Page 16 - VoicesJan2015 .pub
P. 16
ing Audience Connections, Part 1
Dr.Thomas Tursich, ATM
Okay, you've survived giving a couple of presentations. Your
psyche is still intact, you no longer get sick every time you have to
give a speech and your extremities don't shake uncontrollably
anymore in front of an audience. You are beginning to think that
you might actually enjoy speaking to others. Now you are ready
to move on to the next step of speech-making. Instead of
focusing on yourself, your emotions, and your fears you are ready to attempt to actually
bond with your audience and in the process provide them with some excellent take
home benefits. The question now is how do you establish this connection with your
audience and stimulate them to begin feverishly writing notes during your
presentation? A tough question, but I'm sure every experienced speaker has an opinion
in this regard. Even I do. In fact I can come up with three suggestions that I believe will
assist you in accomplishing this difficult and worthy task of connecting with your
audience.
Speak only about topics you are passionate about
Have a high you/I ratio in your presentation
Demonstrate empathy for your audience
In this issue, let's explore the first suggestion—talk only about topics that you are
passionate about. Why? If you speak of topics
you love you will not bore an audience to tears.
You will show a great deal of energy,
enthusiasm, and panache. Your audience will
automatically be drawn to your material and be
stimulated and energized by your enthusiasm
and conviction. There is an old adage that
states, "people are stimulated more by the
depth of your conviction, than by the height of
your logic." Sure facts are good but they only carry you so far. They become tedious and
dull after awhile and your attendees tire of the presentation. They will start checking
their smart phones and tablets and check out on you. Passion and emotion on the other
hand will set you on fire with energy and that fire will be passed on to your audience.
(Continued on page 16)
15
Dr.Thomas Tursich, ATM
Okay, you've survived giving a couple of presentations. Your
psyche is still intact, you no longer get sick every time you have to
give a speech and your extremities don't shake uncontrollably
anymore in front of an audience. You are beginning to think that
you might actually enjoy speaking to others. Now you are ready
to move on to the next step of speech-making. Instead of
focusing on yourself, your emotions, and your fears you are ready to attempt to actually
bond with your audience and in the process provide them with some excellent take
home benefits. The question now is how do you establish this connection with your
audience and stimulate them to begin feverishly writing notes during your
presentation? A tough question, but I'm sure every experienced speaker has an opinion
in this regard. Even I do. In fact I can come up with three suggestions that I believe will
assist you in accomplishing this difficult and worthy task of connecting with your
audience.
Speak only about topics you are passionate about
Have a high you/I ratio in your presentation
Demonstrate empathy for your audience
In this issue, let's explore the first suggestion—talk only about topics that you are
passionate about. Why? If you speak of topics
you love you will not bore an audience to tears.
You will show a great deal of energy,
enthusiasm, and panache. Your audience will
automatically be drawn to your material and be
stimulated and energized by your enthusiasm
and conviction. There is an old adage that
states, "people are stimulated more by the
depth of your conviction, than by the height of
your logic." Sure facts are good but they only carry you so far. They become tedious and
dull after awhile and your attendees tire of the presentation. They will start checking
their smart phones and tablets and check out on you. Passion and emotion on the other
hand will set you on fire with energy and that fire will be passed on to your audience.
(Continued on page 16)
15
