Public Speaking - Audience Involvement Tricks

I won! I won!

Another fun way to get the audience involved physically is to give out prizes.
My favorite way to do this is to tape my business card underneath several
randomly selected seats before anyone is in the room. Sometime during the
program I will tell the audience that I have some gifts for them and they are
hidden in the room somewhere. I also tell them they should not bother looking
for them because they are sitting on them right now. Then I direct the audience
to feel under their seats for the business card.

When the winners find the business cards they get to come up on stage to
redeem their prizes, but there is usually a catch. I make up some funny questions
to ask them. They get the prize no matter how they answer.

If you are pressed for time, you can hand the prizes to people in the first row
and have them hand them one-by-one back to the winners. This gets many
people involved physically because they have to handle the prize. (It's not a bad
sales technique either. You might use your product for the prize if you want the
other audience members to touch it and want one too.)

May I Help You?

Many audience members would love to get a piece of the limelight by helping
the presenter. Take advantage of this fact by giving out jobs. You could have an
audience member writing on the flipchart for you. You could have another one
handling cue cards or timing the presentation. This is also a good method to
handle audience members who you fear might be boisterous enough to be
disruptive. If you give them something to do, you will have better control over
them and you will be able to give them the attention that they want.
Try to make sure potentially troublesome audience members are seated close
to you so you have some measure of control. If they are seated in the back, any
noise they make will cause the rest of the audience to look away from you.

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Public Speaking - Create an Atmosphere Conducive to Laughter

Unless you are using slides or video projection you want the room lights at maximum intensity. Half your effectiveness with humor is realized because the audience can see you. The audience wants to see your face. They want to see your expressions. They want to see your body language. It is easier to establish a bond when the speaker and the audience can see each other which is one good reason to avoid reading your presentation from behind a lectern.

I recently attended a presentation in Washington D.C. by a "big name" author. He conducted a three hour slide show with no breaks. He was totally "in the dark" behind a lectern. I am an audience watcher so I know he never connected with the audience.

Besides being in the dark the man made several other inexcusable mistakes that indicated little regard for his audience. Three hours is too long to go without a break. Starting at the 1 1/2 hour mark people were constantly getting up to go to the restroom or getting refreshments. Before the presentation the man was in the room with three hundred people with a bored nasty look on his face. I tried to make eye contact with him when he walked by me and he stared right through me.

What could this presenter have done to dramatically increase the effectiveness of his presentation? Since I'm supposed to be talking about lighting right now, I will. All he had to do was put a soft light on himself that lit him or at least lit his face. A low intensity light placed properly would not have affected the visibility of the projection screen at all, but would have helped him connect with the audience. They would have been able to see his face. As it was, all they heard was a voice coming from the darkness.

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Public Speaker - Numbers

Most businesses have numerous uses for numbers, both written and oral (also
see Financial section of Chapter 17). Again, some numbers are funnier and more
interesting than others. A number like zero has other names that are funny that
aren't even numbers.

Goose egg, nada, nil, zip and zilch are all funny ways to express the number
zero. Even zero is funnier than the word none. Although none is funny when you
talk about the two chances of a hostile takeover as slim and none. A hundred
dollar bill is a C-Note, a five-dollar bill is a fin. If someone is outrageously rich,
they could be a zillionaire.

If you want to exaggerate a little bit, or if you have some tough news to
deliver that involves numbers, add a touch of levity to help soothe the sting.
One common rule of humor that does not apply to numbers is brevity. In all
other types of humor you should conserve the number of words you use.
Normally you want to use the fewest words possible to get to the punch line.
When using numbers in a presentation, pronounce them using the longest
version possible. This gives them more punch. The digits 1,500 should be
recited as one thousand five hundred, not fifteen hundred. The time of 8:15
should be a quarter past eight, not eight fifteen. 6'2" should be six feet two
inches not six-two.

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Geat Public Speaking - Know Your Audience

You can't catch many fish by using food you like for the bait. You must give
them what they like. You must absolutely, positively know your audience.

You should know what the members of the audience have in common
(interests, enemies, competitors, etc.). You should know what the hot topic of
conversation is, but be sure they are joking about it themselves. It may be too
hot. You should know the restaurants where they eat, the name of their
newsletter, how much money they make, the name and record of the local
sports teams, etc., etc., etc. The more you know about the audience, the better
job you will do. Your goal should be to make that audience know that the
presentation they are witnessing was created specifically for them.

If you don't present to the same audience all the time, you must have a
method for getting this information. Most NO ZZZZZs presenters use some
form of pre-program questionnaire which is sent out well in advance of their
program. I got the basis for mine from Dottie Walters at Walters International
Speakers Bureau. I made some slight changes to suit my presentation style and
I keep adding and deleting questions to tweak it to perfection.

Your conversations with the program coordinator will give you some of the
information you need. You should fill in as many of the blanks as you can
before you send out the questionnaire to save the program coordinator some
work. This also proves you were paying attention to what he or she said.

