How to keep Your Audience From Tuning Out
Competition for attention
is stiffer than ever. Here are six ways to get people listening.
The first 30 seconds
of your presentation can determine whether an audience will continue listening
or walk away--figuratively or literally.
In the age of the
smartphone, you have to find a way to keep John and Jane from checking email,
updating task lists, or texting their significant other about how boring the
last presentation was. Fact is, they're probably already doing this when you
start. So you've got 30 seconds to get them back.
How do you do it? Here
are six ways, with examples:
1. Ask a question
The whole goal here is
to get people thinking. If it's a small group, give them the chance to answer out
loud. For larger groups, pause about four seconds, so they can respond
mentally. (That four seconds sounds like an eternity to you, but it's just
enough time for them to think.)
Example:
For a
"presentation about presentations," you might begin with:
'I'd like to begin
today by asking you a question. What do you think makes a
great presentation?'
2. News item or
statistic
When you mention a
popular news story, you tap into one of the following two feelings:
Oh
yeah, I heard about that. The
audience member now identifies your presentation with a topic which previously
caught his/her interest.
Wow.
I didn't know that. They're now
motivated to keep listening to see what else they can learn.
Example:
In her TED talk 'The
small and surprisingly dangerous detail the police track about you', Attorney
and privacy advocate Catherine Crump begins like this:
The
shocking police crackdown on protesters in Ferguson, Missouri...underscored the
extent to which advanced military weapons and equipment... are making their way
to small-town police departments across the United States.
Although
much tougher to observe, this same thing is happening with surveillance
equipment.
3. Interesting
statement
Writers are taught to
come up with "click-worthy headlines" to attract readers. (If our
story doesn't deliver, we become guilty of "click-bait.")
Try to think of your
opening statement as a 'headline' to reel people in:
Example:
A great piece by Lyz
Lenz about teaching her daughter the value of learning from mistakes. Her
headline is brilliant, and converted perfectly to an opening for a speech I
give on the same topic:
"A friend of mine
once said of her little girl: 'I sincerely want my daughter to fail.(Pause
for dramatic effect.) And you know what? My mother wanted the same
thing for me.' "
You can just see the
look in the audience's eyes: What? That's horrible! What kind of mother
is she? How could anyone feel that way?
Mission accomplished.
I go on to explain why Lenz feels the way she does, and the
major lesson it involves: Better for her child to fail now and learn to handle
it, then fail as an adult and fall apart.
4. Quote
Look for a great quote
that relates to your topic. (This is a variation on the 'interesting statement'
technique if you're looking for inspiration.)
Example:
A presentation on the
value of listening could begin like this:
American businessman
and philanthropist Bernard Baruch once said: "Most of the
successful people I've known are the ones who do more listening than
talking." Over the years, I've witnessed the truth of that
statement firsthand. For example...
5. Short story
If you're a good
storyteller, this could be a great approach. Just be careful that it's truly
a short story, and that it has a direct correlation to your
topic.
Personal stories are
best. Think of a specific experience that taught you a major lesson, then
condense it to a short narrative.
Example:
One presentation I
give focuses on the value of setting goals, and the benefits of having a
mentor. It begins with a short story about my efforts to play a song on guitar
in order to propose to my wife, despite the fact that I had zero previous
guitar playing experience. The personal touch gets great response, and the
story ties in well to some key lessons.
6. Humor
Depending on the
circumstances, humor can be a great way to break the ice. It doesn't even have
to relate to your topic...as long as it's followed by one of the other methods.
Example:
Acclaimed film and
television director JJ Abrams (Lost, Star Trek) used humor effectively
to begin his TED talk: 'The Mystery Box'.
There you go: Six
surefire ways to get the audience hanging on your every word.
BY JUSTIN
BARISO
http://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/how-to-keep-your-audience-from-tuning-out.html?cid=em01016week15c
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