Terry Jetmore's blog
How to Liven Up your Audience
Have you ever fallen asleep during a seminar, convention or training? Your head starts to bob or your mind goes to a very far away place, daydreaming about your next vacation or what you want for lunch.
We know it has happened but a critical thing is to not let this happen to your audience as a speaker. It is imperative to get the audience involved. Just talking at the audience doesn't help them to retain any of the wonderful gems you are sending their way.
All kinds of lists have been made about how to involve your audience. We will give you some of our favorite methods at SpeakCorp.
Get the discussion going - Ask them questions
Even if you begin with a simple yes/no question by a show of hands at first like "How many need another cup of coffee before we go on with this seminar? Depending on the topic, ask people to shout out their concerns by asking "What is your biggest obstacle in business at the moment"....As you go around the room your audience of strangers will realize they have more in common with each other than they realized.
Keep Moving
As a speaker, it helps to move as you facilitate your discussion. Gone are the days of a person standing at a podium with their arms at their side. Business has become more informal. As you move from one side to the room, your audience contact is better as you address the individual in the audience instead of a big foggy sea of people.
Encourage your Audience to finish your sentence
When you start a sentence for example by using a famous saying like "Give a man fish and you feed him for a day, teach him how to fish...... Let the audience do the rest "and you feed him for a lifetime". You will want it to be something easy enough to engage your audience.
A little exercise is good for everyone
Suggest something as simple as "Stand up, take a minute and introduce yourself to the person on your left and right. Practice your elevator pitch. Tell them what you do for business and see how you can help them with your services. It gets the audience to interact with one another. You will see the room buzzing after you try this.
Use Humor
It feels good to laugh! So if you choose humor that is appropriate to your audience and your subject you can't go wrong. Not everyone is naturally funny so you need to experiment and see what works for you
We know it has happened but a critical thing is to not let this happen to your audience as a speaker. It is imperative to get the audience involved. Just talking at the audience doesn't help them to retain any of the wonderful gems you are sending their way.
All kinds of lists have been made about how to involve your audience. We will give you some of our favorite methods at SpeakCorp.
Get the discussion going - Ask them questions
Even if you begin with a simple yes/no question by a show of hands at first like "How many need another cup of coffee before we go on with this seminar? Depending on the topic, ask people to shout out their concerns by asking "What is your biggest obstacle in business at the moment"....As you go around the room your audience of strangers will realize they have more in common with each other than they realized.
Keep Moving
As a speaker, it helps to move as you facilitate your discussion. Gone are the days of a person standing at a podium with their arms at their side. Business has become more informal. As you move from one side to the room, your audience contact is better as you address the individual in the audience instead of a big foggy sea of people.
Encourage your Audience to finish your sentence
When you start a sentence for example by using a famous saying like "Give a man fish and you feed him for a day, teach him how to fish...... Let the audience do the rest "and you feed him for a lifetime". You will want it to be something easy enough to engage your audience.
A little exercise is good for everyone
Suggest something as simple as "Stand up, take a minute and introduce yourself to the person on your left and right. Practice your elevator pitch. Tell them what you do for business and see how you can help them with your services. It gets the audience to interact with one another. You will see the room buzzing after you try this.
Use Humor
It feels good to laugh! So if you choose humor that is appropriate to your audience and your subject you can't go wrong. Not everyone is naturally funny so you need to experiment and see what works for you