Making Connections

Schmoozing today with my electrician and painter, and for way longer than I should have, I started to think about how people connect – even, and especially, people who don't know one another. From that, I extrapolated a few common themes that are good to keep in mind when you need to connect with an audience you don't know at all or very well.

1. Ask questions, be curious.
2. Show interest in what you know about the other person's work or mission.
3. Tell relevant stories.
4. Get personal, reveal just a little bit that makes you human and real.
5. Treat everyone as if they're the most important person or group you've talked to all day.

Incorporate a few or all of these in your next presentation, and see how it feels. It worked for me with Shane and Matt today, we could've talked forever!

Do You Deliver?

Do you deliver when you speak? Do you engage and connect physically as well as intellectually? It's not enough just to prepare some remarks or show some slides. You've got to literally show up and deliver ... with your whole body!

Here are 5 keys to being physically present and engaged with your audience:

Eyes. Use your eyes to connect. Look around the room at everyone, being very careful not to get stuck on one person or one section of a room. I’ve often heard the “Z” formation recommended; start by looking in the back corner of the room and slowly allow your gaze to move forward on the diagonal, from side to side, as if making a Z with your eyes until you reach the front. Then do it again …

Hands. For some reason, talking with your hands has a bad rap. It’s okay to talk with your hands, as long as your gestures aren’t wildly distracting … and as long as your hands aren’t blocking your face. If it’s natural for you to use your hands for emphasis, then go for it. Better to be animated than stiff.

Voice. If your body and your visuals are the video, your voice is the audio. Play it! Use pace, volume, and intonation to keep the soundtrack moving and interesting. Use silence too. Turn off the audio for a few seconds of pause to recapture attention. Being able to modulate your voice while speaking, versus droning through a presentation, makes you appear confident and in command of the material. And it’s a heck of a lot easier on the ears of your audience.

Body. Don’t cross your arms. Don’t jiggle the coins in your pocket. Don’t play with your hair. Yada yada yada. You know all of the don’ts. How about the do’s? Do use your body … move toward the audience, lean into the audience, have all gestures open to and embracing of the audience. If at a podium with a fixed mic, be on the balls of your feet, reaching toward the audience. It’s a lot more engaging than the slouched podium lean, or the side-to-side sway, or the hanging back on heels stance.

Movement. Use the room. If you have space to move around, and proximity to a fixed mic isn’t an issue, then use your floor space as if it’s a stage. Move into and around your audience. Be super present and in their face and space, and you will have their attention. 

Have a Big One? Help is on its Way ...

Introducing SmartMouth Communications “Need a Consult?” button.

If you need a second pair of eyes on a speech or presentation; if you need someone to write or rewrite your opening or closing; if you need input or feedback on your slides; or if you simply need to talk through your ideas with a trusted consultant, give us a shout!

Go to Smartmouthgroup.com, "Need a Consult?" to see the menu of online services. Check it out!

Work, Work, Work

That’s what a lot of presenters make their audiences do … work. Work to sift through heaps of detail and information. Work to make sense of dense, complex material. Work to follow along. Work to figure out the point …

If you are the presenter, you should do the heavy lifting for your audience. It’ll pay off; the audience will appreciate you, have a good impression of you, and, most important, they will understand and remember what you said!

So here are 3 tips on the kind of “work” you can do so your audience can sit back and absorb, then leave the room satisfied:

Provide guidance. Identify what it is you want your audience to think, know, do, or feel about your presentation. Then weave that into your opening and closing. The mere power of suggestion has a lot of power indeed.

Eliminate waste. Cut out extra detail and information just because it’s interesting to you or because it’s so cool you just have to share it. Be selective with your detail and info. Your audience can digest and retain only so much.

Narrate. Let your audience know where you are, what you’re doing, and where you’re going during the presentation. If you tell them you’re going to cover three main points, let them know when you’ve moved on to the next point. When you’re diverting to a quick sidebar, or you’re backtracking, or you’re stopping to tell a funny story, tell them that’s what you’re doing so they can follow along appropriately.

Audiences don’t want to work. But they do want to get it. If you do the work, you’ll get the reward … your audience’s attention and respect!