Public Speaking - 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.)

Attention Speakers: Make $5000 or more for every speech!

Public Speaking - Doors

One of the biggest sources of distraction has to do with something every meeting room has and that is a door. Doors squeak, they slam shut, and they allow people to walk in the audience's line of sight. According to Tom's Law of Presentations, these three things are only allowed to happen at the exact moment of your best punch line or most dramatic statement.

Doors are very easy to deal with if you can gain access to the room early. The first thing I do is check to see if the doors squeak. If they do, I call maintenance or find a little oil can and oil the hinges. If it's an old hotel, this probably hasn't been done in 30 or 40 years. Then I let the door swing shut on its own. This tests the closing mechanism. If it is hopelessly weak and allows the door to slam shut, I either ask for it to be adjusted (which no one ever knows how to do) or I have someone stand at the door to open and close it for latecomers. The latch of the door can make lots of noise to, so you simply tape the catch mechanism shut.

Door location can also be a pesky problem. Sometimes the room is set so there is a door behind or very close to the stage area. If someone would enter this door during your presentation, it would be very distracting. You can usually tape up a "Please Use Other Door" sign to help with this. When you know you have any kind of door problem, try to alert the planner or recruit people from the organization to police the doors for you.

Learn more great speaking tips...

Public Speaking Audience Tips

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.

Over 350 Public Speaking Videos!

Public Speaking Jokes

In his book Comedy Writing Step by Step, Gene Perret, one of the best known comedy writers in Hollywood, says, "A joke is anything that makes people laugh. It can be a series of words, a look, a shrug of the shoulders, even a moment of silence but if it makes people laugh, it's a joke."

I agree with Gene, but I try to avoid using the term joke when training people to do presentations. Here's why. When I ask my seminar participants for a show of hands of who can tell a joke, only a few people raise their hands. In fact, most people claim they can't tell a joke. Their claim indicates to me that they are simply not practiced and are maybe a little afraid of the term itself. I assure them that using humor in professional presentations is NOT about telling jokes. It's about using many easily implemented forms of humor to help attain the goals of a presentation.

This highfalutin explanation is usually enough to distract them so I can teach them how to tell jokes. Consequently, you won't see me using the word joke very much in this book. I'm too busy teaching you how to make people laugh.

If you like to tell jokes there are presently 97.5 zillion joke books available on every topic in the world. Acquire the ones you like and pick appropriate jokes to help you make the points of your presentation.

Use humor to make more money as a public speaker!

Public Speaking - How Can Humor Help?

MAKES YOU MORE LIKEABLE. The more an audience likes you, the more they will be likely to agree with your ideas.

AROUSES INTEREST. Many of you speak to audiences that don't even want to be there. Humor can help you gain their interest.

KEEPS ATTENTION. Grabbing interest at the beginning of a presentation is not enough to carry you to the end. You must keep the attention of the audience all the way. Unfortunately our audience's attention spans are becoming shorter and shorter. They are becoming more of the MTV generation where the average time a shot is on the screen is just a few seconds. According to Ron Hoff in his presentation skills book,
I Can See You Naked "If corporate managers ever saw their own meetings on TV, they would pick up their remote controls and zap themselves into oblivion in the flick of an eyelash." We are competing with movies that have 100 million dollars in special effects. We must be prepared to deliver a fast-paced program that surprises members of the audience. At times we need to knock them in the head to make sure they are present. Humor and other presentation devices placed appropriately will help you do this.

HELPS EMPHASIZE POINTS AND IDEAS. Anyone who has ever taken a simple speaking course knows that you must hit your audience on the head with your point over and over before they get it. Humor is one of the hammers you can use.

DISARMS HOSTILITY. Nonfrivolous humor can be used to take the edge off audiences that are clearly against you.

REDUCES RELATIVE STATUS. Many of you are what I call the "big-shots" of your organization. Your position as boss creates a big barrier to listening. Don't forget, "BOSS" spelled backwards is double-SOB and that's the way your audience will look at you if lord your status over them. Making a little fun of yourself (self-effacing humor) will do wonders for opening lines of communication.

OVERCOMES OVERLY FLATTERING INTRODUCTIONS. Introducers come in all quality levels. If you get one that makes you sound like God, it will create expectations in the audience that you couldn't possibly live up to. Humor can neutralize that problem instantly.

