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Audience Connection
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posted Jan 1, 2008
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Resolutions |
New Year's resolutions
are no good unless you do something about them.
In a
TV interview many years ago, I asked the very wealthy Dallas
businessman, H. L. Hunt, his most lasting Secret of Success.
His simple but profound reply was: 1. Decide what you want. 2.
Decide what you are willing to give up to get it. 3. Set your
priorities. 4. Be about your work. (Get it done.)
Forty years later, that advice is still THE answer to
the Secret of Success. We would love to help you become a
better leader, manager, salesperson, spouse, parent, teacher,
preacher, lover, lawyer or whatever it is you want to become.
If you are resolved to be a better communicator, take
the next step. Visit our website
and set a date to attend the Excellence in Speaking
Institute. |
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Friendly Advice
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Zipline is a
continuing education tool for people who have attended our
Excellence in Speaking Institute and an introduction to our
methods for those who haven't been through the course.
Do you have friends or colleagues who could benefit
from Zipline?
 it,
please. |
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About
Us |
Ty Boyd Executive
Learning Systems changes lives by helping lifelong learners
hone their natural communication tools.
As the premier
provider of public speaking and presentation skills, we help
individuals and organizations learn to communicate more
effectively with their customers.
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Let's talk about making audience
connections and clearly communicating your organization's mission
this time in Zipline .
Now, let's get
going.
Ty
Boyd
Audience
Connection
Every audience you face presents a
challenge of some sort. Maybe it is a group of employees worried
about layoffs, or a board of directors concerned about the company's
ability to achieve annual goals.
Here are a few techniques
you can use to connect with even tough audiences.
Ask
meaningful questions. The questions shouldn't be difficult. You
are asking these questions to get your audience to focus on you and
your message, to get them actively involved.
Even yes or no
questions that require only a nod or a raised hand are often enough
to focus the audience on you. Even more effective in certain
situations is asking questions that require real answers. These
types of questions tend to loosen people up, and can provide true
insight into what your audience is thinking.
Define your
goals. Before you stand up, determine what it is you want from
your audience. Are you trying to change their minds, surprise them,
inspire them, stir them into action? By having clear cut goals, you
can determine the best mix of information and approach to the
presentation.
Attack the head and the heart. You will
have people in your audience who respond to emotion and others who
respond to facts. It is your job to meet the needs of both types of
people. Everybody in the room connects with the statistics or the
storytelling, the facts or the feelings. Use both and you'll
discover you connect with everyone in the audience.
Keep
an eye - and an ear - on them. You can see and hear when you are
losing an audience. Are they restless and shifting in their seats?
Are they whispering among themselves instead of listening to you?
If you keep your focus on the audience, you'll know when you
are losing them.
If something isn't working, something has
to change and it won't be the audience. You are in control of the
situation and must alter your approach to bring their focus back to
you.
You can change your pace, alter your volume, add color
to your presentation, or ask another question in order to recapture
the attention of the audience.
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What's My
Mission?
By Molly Boyd Hunt
A mission
is a specific task or goal that a group adopts as its main purpose.
Mission statements abound in the corporate world, but rarely are
they properly communicated. So, rarely are they achieved.
But a clearly articulated and communicated mission statement
can be a powerful thing, as I recently learned. Each year we mail
our holiday CD to thousands of people. It is too big a job for us to
handle internally.
Lifespan, a nonprofit that enables people with
developmental disabilities to get the most out of life, takes care
of it for us.
They have been successful in placing their
clients into the workplace, so successful that they didn't have
enough people in the Charlotte office to handle our distribution
this year.
Lifespan's brand new receptionist told me this,
and could have just hung up the phone after relaying the bad news.
But she didn't.
Although a new employee, she knew the
mission and understood that Lifespan did not want to let down a
longtime customer.
She took it on herself to call their
other offices to see if they had the capacity to handle our project.
When did you last call an organization and have the
receptionist take ownership of your problem?
So, if you want
your organization to be more successful, clearly communicate your
purpose and your people will help you achieve it.
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