The Scary Audience

"According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two? Does that seem right? To the average person that means that if they have to go to a funeral, they'd be better off in the casket than giving the eulogy." - Jerry Seinfeld

What is so scary about an audience? In our experience, we have found audiences want to be engaged, enlightened and entertained; they want to enjoy the speaker. In fact, most of the time, an audience believes the speaker is an expert before the first word is ever spoken. Audiences want the speaker to be in control and will usually meet them more than halfway, because for the most part, audiences want to see the speaker succeed. So, what is so scary?

For many presenters, the unknown is what scares them and the audience represents that great unknown. So, make a point of getting to know your audience before you present to them. With today's technology, you can basically learn almost everything there is to know about your audience. The more information you can gather about the group you are speaking to, the more at ease you will become. This will help you the day of the presentation, but will also help you prepare your presentation. There is a huge value associated with not being blindsided by an audience's doubts and biases. Telling them exactly what they need to hear instead of relying on your gut instincts takes a lot of the pressure off of you. Of course, you must know your topic as well as your audience; the more you practice, the more prepared you are, the easier it is to eliminate the unknown. 

Take comfort in knowing that audiences do not expect perfection, they expect value. If audience members walk away with something of value, they will consider the speaker to be a tremendous success. So extinguish that need to be perfect because it's an impossible taskmaster. Doing your best is an attainable goal; being perfect is not. And that need to be perfect is a big contributor to the crippling fear that some people experience when speaking in public. So....let it go. 

With that said, there are occasions when you will communicate with an individual or a group who will not be receptive to your message - in politics, employee-management relations, community decision making and certainly when it comes to family issues. And...sometimes even the friendliest audience will have the guy who doesn't want to be there, who doesn't agree with what you are saying or who woke up on the wrong side of the bed with a bad attitude. How do you deal with that situation? Don't allow that person to become the focus of your attention. You may be inclined to win him over using your charm, your best smile and intense eye contact, but it's best not to funnel all of your energy into the black hole of one person's negativity. Focus on the entire audience - especially those who you can reach. Again, if you are well prepared for your presentation, you're well equipped to handle objections, hostility, and those who won't agree with you.

If you want to read more about audiences - the good and the bad - check out Ty Boyd's book The Million Dollar Toolbox.  At Ty Boyd Executive Communications & Coaching, we offer an array of courses developed to meet the communication needs of all professionals operating in today's fast-paced, technology-driven business environment. Whether you are speaking to an audience of one or an audience of 1,000....we can help.

You've Got Questions, I've Got Answers

You were prepared, you practiced, and you nailed your presentation. Congratulations on a job well done!

But, wait a minute, not so fast...you aren't finished...

It's time for the Q&A session and an opportunity for you to show that you can think on your feet. You may deliver a great presentation, but if you stumble with the questions and answers, you could potentially damage your credibility. Have no fear, if you did the hard work when you were preparing for your preparation, there is really nothing to worry about during the question and answer period. Because you did your homework, you can anticipate likely questions and formulate responses before you give those inquiring minds an opportunity to ask away. After all, preparation is the name of the game.

Focus on maintaining your poise and your dignity and remain in control of the situation. Take a deep breath and you will come through with flying colors.

Here are some Q&A tips:

1. If you are standing behind a podium, it might be a good idea to eliminate the barrier and step forward while asking, "What questions do you have?" Remember to maintain eye contact.

2. If nobody in the audience raises their hand, get the ball rolling by asking the first question.

3. Restate the question so that everybody hears what is being asked. You may need to rephrase the question for clarity purposes - which will give you time to think about your answer and how to best respond.

4. If you don't know the answer, don't be afraid to say so. In some cases, the answer isn't available, in some cases it might not be your area of expertise and in some cases you simply need some time to get the facts together. Just say it, "I'll find out and get back to you." And then be sure to do so.

5. Keep the questions on topic. If questioners start to stray, you might say, "That's a great question, but a little off topic and I don't have the time to address that without taking up all of our allotted time."

6. If somebody tries to turn a question into a speech of his own, stop them. Do it tactfully and do it with manners, but do it. Perhaps hold up your hand and say, "I appreciate your comments, but can you give us your question now?" You will be held to a higher standard because you are the speaker so be polite, calm and courteous.

7.  When time is up or your audience is out of questions, wrap it up, thank your audience and take a bow!

And now...take a seat...your job is done.

The faculty at Ty Boyd Executive Communications & Coaching can help you with the preparation so that you will be ready when it comes time to answer the questions.

The Power of a Good Story

The Olympics hold our attention for two and a half weeks every two years. Hours and hours of media coverage are dedicated to the Games and the stories that elicit emotional responses and capture our hearts and our imaginations. Some people have difficulty remembering statistics, but few forget a good story. A well told story gives you the power to attract and hold the attention of your audience while establishing credibility and delivering your message.

Sportscasters at the Olympic Games weave athletes' stories into their sports commentating. Al Michaels was the broadcaster calling the 1980 Olympics ice hockey medal round match between the United States and the Soviet Union. The US team was comprised of mostly college players, yet they managed to defeat the Soviet team who had won nearly every world championship and Olympic game since 1954.

We didn't have internet back then, we didn't have cable television as we know it - we didn't even have a national newspaper (USA Today came years later), but we had Al Michaels giving his play-by-play. In the final moments, the crowd began to count down the seconds left in the game. Al Michaels picked up the countdown in his broadcast, "...eleven seconds, you've got ten seconds, the countdown going on right now! Morrow, up to Silk...five seconds left in the game..." as the crowed went wild.

Years later, Michaels would re-do his commentary for the movie "Miracle", but when it came time to say that final memorable line, the director decided to go with the original recording of Michaels screaming,"Do you believe in miracles? Yessss!" as time expired on the 4-3 U.S. victory. That line earned the game the media nickname of "The Miracle on Ice" and is one of the greatest Olympic stories of all time.

In 1994, the whole world tuned in to Lillehammer, Norway, to watch the drama unfold as Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan competed in figure skating's ultimate Olympic showdown. The story actually began several weeks earlier when Nancy Kerrigan was attacked by a baton-wielding assailant as she left a practice session. The injury she sustained caused her to miss the 1994 U.S. Figure Staking Championships, and in her absence, Tonya Harding, captured the title and secured a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. It was later learned that Harding's ex-husband had hired the assailant to get Kerrigan out of Harding's way, but Kerrigan recovered in time for Lillehammer and the story took off.

Heading into the Olympic finals Kerrigan was in first place ahead of Ukrainian's Oksana Baiul and France's Surya Bonaly while Harding was a distant 10th. A controversial 5-4 split amongst the judges gave the gold to Baiul by the slimmest of margins. Nancy Kerrigan won the silver and Tonya Harding got to stay out of jail (unlike her ex-husband and his hooligan accomplices.)

When telling a story, be conscious of your gestures - you want to show the story as a well as tell it. Try incorporating different voices for different characters. Keep in mind that attention spans are short. Know your audience and know what they want. If the story doesn't mean anything to you, chances are it won't mean anything to your audience, either - and it certainly won't come across as genuine.

As with any speech format, storytelling takes preparation and practice. As you adapt your story, remember that good story tellers don't memorize their story word for word and they don't read their story from note cards. Instead, they think of their story in outline form. Learning a story episode by episode ensures that you will deliverer a spontaneous and authentic presentation every time you tell your story. The more you practice, the better you'll become at using stories to sell your product, service or idea. If you need help crafting your story, the coaches at Ty Boyd, Inc. can help.