We take ownership of the learning when we implement it.
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We take ownership of the learning when we implement it.
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Spend time in the classroom or with an inspirational speaker, and we take in theory.
We take in enthusiasm, too, hopefully!
We take in the steps to success.
We take those “in”… at the time.
But how far “in” do they go as soon as we leave the classroom
… as soon as the speaker leaves the podium
… as soon as the lesson has ended?
How often have you listened to a motivational speaker, felt motivated … and then several weeks, or even days, later, if someone asked what you were doing differently now, could not remember what his message was or what you had felt so motivated to do????
Clever speakers give their audiences homework.
Caring speakers who really want their audiences to achieve or grow or benefit give their audiences the gift of homework.
They will learn by doing.
They will reinforce theory with practice.
They will multiply the learning by applying what they have learned to our own lives.
They will take ownership of the learning when they implement it.
So if you care about your audience, really want them to change, really want to be of service, what will you ask them to do when they get home after your presentation?
I had the pleasure of contributing to this compilation. And I have to say I love the format which makes it so easy for you to pick up tips on speaking… particularly now that I have remembered to click on full screen rather than squinting at it!!
Last week, Prezi released their list of the Top 100 online resources for presenters. It’s an incredibly useful resource all packed into one page.
We have scoured the web looking for the most inspirational and useful resources for anyone looking to improve their presentation skills; the #PreziTop100 is the result of all this hard work. We assembled this list by looking at both popularity data (Alexa Rank, Google pagerank, pageviews, Klout score, social media followers, and social engagement) and the quality of the content as determined by a panel of Prezi judges.
And I am so honoured to be included in the blog section. Honoured to be chosen by Prezi, but also kind of amazed to see my name listed among people whom I have been reading and learning from for years.
So to Prezi, thank you.
To you, I have a wonderful new resource I can share with you – The Top 100 online resources for presenters
“In public speaking, we must appeal either to the prejudices of others, or to the love of truth and justice. If we think merely of displaying our own ability, we shall ruin every cause we undertake.”
William Hazlitt
And the first tip is to know your audience.
This is what underlies the construction of most of your content. It is the reason to talk about the benefits of a product instead of the features. It is the reason to use language the audience understands. Look at your technical terms, and any jargon that they may not understand. Use examples, stories, quotes and other support material that has relevance to their lives and their interests. You will keep their attention and their interest. And if your presentation has been advertised in media or in a conference program, the material in that advertising is what drew people to your session, so try to stick to it, or they will disengage very quickly.
So research you audience before you create your presentation if you can. Find out how best to dress, speak and what will meet their needs, or solve their problems and you have the first step to keeping their attention.
Consider your audience when you are choosing the words that you use –the vocabulary. Speak to them in a language they understand. Look at your technical terms, and any jargon that they may not understand. Use examples, stories, quotes and other support material that has relevance to their lives and their interests. You will keep their attention and their interest.
How will you hook your audience – get their attention – make them focus on you and your speech? Anecdote? Dramatic statement? Question? Personal experience? Make your choice on the basis of: the composition of your audience, the theme of your presentation, and its length, and what you hope to achieve with it, and then apply all of your confidence and practice to making it effective.
You can avoid losing your audience by being sparing with dates, figures and statistics.
These are all very powerful ways to support your points, but overuse them and they just become boring, and your audience will turn off.
If data is absolutely necessary, use your slides to create a visual rendition of it.
Tell stories about it.
Find some way to relate it to your audience – percentages of people like them, for example, or of their country.
We all have short attention spans. This is exacerbated in these days of communication delivered in truncated, rapid-fire bytes.
So you have to set up your presentations so that you do something frequently to keep attention.
Change your delivery style.
Support your words with a new visual.
Challenge with an activity for audience involvement.
Tell a story. Whatever techniques you use, introduce them often and vary them.
Each will have its own impact, but make sure that impact supports your chosen image and message.
With the information age upon us, and immense knowledge being constantly shared, people are being asked more frequently to address public audiences. The need to define study tips on public speaking is rapidly growing. More and more people are standing in front of their audiences with nothing to say, or it seems that way. These following tips on public speaking will show you why it is important to target you message to an audience that will enjoy it.