Point, Click & Wow! -- Chapter 6: Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse

	Point, Click & Wow! -- Chapter 6: Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next

	A professional speaker was giving a speech at a company's annual meeting. He knew his subject. He had given the same type of speech many times. His father had just died a few months ago. He could not get motivated and organized enough to redo his slides and create new content for the speech. He just couldn't do it. And he didn't ask anyone for help. When he arrived to give the speech, about a half-hour before he was to speak, by sheer coincidence, someone started speaking about how her mother had just died. All of a sudden his heart was racing, tears almost came to his eyes, and he wondered how he would give his speech. He gave the speech, but he knew he was on auto-pilot and that he didn't connect to the audience in his usual manner. He also looked as his slides and realized he should have had someone redesign them. From that experience he promised himself that, from then on, he would pay attention to his emotional state and ask for help when he felt he could not prepare well by himself. Be Quiet Isn't that a very strange hint to give to a presenter who is supposed to speak? But remember that too much food, too much activity, or too much of almost anything overwhelms both you and the others around you. That's true with speaking as well. Everyone, the audience and the speaker, needs quiet. The audience needs quiet time to digest your information. You need time to listen to the audience and sense their reaction to the speech. You also need quiet time that allows you to check in and find out: "How am I feeling? Am I heading in the right direction?" Both you and your audience need time to feel and listen to each other. If there is no quiet time between sentences and important points, the audience stops listening due to information overload. The speaker gets into the mode of, "I just want to get this over with." [an error occurred while processing this directive] If you really watch what goes on in many presentations, you'll see that no one is listening. If the audience members listened to themselves, they might stop the speaker to ask for clarification or ask him or her to go on to a topic of more interest to them. If speakers listened to the audience, they would know when to change the subject and how much to say about it. For your next formal presentation, talk in a meeting, or even phone conversation, first listen and truly process the words you say. Second, listen for the feelings in the room. Then, speak based on your assessment of what your audience really wants and needs to hear. You will probably find you are more comfortable with the group when you actually present what you "sense" they are interested in hearing. Here's a list of ways to speak confidently. Speak with Confidence Stand so everyone can see you. Ask, "Shall I say some more about this now?" If the audience says no, go on. Don't bore them. Ask, "Do I need to move back so you can see?" Don't ask, "Can everyone see?" They will be polite and say yes. Put the pointer down when you are not using it. If your hand shakes, get someone else to move the arrow on the screen. Say something else besides reading off the screens. Speak to the audience, not the visual. Write up and then ask some interactive questions to involve the audience. Practice the whole presentation out loud so you will know how long it is. Get a massage the day before your presentation so you will feel relaxed. Don't ask, "Can you hear me?" People will be polite and say yes. Ask, "Shall I speak a little louder?" Better yet, have a person in the audience cue you to let you know whether your voice volume is loud enough. Source: Wilder Presentations and Jossey-Bass Publishing Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next