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David walked over toward the engineer at the
front of the room and stopped to answer his question. He
thought about his answer and began his response by speaking
directly to the engineer. A few seconds into it, he looked
up, focused on a different part of the room and answered
the remainder of the question to the rest of the group. His
audience was riveted.
David's material was terribly dull. Yet you
wouldn't know it by the looks on the faces in his audience.
They looked as if he was telling them about the sunniest
spots in Seattle or how to recapture the money they had lost
in the stock market, not the software programming
specifications of one of Microsoft's latest products.
As his talk went on, I wondered how it was
that this soft-spoken "techie" could keep his listeners so
engaged and interested in what he was saying. Then he called
on Shaheed, another engineer in the back of the room, to
share the story he had told David before the session, and
it hit me like a virus in Outlook: David's presentation was
interesting because he was making a personal connection with
his listeners.
How many times have you seen a presenter stand
at the back of the room and read his PowerPoint presentation
to the comatose audience? That person might as well just
hand out the printed slides and let those poor people go
back to their desks.
No matter how good your slides or handouts
are, remember that you are the most important part
of the presentation. As listeners, the more we like a speaker,
the more open we are to listening to his or her ideas. And
we all know that we are more inclined to buy from people
with whom we feel some sort of connection - just think of
the last good salesperson you had.
So how do we, as speakers and presenters, make
this all-important personal connection with a room full of
strangers?
- Get there early and make some friends. Have a
cup of coffee and shmooze with three or four people before
you speak. Now you have some friendly faces in the audience.
- Move! Get out from behind that podium, lectern
or table and move around the room. Anything you stand behind,
safe as it may feel, is going to create a barrier between
you and your listeners.
- Hit em in the eyes. Always, always, always look
someone in the eyes when you are speaking. Not doing this
as a speaker would be like rubbing two sticks together
to create a fire when you have a Zippo.
- Ask and ye shall receive. Asking and answering
questions is the easiest and most engaging way to connect
with people. Create an environment conducive to Q&A, and
you will find yourself immersed in conversation versus
facing the ever-intimidating "public speaking."
- Make them laugh. It's hard to dislike someone
we think is funny. Find out an inside joke about their
organization or poke a bit of fun at yourself, and your
audience will be yours.
Remember that it's the speaker that can personally connect
with their listeners that will make the most compelling,
interesting and persuasive talks. David's material might
have been as interesting as reading the Windows XP Instruction
Manual, but he was a master at the most important skill a
speaker can have: connecting with his listeners.
Robert Graham
Robert Graham is the Principal of GrahamComm (www.grahamcomm.net), a consulting and training company that helps clients increase their sales and deliver outstanding presentations. He can be reached at 415-652-0763 or Robert@grahamcomm.net.
Re-Print Conditions
We offer this article on a nonexclusive basis. You may reprint or repost this material as long as Robert Graham’s name and contact information is included. Robert@grahamcomm.net, 415-652-0763, www.grahamcomm.net.
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