GETS YOUR POINT ACROSS WITHOUT CREATING HOSTILITY. Sometimes you have to deliver tough negative messages. The careful use of humor can help you do your dastardly deed without creating unnecessary anger.

Get more great speaking tips to take your career higher!

Presentation Skills - Organization

Being able to find humor, stories, quotes and other speech material when you need it is very important. It is very frustrating to know you have a piece of material, but you can't find it. Some type of system of organizing all this material is essential to efficient preparation.

A file and cross-reference system will help you keep track of your material. I use both a computer and hard copy filing system. Both have advantages, so don't worry if you don't have a computer.

On the computer I keep separate files for all the different topics I cover in my presentations and also for the different parts and categories of speeches like Response to Introduction and Openings. You can also do this with three-by-five cards or in a regular file box or cabinet. I make files for categories of specialty humor like roasts and toasts and I also make files for the different parts of a talk like response to introduction, openings, and closings. When I'm preparing a talk, all I have to do is open the file on that topic and pick the information I want to use. I copy this material to another file named for the group to which I'm speaking.

Some information in my topic files may be duplicated in other topic files. This is basic cross-referencing. For instance, one of my signature stories about my dog, Freeway, makes several different points. It can be used as a customer service story, to illustrate going the extra mile, reacting under pressure, or thinking quickly. Since it is a story involving an animal, it could be told to a group of animal lovers. Consequently, this story shows up in many of my topic files.

The best public speaking tips on the Internet!

Public Speaking Training - Use Humor to Maintain Interest Level

To effectively use humor to maintain interest, you must first understand the listening pattern of an audience in a typical boring presentation.

A typical "goodnight kiss" presentation starts out with a hopeful audience at or before the introduction of the presenter. If the introduction is halfway good, the interest level will stay up or rise slightly. Then the boring presenter gets up and tells a dumb and/or irrelevant story or joke and the interest level begins to fall rapidly. As the presenter gets deep into the subject matter, the audience passes through sleep (ZZZZZs), rapid eye movement sleep (New Improved ZZZZZs) and soon into a comatose state (Extra Heavy Duty, Industrial Strength ZZZZZs).

At a critical moment in the presentation, the interest level of the audience rises sharply. This is usually the moment Mr. or Ms. Hammock Head says, "In conclusion." This sharp rise in intensity is primarily due to the audience members putting on their shoes and gathering their briefcases. After droning on for another 15 minutes, the on-stage anesthesiologist figures enough is enough and immediately drops dead, but no one in the audience notices.

Even if you are a really good presenter, it is still tough to keep an audience's interest level up. Every person in an audience daydreams to a certain extent. He or she can't help it. The human mind can listen far faster than you can talk. The mind of each audience member is naturally bored. For those of you that like numbers, the average rate of speech is 140-180 words per minute. The mind is capable of listening at 700 wpm. It's no wonder audience members get bored.

Use humor as often as needed! Find out more great speaking techniques!

Professional Speaking Training Opportunities

http://www.AmazingPublicSpeaking.com

Get training online from someone who has done what you want to do.
Over 350 public and professional speaking videos.

Public Speaking Techniques - Localized/Personalized Comments

If you plan on making any comments to specific people in the audience or about the location of the presentation, now is the time to do it. Anything you say at this point should be personalized and/or localized and broadly understood.

One of the things I enthusiastically and sincerely say somewhere in the beginning of a talk is, I am so happy to be here. However, that can mean uh-oh, it's pillow time to the audience because everyone says that. What I do is find a reason specific to that group and tell them why I am so happy to be with them. This shows the group that I am thrilled to be with them at that very moment. They can't help but like you a little more because of this simple statement. And you know what? I really am thrilled to be with them. If you aren't really happy, it will show, so don't say this unless you mean it.

Another thing I let the audience know even before the talk starts is that I am a giving and helpful person. There is nothing hidden. I do this as I'm walking around talking to people before the program. I'll say to most everyone, Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you. Saying this sincerely to a person in your audience is a quick way to build rapport. You will have instant friends in the audience who are less likely to nod off.

If you have a head table, a joke on one of the persons up there with you will work. Audiences like to be able to see the reaction of that person. Make sure you clear it with your target first. If you tell a joke on someone at the head table and he or she doesn't laugh, the audience will not laugh either. This will put a damper on the rest of your talk. Also, if you have four vice-presidents of a company at the head table and you only tease two, the other two may be offended. If the CEO, owner, or highest ranking officer is there, joke about that person because BIG targets are the best. I say again, make sure you clear the joke with Mr./Ms. Big first.

