Are They Listening?

Ten Tips to Send Your Audience to Sleep

Have you ever fallen asleep when listening to a speech or presentation? Sometimes a little nap during a presentation can boost your energy for the rest of the day.

Speakers- if you want to be the one to send your audience to sleep, so they will be fully alert for other people’s presentations follow these ten tips.

1. Make sure that your material is dry and boring. Make sure that your material is either highly technical or complex. If at all possible fill your speech with specialized academic content that is not easily understood without prior study and research.

2. Do not include any explanations or illustrations to make the content understandable to the average person in your audience.

3. Schedule your speech to be at the end of a long day or after a big meal. This will give added incentive for drowsiness and lethargy.

4. Speak softly and avoid any expression or vocal variety that might distract or interest your audience.

5. Stand still behind the lectern for the entire speech. Any movement or sudden gestures could wake up your audience.

6. Avoid any variation in style in your presentation. Do not change from talking to using a flip chart, PowerPoint or any other kind of visual aid or prop that will attract attention.

7. Do NOT include any humor or stories in your speech that might illustrate the important points you wish to communicate.

8. Do not keep to the topic of the speech. Spend a large amount of time rambling about subjects or personal experiences that are boring and totally off topic.

9. Speak about a topic that is very familiar to your audience. Keep your content to things that they already know.

10. Provide highly detailed handouts, so that your audience will not miss out on any important information during their snooze. Make sure that you do not say anything that is not included in the hand out. For best results, just read the handout word for word.

Hopefully, by following carefully the ten tips outlined here, you will have the satisfaction of seeing an entire audience snoring quietly and happily throughout your entire presentation.

Remember, if you do not follow these tips you may be alarmed to discover that your audience is alert and interested in what you have to say.

To your speaking success

Fran Watson

Public Speaking and Your Business

When asked, the majority of people would claim that their greatest fear is getting up in front of a crowd and giving a speech. People in business often don't know how to address a group of people who are wanting to learn more about their product or service.

So why are we so afraid of public speaking? Well for one thing not very many of us are good at it and we don’t know how to get better.

Public oration was once a skill highly valued and therefore it was something that was worked on with much effort and time in school. Part of the reason that more people were schooled in speech making in the past was because school was really only for those to whom the skill would be beneficial. Only the “gifted” children were formally trained in such skills (i.e. those who had the money to be able to afford post secondary education).

Nowadays people are beginning to do pubic speaking in grade school.  Young children are encouraged to speak in contests as well as in class.  Adults are being asked to give presentations at school and at the office.  However, many of us are not good at it,  and don’t have the natural skills, desires, or regular practice that they need to be good. We may speak too softly, stumble over our words, use filler words with every breath, or simply stare at the screen instead of the audience.

So what do you do if you are in business and have to speak to people on a regular basis?  Do you just hope and pray you don't sound like an idiot, or do you do something more productive like joining a Toastmasters Club. 

Now, before you get all worried about joining such a club, let me reassure you that you do not need to be an excellent orator before joining.  Toastmasters is a place where you learn communication and leadership skills to help you in all areas of your life.  You can learn how to do impromptu speaking well.  Impromptu speaking is something we do everyday, but often we get tongue tied and nervous and use a lot of uhms and ahs.  At Toastmasters you learn to do without these filler words.

Businesses thrive on communication...oral and written.  If you want to improve your business, improve your communication. 

To your business and speaking success

Fran Watson

P.S.  Check out my book Click here

Public Speaking Dilemma: What To Do When You Don't Have Enough Time

Do you have a standard hour-length presentation, but your host can only spare a half hour?  (Been there.)

Are you in the middle of a presentation when you realize that, due to a late start or abundant questions, you are running out of time? (Here too.)

No matter what your topic, it is important to always be flexible and ready to cut short your session (or ready to lengthen, as the case may be). Here are some ways to make sure your presentation always fits the time slot.

Pointer #1: Use a timed outline
When you create your presentation outline, include time estimates next to each section (You might  like to add them in red to make them easier to spot on the page).

A brief, one-page bulleted outline (or two pages double-sided) will be easier to time than a long, rambling novel written in paragraphs.

Practice your presentation and jot down time estimates as you go (two minutes for opening, five minutes for section I, seven minutes for section II, etc.) When you get to the end, add up all the time and determine whether you should add to or subtract from any sections to make it all fit into the allotted time slot.

If you have to edit severely to fit into a different time frame and your presentation will be adversely affected, you might want to develop separate self-contained presentations for short, medium and long time slots.

(If you are a PowerPoint user, see the book "Beyond Bullet Points" for instruction on creating a PowerPoint that serves different timing needs.)

Pointer #2: Shift information depending on its priority
If you notice that you are running out of time while in the middle of a presentation, you may have to shift some of your content around. If you have important points at the end of the presentation, now is the time to bring them forward. As soon as you notice the time crunch, start changing the order of your sections.

When creating and practicing your presentation, it's always a good idea to think ahead about how you would handle this situation. The layout of your bulleted outline should make it easy to see which sections to leave out, move up or move down.

If you have to leave out something that you feel is important, gather business cards from the audience and offer to e-mail them additional content.

Pointer #3: Supplement with handouts
There's usually some information that we want to share, but that we don't necessarily want to include in our live presentation. You might have some relevant articles to supplement your workshop, or you might have charts and graphs that you didn't have time for or the technology to project.

Use handouts wisely. If the material does not need to be reviewed during your presentation, then leave handouts at the back of the room for the audience to pick up on the way out. If you choose to put them on seats before you begin, be aware that your audience may spend half the time reading and not listening to you.

