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Not CONNECTING: THE NUMBER ONE
WAY TO FAIL WHEN MAKING SPEECH
Someone asked me recently, "What's the worst mistake speaker's
make?"
My answer: The worst mistake is looking at the audience
from the wrong perspective.
For some people, looking at the audience from the wrong
perspective means not realizing that the audience wants
them to succeed-they really do. At the very least they want
you to succeed because otherwise it makes them uncomfortable
and wastes their time.
For some people, the responsibility is sop heavy that they
focus totally on themselves from start to finish. So in
their organizing, they never think of the audience, they
just include everything they know-a surefire snoozer. Always
ask yourself, "What would I want to know if I were in this
audience?" And ask members of your expected audience what
they would like to know.
Then there's a much smaller group of speakers who also focus
on themselves from start to finish, not so much from the
responsibility, but more because of the chance to showcase
themselves. They enjoy being in front of a group so much
that the same thing happens to them: they never think of
the audience's needs, and don't prepare their ideas with
the purpose of helping the audience.
What all these finally add up to is that your material doesn't
connect with the audience, and, worst of all, neither do
you. It's hard to sell your point when your material is
boring, and it's even harder when you are. If you don't
seem real, even good material is suspect.
You can avoid making that worst of all mistakes by making
your number one priority to connect with your audience.
For more information, contact:
Barbara Rocha and Associates
PO Box 60521, Pasadena, California 91116
(626) 792-8075 or toll free at (888) 800-2001
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