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Public Speaking: Tips For Small Boardroom Presentations

Arrive slightly early to conduct up-to-the-minute research.

Make friends with the receptionists and/or secretaries. These people will
pave the way to your success when it comes to access to the decision makers.

Pick up and/or read prospect related info from the waiting area (you should
try to get this stuff in advance).

Notice the decor or any sign of humor or lightheartedness so you can refer to
it if the prospect appears to be unhurried and friendly.

Stand-up during your presentation. According to the University of Minnesota
study mentioned in Chapter 10, your customers will be willing to pay 26
percent more money for your exact same product or service when you do a
stand-up presentation using visuals. You can always find an excuse to stand.
You might write on a white board or flipchart, etc. If you sit and the prospect
happens to stand, you will be in a very weak position.

Control the environment as best you can to avoid barriers between you and
the client or attention busters like windows, doors, etc.

Try to make connections with what you learned from the lobby.

Pay close attention to the demeanor of the prospect and try to match it.

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Public Speaking: The Length of the Program

The most important consideration in determining how long a technical seminar
or workshop should be is the time required to cover the subject in sufficient
detail. Some subjects require two or three days to tackle the complexities of a
topic, while that amount of time would be superfluous in others. The burdens
placed on the presenter(s) should also be considered. In a single-day program,
chances are that one individual can handle the entire presentation. If it is longer,
either more presenters will be necessary or more participant activity must be
scheduled to ease the strain on the presenter.

In the world of speaking, there are speakers and there are trainers, and the
two differ greatly in their content, styles, and goals. Trainers are far more
concerned with the accuracy and relevance of the material content than a speaker
will ever be and yet, they must be as entertaining and motivating as any other.
Technical trainers can seldom count on standing ovations, peals of laughter,
or thunderous applause. What you can count on is being followed to the
restroom and being asked questions, people standing around waiting to tell you
of their experiences on the same topic, and serious questions about the topic you
just presented.

Evaluations of trainers by attendees are usually sparse as well. Most trainers
have discovered that the attendees have their own agenda when they arrive and
their acceptance and satisfaction is totally dependent upon whether or not you
live up to those preconceived expectations, whether they are a part of the
program or not.

Evaluations will most often be extremely critical of facilities and temperature
and will reflect learners' representations of what they think the trainer should be,
irrespective of the material content.

Nevertheless, technical training can be one of the most rewarding of all
presentations because you may have the opportunity to observe the participants
taking "hard skills" with them that they can apply immediately to make their
lives and businesses a fuller and richer medium for their personal growth and
happiness.

Learn more about technical presentations...

Tom Antion: Use Product Related Stories

You can bring your product to life in the eyes of the client with stories. I learned about this from the general manager at John Wanamaker Department store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where I was doing a customer service presentation. The manager was telling me about the time he and his wife were shopping for a handmade quilt to give as a wedding gift. They went to several different shops in eastern Pennsylvania. The people working at the shops were uninformed about and indifferent to the questions being posed about the history of the quilts.

They eventually came upon a shop where the proprietor went into great detail about the person who actually made the quilt and about the origin of the material, thread, etc. Guess where the manager bought the quilt?

Of course, not all customers would want this level of detail. But the ones that do may be influenced to buy immediately if you are ready with this kind of information about your product, idea, or service.

You should also develop interesting or humorous stories or one-liners about how your product was used. For example when I was in high school, I used to sell matchbooks with advertising on them to small businesses. On a sales call I would put a used match in my wallet which I would pull out with great ceremony and say, "This is THE match that lit the bonfire we had just before
winning the homecoming football game. You can have a match similar to this one." That would get the clients smiling. Then I sold them one or two cases of matchbooks.

Think up ways such as my one-liner to talk about your product, idea, or service to keep it in the customer's mind with a nonsales sales pitch. Product-related stories or jokes lend a favorable light to your product without increasing sales resistance.

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Public Speaking: He Tripped Me!

And now for the ultimate audience gag. Drum roll, please. I do an old, old banquet gag that I recycled for the 90s.I call it Cuss Your Lunch which stands for Cuss(tomer) Service Your Lunch.

Through my practical joke company, I have done literally hundreds of performances as the Clumsy Waiter at banquets, luncheons, and wedding receptions. These performances were done mainly for fun and they are not messy unless, of course, you want them to be. When I started speaking more and more to business audiences I wanted to find a way to incorporate this outrageous routine. Now Cuss Your Lunch is a live training session on customer service, but the participants don't know it. I get the company to arrange an appreciation luncheon for the managers or employees of the customer service division. I am planted as the waiter at the function. The participants really feel what it is like to get rotten service. There are two ways this can end.