Your handouts should always include your contact information and a link to your website, if you have one. Make sure all resources and references are clear and easy to read; use graphics if appropriate and leave a lot of white space on the page. Don't overload handouts with text; make them concise and relevant to your presentation. Otherwise, they will end up in the recycling bin!

Follow these suggestions, and you will always be prepared, no matter how much (or little) time you have.

To your speaking success

Fran Watson

P.S.  Click here for more info on Public Speaking

Essential Life Skills - Communication

As a Toastmaster, I spend a lot of time reading articles on communication to enhance my skills in public speaking.  Here is a quote from an article I recently read and a link to the full article.

"Good communication skills are key to success in life, work and relationships. Without effective communication, a message can turn into error, misunderstanding, frustration, or even disaster by being misinterpreted or poorly delivered.

Communication is the process by which we exchange information between individuals or groups of people. It is a process where we try as clearly and accurately as we can, to convey our thoughts, intentions and objectives.

Communication is successful only when both the sender and the receiver understand the same information.  In today's highly informational and technological environment it has become increasingly important to have good communication skills.

While many individuals still continue to struggle, the inability to communicate effectively will hold them back not only in their careers, but in social and personal relationships. "

Read more 

To your speaking success

Fran Watson

Something to Talk About

Have you ever been discouraged thinking about how to come up with a topic for your next speech?  well, I have a unique way to approach that.  Pile books on top of your bookcase.  That's right, just pile them, as you get new books put them up there too.  When the time is right, then the books will fall off your shelf and into your lap as you are sitting on the couch.  Well, at least that's what happened to me.

I had been perusing my speech manuals, considering what speeches I would like to do next when the avalanche started.  24 in all.  I took this as a sign, so I began to look at the titles: 

"Inner Peace for Busy Women" (who me, busy?),

May You Always Have An Angel By Your Side ( a good idea),

How to Be Like Women of Influence, (some great examples here)

Character Matters, (yes it does)

The Secret of Letting Go (yes this would be good too),

Confidence Booster, Rising Higher,

The Best Thing in Life is a Friend (indeed),

Creeds of Life Love and Inspiration,

 A Philosopher's Notes,

The Tools (5 tools to help you find courage, creativity and willpower and inspire you to live life in forward motion )(a new acquisition),

also Tai Chi, Self-Renewal,

The Power of You,

Dr. Seuss "Oh The Places You Will Go", and a few more including this book:  You Have To Read This Book.  by Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup and Gay Hendricks, and more. 

 

There you have it, enough titles to fill a manual or two.  I have already done speeches on "Oh The Places You Will Go and "You Have To Read This Book", and I have another speech I will be giving tonight.

 

If you are stuck and need more help, I have a list of over 800 speech topics.  Just leave me a comment and I will send you the link.

 

To your speaking Success.

 

Fran Watson

How Do I FInd A Topic To Speak on?

Although this seems difficult at times, there are many things we can speak about, we simply need to be open to "listening" to the world around us for topics.

For instance, one night last month I was sitting on my couch, relaxing and watching some TV when a number of books fell off my bookshelf and onto my head (now I must confess that my bookshelves are piled almost as high on top as the bookshelf is high.  I love books.  Real ones you can hold in your hand, and also Kindle ones.).  I thought that perhaps there was a message in this and began to look at the titles of the books.  What I discovered was that there were several speech topics in these titles.

I was working on an Advanced Manual for my Toastmasters club and one of the topics was "Reading Out Loud" from the Specialty Speeches Manual.  The theme for the week was Perseverance and it seemed like Dr. Seuss's book - "Oh The Places You'll Go" was a perfect complement to the theme as he directed us through good times and bad times in his book.

Another book that fell was "You Have To Read This Book".  And I did.  And I discovered that many of us have been influenced by a particular book and not always the same ones.  And I discovered a speech topic  or two from this - "Read A Book" and "The Importance of Reading".

I have also written a speech about a Cup and Saucer  based on a workshop given at a Toastmasters Conference.  I have written about my collection of angels, Santas, eggs, etc.

You can give a speech about something that has happened in your life or in the life of those around you.  Just put your thinking cap on.

If you need more help, I have a list of over 800 speech topics that I would be happy to send to you.

Fran Watson

Body Language - use it carefully.

When we are talking to others - either face-to-face, or from the front of the room, our posture, gestures, eye movements and general demeanor communicate far more than our words.

It is said that women interpret up to 80% of the meaning of a conversation by non-verbal means. Men fall a bit behind and 'only' rely on non-verbal clues for about 30%. However, in either case, if you are unconsciously giving out the wrong signals, the meaning behind your intended message will be weakened or lost.

Body language is a vast, fascinating subject, but from a business point of view, there are several pointers that can help to strengthen your message. The aim is to match your audience's unconscious template of what makes a person trustworthy and believable.

Everybody has a personal space threshold. Generally, Americans and Northern Europeans prefer to stand about a meter (3 feet) apart. People from Southern European and Asian countries are comfortable a little closer. Folks who live in rural areas like a little more space. Social situations allow closer proximities than non-social.

Be aware if the person you are talking to is backing up, and try not to intrude on their territory. Otherwise the reaction will be defensive or hostile.

It may seem old-fashioned to talk about the need to be 'well turned out', but the axiom that 'you don't get a second chance to make a good first impression' is as true today as ever.

Experts say that the first five seconds of a meeting are more important than the next hour. Check all the obvious things like hair, teeth, fingernails, shoes, breath, immediately before the meeting. But also make sure you are putting on your best front, well in advance.

Even if the dress code is casual, there is a world of difference between dirty jeans and a crumpled T-shirt, and freshly laundered casual trousers and a polo shirt. Remember - dress to respect yourself and you automatically respect your audience.

To your speaking success

Fran Watson