Removing the GUESSwork from the GUEST WORK -

Great speakers don’t happen by accident. Those who are nice to listen to – TRY THEIR DARNDEST TO BE

What would you think if someone invited you to their house as a guest, and upon your arrival, proceeded to disregard you and go about their own routine, in their regular clothing, absorbed in their own interests? That’s how a bad speaker makes an audience feel. Unwanted, and ignored.

It’s true! Think back to bad presentations that you have been on the receiving end of, I’m sure that one of the things they have in common is the speaker stepped up to the podium and delivered what they wanted to say with scant thought or care for you or the other audience members.

A good speaker – an advanced speaker is the best host that there is. A good speaker makes all effort to make his guest – the audience - comfortable with him and with the information. He reduces elements that might distract his guests both in the surroundings and in his manner and appearance. He makes all effort with his voice and speech to present the most clear, articulate and pleasant sound so that the information is presented in the best light. A good speaker is meticulous with the preparation of the actual information, making it appropriate, entertaining and easy to understand with examples that bring the main points home.

In other words a good speaker takes care of the audience, attending to their needs for the duration of the presentation, thus ensuring that the experience of listening to him is an enjoyable one.

Inexperienced speakers find this hard to achieve because they have to get over themselves.

Seriously! Novice speakers are all too often absorbed with their own insecurities and nervousness to be able to handle anything else. Handling nervousness is an issue all by itself, but even while the young speaker is learning to control the jitters, one thing that will help is to keep an eye on the goal – The audience, and their comfort.

So, for your next presentation, look beyond yourself and your personal worries. Remember that you have invited your audience members to spend some time with you, and make every effort to ensure they enjoy the date. Then you can be sure they will want to visit again, and again.