Get the best public speaking tips on the web... all in one place!

Presentation Skills - Appropriate Targets For Humor

You must constantly remember to base your humorous material on an important target shared with your intended audience. You get this information from your pre-program questionnaire and other pre-program research.

People Use people they know in your jokes and stories. Talk about their CEO or supervisor (get permission from these people first). Joke about or insult the CEO of a major competitor, but be careful here. You may want to work for the competitor some day. Always pick BIG targets to tease. Never pick secretaries, receptionists, or janitors as targets of humor.

Places
Quip about the places they go. Their cafeteria, the bar across the street from their plant, or the crowded highway leading to where they work are all good targets for humor. In Washington, D.C., where I live, everyone jokes about troubles on the Beltway.

Things
Joke about the things that mean something to them. Joke about their new marketing plan, company picnic, new voice-mail system, etc. Just be sure that they are joking about it themselves. The topic might be too hot to tease about.

If you have a general audience and you cannot get specific information, use general humor. Most people are married and have children and experience family conflict. They go to the doctor and dentist. They stand in line at the motor vehicle administration. They deal with financial problems. Joke about any universal problem which your audience can relate to.

Remember, always pick BIG targets. Joke about celebrities, media stars, and athletes that everyone knows. Keep in mind that there is a genuine sports interest in virtually every audience.

The best and safest target to use is the one that's reading this book. You can joke about your physical appearance, clothing, weight, etc., without much worry of offending someone else.

Get the most valauble public speaking tips all in one place!

Public Speaking - Get The Facts First

If you are not familiar with your intended audience, you might ask in your pre-program research, or questionnaire How diverse is your group? What are some of the characteristics of the members from each of the countries represented? The answers to these questions will help you plan your strategy for connecting with a particular audience.

When I was doing my planning for a presentation in Washington, D.C., I found out that 25 percent of the audience was Asian Indian. I knew very little about the Indian culture and didn't have long to plan. What I did know was that the Dunkin' Donuts store located near my home was owned and operated by Indians.

That was a good excuse to stop in, down a few eclairs, and do some research. I told the proprietor what I was trying to accomplish and he was glad to help. Out of all the information he gave me about humor in India, I only used one line. That was all it took to connect. The line was, I want to tell all my new Indian friends I'm sorry Johnny Lever couldn't make it.

Johnny Lever was one of the top comedians in India. They lit up and I went on with the program. If your local donut shop isn't run by the appropriate nationality for your next presentation, don't worry. There are other sure-fire methods to get the information you need. If you are presenting out of the country, get the opinion of local people before you attempt to use humor. If you are presenting in the U.S., seek out members of the nationality to whom you are presenting. If you don't happen to know any, you can always call their embassy.

I've called our State Department, The World Bank and even Voice of America for information. Just tell the receptionist you want to speak to someone from the country of interest. Don't forget to tell them you want to converse in English.

Learn to take your speaking business to the highest level!

Public Speaking Course - Keepers

http://www.AmazingPublicSpeaking.com

You can learn all kinds of quick tips when you take an online presentation skills class.
Over 350 public and professional speaking videos.

Presentation Skillls - Types of Pauses

A true NO ZZZZZs presenter doesn't feel that he or she must jabber away constantly to keep the audience awake. Skilled presenters use silence to add to the effectiveness and polish of a program. Theatrical folks have identified a whole bunch of neat pauses which I'm sure they have a ball playing with. I'm only going to address some of the most obvious and important ones here.

Short

The shortest pauses, which last anywhere from one-half to two seconds, are for the simple purpose of separating your thoughts. All you have to remember is to slow down. Give the audience a fighting chance to absorb what you are saying. Change your voice inflection slightly at the end of each thought to cue the audience the next thought is coming. Also, use a short pause before and after any phrase (punch line) or word you want to emphasize.

Spontaneity

Another neat pause is known as a spontaneity pause. This is a planned "unplanned" pause used so that you don't look too rehearsed. You might apply this pause when you want to pretend to search for a word or phrase that you already know.

Long

Long pauses of more than three seconds are very powerful. They command the audience to think about what you just said that is if what you just said was worth thinking about.
Please[pause][pause][pause] don't be afraid to be quiet once in a while. It can dramatically increase your impact.

$5500 for one speech? Find out how...