One way is to prat fall to the floor and make a really big commotion. I claim that some innocent attendee tripped me. The banquet manager or head waiter then comes in and fires me. Then I reveal the joke and immediately go into a customer service presentation based on what they have just experienced. The other way to end this presentation takes more time and effort, but is more fun. In this case, I storm out of the room after being fired. I immediately go somewhere and change into a spiffy suit. I change my hairstyle, take off my glasses and return to the meeting as the guest speaker whose plane was late. The looks on the participant's faces are something you have to see to believe. If you want to see for yourself, you can hire me to do this for your company. Ha-ha.

Don't be afraid to have fun with an audience. Gags are a good way to do it
and they can really help you drive home your point too.

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Public Speaking: Words...

Terminology is different in most areas of the world even if the language is
English. Highly tested humor that would work anywhere in the U.S. may fall
flat in another country simply because the audience doesn't understand one of
the words. For example, in Australia, "breakout sessions" are called
"syndicates." If you were making a joke in Australia that used the word
syndicate, you might totally confuse the audience and they wouldn't laugh.

People from most other countries will not relate easily if you mention
measurement units such as miles per gallon or miles per hour. You should
avoid talking about seasons of the year, which may not be the same, sports
figures or celebrities that don't have world-wide name recognition. Rethink all
the humor you normally use and try to identify problematic words. This is
difficult to do by yourself. Try to find a person familiar with the local culture
to help you.

When using translators, humor is tougher because timing and word play
don't translate well. You might have to slow down considerably because of
interpretation. Some speakers use half sentences to keep up the pace. This is
very difficult and requires practice.

Speakers have been known to have fun with interpreters (of course, I would
never do this). An unnamed speaker I know purposely mumbled to his
interpreter to see what would happen. The interpreter mumbled back. Then the
speaker mumbled again. It was hilarious.

Even when the audience speaks English, they may not be able to understand
your accent. Avoid idioms and slang and check with local residents to see if
you can be easily understood. You may have to adjust your normal rate of
delivery and style.

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Public Speaking: Humor to Avoid

Humor to Avoid

The overriding principle is that you should not tease the audience about beliefs that are important to them or about any topic that is currently upsetting them. In addition, never use the following types of humor: Racist, sexist, religious, puns, any type of off-color humor, or humor about physical or mental disability.

I was preparing a presentation for a large hotel chain and from my pre-program work I uncovered a topic that was ripe for humor. The hotel chain and the franchisees were having some clearly ludicrous contract negotiation problems. When I approached the meeting planner about the topic, he told me that the franchisees were pretty upset about the way things were going. My comments, even though they were funny, might make them think about a painful
situation. I chose to cut them. Why should I take the chance? It was also another good lesson in clearing humor before use.

When it comes to the nevers mentioned above, there are established pros who get away with ignoring them. Dr. Jarvis has been doing a hilarious bit on religion for twenty years without a problem. But, he has done the bit thousands of times and knows exactly what he is doing during the rest of the presentation to be sure the audience is receptive. I've talked to him recently and he tells me that people are so sensitive now he uses extreme caution when using the bit.

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Public Speaking: Sources For Speakers

The reason I talked about current information and personal life events first is
that they will glean you the highest amount of impact. Using your own life
incidents and observations makes you unique. Why should you be asked to
speak if anyone could get up in front of the group and recite the same old tired
information and stories? I encourage you to spice up your presentations with
your interpretations of news events and information and your personal
experience.

However, I go back again to the idea that you must change up. An entire
presentation based on you could be considered self-aggrandizing and boring. It
is perfectly acceptable and needed to include observations and humor of others
to support your points. This information is easily found in reference material for
speakers. Many reference books for speakers include both serious and
humorous material. Here are just a few of the ones I rely on when preparing a
presentation. Note: Some may be out of print, but you can search used book
stores and use used book search services to find them.

The Book of Business Anecdotes by Peter Hay (New
York: Facts on File, 1988).
Speakers Library of Business Stories, Anecdotes and
Humor by Joe Griffith, (New York: Prentice Hall,
1990).
How to be the Life of the Podium by Sylvia Simmons,
(New York: Amacom, 1992).

Most of these resources are categorized by subject and they put thousands of
pieces of material at your fingertips.

I also have a generous supply of used books on many other specific subjects.
I really go crazy in the used bookstores and flea markets. For instance, at a yard
sale, I found a book of baseball anecdotes that only cost me a quarter. When the
time comes that I need a baseball story this book is waiting on my bookshelf to
help me hit a home run. (I can't believe I used another dumb joke like that!)

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Public Speaking: Service After The Sale

Following Up After the Sale

Humor and lightheartedness can be used after the sale to maintain a nonthreatening presence with the customer. This also helps create loyal customers and repeat business. Customers see that you didn't disappear immediately after getting their money.

My office assistant bought a new Saturn automobile a few years ago. About every three months she gets a letter from the salesperson who sold it to her. He writes her a poem. No doubt it is the same poem that goes out to all his customers, but so what? His name is always in front of her. For a few cents he is creating a loyal customer. In addition, the Saturn Corporation is always sending her customer satisfaction surveys to show they care.

What other customer service techniques can you use?