Who are you speaking to? Who is your audience? Do you REALLY know?
Imagine you’re building a new house. You’re really excited about your future home and go and pick out high quality materials for the outside structure of your house.
Then you realise you didn’t ask the right questions or do your proper research prior to choosing those materials. And it turns out that now you have all of these beautiful high-quality materials but they’re just not a fit for your environment.
Before you spend time getting creative with the content for your next presentation or public speaking event, make sure you spend time doing some research to ensure your ‘high quality materials’ will be a fit for your audience.
Ask good questions such as:
How do I engage them? How do I build rapport? What will capture their attention? What are they interested in? What’s in it for them? Why should they listen to you? How experienced are they in the subject matter? What might they want to know or need from you?
Imagine you’re a bit of a genius when it comes to AI and you need to convince the Board to invest in a new project you’re proposing. If you deliver your presentation without truly understanding the board members’ level of expertise in AI you could either talk too technically, and leave your audience with no understanding of what you are asking for, or you could insult them by assuming they know nothing and frustrate them by spending time explaining concepts they are familiar with.
If you truly want to gain an understanding of your audience, you will have no problem doing a little research. And yes, that may mean talking to a sample of your audience and asking questions. Even if your audience is your own team, or your peers. Depending on how important the presentation is, would it be worth checking in on their expectations, their knowledge, and their concerns prior to building your presentation?
As you may have experienced, assuming you already know can lead to a talk that does not hit the mark.
I wonder how much more effective your next presentation could be when you decide to get clear on your Who? Who is your audience? What problem can you solve for them? What are their interests, and what is their current level of experience in your area of expertise?
Whenever you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you start unlocking your potential so that you can become clear, confident and compelling in front of your audience:
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- For just $XXXUS join us on the inside where you will gain access to our members portal Rehearsal Room. Here you will find invaluable body language and vocal techniques, as well as tips and tricks sure to help you increase your influence in your next presentation.
- Work with me and my team to immediately start elevating your presentation skills. If you’re sick of putting up with where you’re at now and want to make sure you’re ready to do it better next time, let us help you create and deliver a presentation you can be proud of. Apply here and we look forward to understanding more about you and your goals:
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