Get the attention of your audience
In my last message, I talked about the importance of using an icebreaker in the beginning of a presentation to establish a feeling of informality and intimacy between yourself and your audience.
The next step is is to move into your more formal introduction and get the attention of the audience.
Your choice of an attention-getting method should be based on your audience, topic, purpose, and personality. You should also make sure your attention-getter is something you can do comfortably.
The word ”rapport” in French means “relationship”. How do you build a relationship with your audience? One of the ways to build rapport is to ask your audience questions immediately. Simple things – i.e. “How many of you have gone to the Riverwalk in the last month?” If you can become a listener at the beginning of the presentation, you begin to develop an exchange. Get them to raise their hands. Or get them to shout out where they are from. It is trite but true: know your audience. Know what they are interested in. Know what their values are. Consistently show them you are “at one” with them.
The most important part of building rapport is to see yourself as being in a conversation with your audience. Presidential candidates 40 years ago were oratorical…but today we live in a conversational age. If you see yourself as someone who is conversing with the audience – and you are indeed the expert - then your demeanor changes.
The audience needs to see you as a human being, as well as the expert.
Consider the following attention-getting options:
- Ask a question. Your question can be rhetorical (“Is bigger better?” Or, “Can having more mean having less?”) Or one requiring audience participation (“I would like a show of hands – How many of you have experienced a major change in your lifestyle in the last year?”). Do not ask embarrassing or personal questions, and always clarify – either verbally or nonverbally – whether the question is rhetorical or actual.
- Refer to audience members. For example, “I consider it a privilege to speak to the members of the Institute of Small Business. I celebrate with you as you recognize your fifth anniversary of successful minority recruiting efforts.”
- Tell a story. Make this an anecdote or dramatic story, but NOT a joke (unless you are one of those rare individuals who can do so successfully).
- Open with a startling, but true, statement. You could say something like, “According to a recent Pennsylvania State University study, the earth is destined to dry up, burn up or freeze. Don’t worry about making final plans just yet. Those catastrophic scenarios are at least 500 million years in the future.”
- Cite a quotation. Just remember: if you do use a quote, remember to keep your eyes up when you read your quotation and make it brief.
- Refer to recent happenings. For example, “Following Wall Street’s notoriety of the early 90’s, the New York Stock Exchange and Chicago Mercantile Exchange have both -implemented their latest stringent safety measures . . . the decade of greed taught us some lessons.”
Once you get the attention of your audience, the next step is to orient them. I’ll cover that in my next blog.
