Рубрика:
93
You should start preparing for your speech by looking at your future audience.
Your job is to get as much information about your audience as you can. This
information will help you to prepare a speech which is relevant and interesting to
your listeners.
Thinking about your audience is the key to good public speaking. If you are
preparing a presentation, start with the question: Who are these people? It’s the
key to success. Whether they are strangers or colleagues, they have one thing in
common: they expect you to impress them for the next 15-20 minutes. And the
best way to do so is to focus on their favourite subject – themselves. So begin by
defining who these people are and what they expect. Here are ten questions to ask
yourself.
1. What kind of language do these people use?
If your audience is from a particular industry, what terminology does it understand
best? The audience dictates your choice of words, but remember, you should
always make your language clear and concise, especially if the language is not
your mother tongue.
2. Why were you invited to make this presentation?
Your knowledge of their problems is probably why you were invited to speak.
They expect new insights, a different point of view, and ideas that they can take
away and use so that they feel their time was well spent listening to you.
3. Can people hear you?
Speak loudly enough to make your voice carry to the furthest listener. No one
wants to listen to someone who mumbles and who does not speak with conviction.
As a presenter, the ability to pace your speech and use your voice to create impact
is the most important skill you need. You will be more effective if you are in
control of your voice by your use of stress, pausing, intonation, volume, and
silence.
4. How should you look at the audience?
Make direct eye contact. Try convince your audience you are talking to them
personally. It also makes you feel that you have made contact with them as
individuals. Never talk down (or up) your audience. Treat them as equals, no
matter who they are.
5. Should you use notes?
Yes, make an outline, perhaps on small cards, and consult them as you speak. This
forces you to organize your presentation in a logical, coherent way and not wander
off the points.
6. Are they friends, colleagues, customers or total strangers?
Define who these people are. Define their essential features and motivations. What
work do they do, what is their level of education, what kind of language do they
use, what problems and opportunities might they have? Address their goals, their
needs, their concerns.
7. Does the audience appreciate humour?
Don’t make a special effort to be funny. If you make a joke, don’t stop and wait
for laughs. What is funny in one culture may not be in another. The subject of
your presentation is probably serious and for some people, humour may be out of
Страницы
- « первая
- ‹ предыдущая
- …
- 91
- 92
- 93
- 94
- 95
- …
- следующая ›
- последняя »
