Public Speaking : Ads

Funny advertisements that relate to your public speaking audience are a great way to add humor to your event. This tactic has been employed by Jay Leno and always sits well with the viewers. Whether you use them as handouts, as an overhead projection, or just read them from stage, this technique is a great way to add variety and interest in your public speaking engagement. Just be sure to reference the source of the ad, so as not to break any redistribution or copyright laws!

Public Speaking : Acronyms and Abbreviations

The more public speaking engagements you do, the more you’ll realize that every industry has its own set of acronyms. Ophthalmologists see PRD as the definition for Progressive Retinal Degeneration while scientists may receive that to mean Proton Recoil Detection. Use acronyms and abbreviations to create a tailored joke for your audience. You can do this by changing one or more of the words to something still relative to the industry you are focusing on.

For example, I was giving a public speaking presentation to hotel industry representatives. At the time, President Clinton had proposed taxes that would affect their industry. Creative thinking and a little knowledge of the industry enabled me to change the acronym, OCC, which usually means Occupancy Rate, to Oh! C’mon Clinton! This definitely had the public speaking audience ROTFL (rolling on the floor laughing)!

Public Speaking : The Front Row

On your way to Asia for a public speaking event? Keep this in mind. It is customary for Asian cultures, especially in Thailand, to reserve the front row for the VIPs and no one else. Anything else is frowned upon. To win the hearts of your new foreign friends, make every effort to accommodate their customs. Find out how will be in your public speaking audience, i.e., how many VIPs, and setup the room accordingly so that each official has a seat up front. An extra nice touch would be to emphasize their importance by providing them with a nicer chair than the rest in the room and maybe some other trinket or takeaway. Do this, and you’ll be asked back to do many more public speaking events!

Public Speaking : Show 'em When You Cross Cultures

Not everything in a public speaking presentation will translate over to another culture. Some words won’t hold the same weight. Nonverbal movements often hold different definitions across the borders of other countries. However, there are three things that are always recognizable and appreciated; cartoons, juggling, and magic.

When avoiding political overtones, cartoons are great sources of entertainment of any public speaking audience. Another bonus for you, they are everywhere! You can even go online and find some cartoons of that country or have a correspondent from that area send you audience-relevant material.

While you may not make an elephant disappear like Copperfield or Houdini, you too can juggle and perform magic for you public speaking events. It doesn’t have to be anything major. You are there for the content and any other small addition to your presentation is a bonus! There are books upon books that provide information on how to perform magic tricks and juggle. Pick a few out that don’t involve a saw or hammer and practice them until you feel comfortable enough to do these in your public speaking engagement. No matter what country you’re in, you’ll feel right at home when the audience is smiling and laughing because of your Houdini-like talents!

Public Speaking : International Perspective on Humor

CAUTION! READ BEFORE YOUR NEXT INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC SPEAKING PRESENTATION!

Recently, actor Richard Gere got in trouble in India for inappropriate public behavior, kissing a women in public. In the United States this is no big deal but there are penalties against this in India. Currently, he is facing charges and possible arrest!

A few years back President Bush, senior, angered the entire country of Australia when he gave what he thought was the peace sign. However, his audience took his gesture as him giving them the finger. Granted, he continued on as President, but his public relations staff is still cleaning up that mess!

Don’t become a victim of ignorance! When you are going to be giving a public speaking presentation in another country, go prepared. Get into the library or a local book store or even online and find out the customs, both verbal and nonverbal, of that country.

For example, did you know that the Japanese find it to be extremely rude not to take an offering with both hands? Or that in Middle Eastern and Latin cultures, they are close-talkers and take offense to anyone that steps back during a conversation?

Don’t let your public speaking presentation take a turn for the worst because you aren’t aware of the customs of those to whom you’ll be speaking. Granted, you are from a different country and may be afforded some leniency concerning communication, but not much. As a public speaking professional, it is your responsibility to know your audience. Taking the necessary precautions will demonstrate your willingness to understand the audience members and they will definitely appreciate this!

Public Speaking : Equipment Photographs

Before you go off to another country for a public speaking presentation, do this: Get a camera, be it digital, Polaroid, or disposable, and take pictures of all the equipment you may need to use for your event. I’m talking about the microphone, the overhead, flipcharts, pens, pencils, overheads, whiteboards, the kitchen sink, the stove, Aunt Ida’s mixer, the works! Trust me, these will come in handy when you are in Morocco where they only speak French and Arabic, and you’re down the equipment you need to carry on with your public speaking event. This has happened to me before and I must say, I really missed my photos at that point. Granted, I went on without missing a step, because I’m always prepared for my public speaking events, but it would have been nice to have the tools I needed.

Public Speaking : Bilingual Help

Unless you are fluent in the language of every country in which you hold public speaking presentations, you’re going to need some bilingual help. Now I’m not saying you can’t learn Farci in 20 minutes, but you may have too many other things on your plate to even try. International events require a little more thought and preparation than those held state-side. I suggest going to the public speaking venue at least two hours in advance to make sure you have all the materials you need, such as overhead projectors, mics, whiteboards, etc

Public Speaking : Vulnerability

Not all of your public speaking material needs to be presented in a way that leaves you looking like a superman. A lot of times, you can relate to the audience if you show your soft side. This especially works well if there are some ladies in the audience or even a guy in touch with his feminine side.

What I do in my public speaking presentations is try to mix up my materials so as to engage the audience members. If you are willing to bare a side of yourself softer than what they expect, especially if you have a commanding presence on stage, they will definitely empathize with you. You can get your cape another way!

Public Speaking : Make 'em Wonder

Try this the next time you have a public speaking engagement: Don’t tell the audience what the presentation is about! Think about it, when you have an idea about a news story or television show, you only really give that subject a portion of your attention. However, if there is something mysterious, or something we can’t figure out, humans naturally flock to it. We are a species that is inherently curious…about everything! Play on this trait in order to maximize your public speaking presentation!

Public Speaking : Bounce Around

One thing you should remember when giving a public speaking event is whether or not your audience is from the same background or level. If you have a group that includes various positions, from the mail clerk, to the person that scrubs the floors, to the CEO jetting off to Rome on the company’s bill, there are a variety of interests and perspectives in one small space. You have the difficult of entertaining each one!
When you do your preplanning before the public speaking engagement, take this into consideration. Instead of sticking on one topic, bounce around, add variety, keep things interesting. Otherwise if you plan your entire event to, say the upper management, you’ll alienate all of the other position levels in the room. This will result in a bad water cooler review! No one wants a one-star public speaking review, so keep it light and versatile!

Public Speaking : Wake 'em Up!

Public speaking events are best with fireworks, horses, merry-go-rounds, and Bigfoot. Ok, maybe that’s taking things a little too far…then again maybe not if it gets your audience to pay attention to you from the very beginning of the event to the very end.

The last thing you want is someone to fall asleep in your public speaking presentation! How horrible would that be? Keep from finding out by doing something outrageous from the very beginning! I shoot confetti out into the crowd. This keeps the audience members hanging on my every word and movement, just waiting for something else.

Find something you love, maybe the fireworks thing, and do it at your next public speaking event….just make sure that if you’re setting off fireworks that you’re at an outside venue…otherwise that could be bad!