by Patricia Fripp and Jeff Davidson
My prolific author and speaker friend Jeff
Davidson and I had a
conversation about some of the way speakers fail. Hope you enjoy
some of the ideas Jeff wrote on the subject.
There are many ways to successfully deliver a presentation and
many more to fail at it. Here are three common mistakes that speakers
make, professional speakers included; all three have to do with a
lack of adequate preparation.
1) Not Understanding the Assignment
Before ever leaving your own office, it is critical to understand
why you
have been scheduled to speak to this group at this time. Such understanding
necessitates that you read about the organization, get information
about the
audience's current challenges and hot buttons, and learn what the
meeting
planner has in mind for the presentation. Five-minute conversations
over the phone with a meeting planner do not tend to supply you with
all you need to know in that area.
If you're a celebrity speaker, you are brought in so that people
in the
audience can go home and say "I saw so and so." It barely
matters what
you speak about as long as you are semi-coherent and don't offend
the group.
From the rest of us, however, the people in the seats desire to hear
ideas
and concepts that directly relate to the professional and personal
challenges
they face. Or, they want to hear about issues of universal importance,
i.e. affecting their communities, state, nation, or the planet.
The only way to come armed with the proper information about the
scenario and setting is to spend at least an hour researching the
group
and the situation.
2) Failing to Know Your Audience
Beyond understanding the setting and why you are invited to speak,
knowing the audience is itself an art and a science.
- Who are they?
- What is their age range?
- What is their educational background?
- How long have they been with the organization?
- What is this particular meeting designed to do?
Probe even further.
- How far have they come?
- Do they know each other
or
are they assembling for the first time?
- What will they hear before
and
after the presentation?
- What did they hear last year or at a similar
meeting?
- How would they like to feel and what would they like to "get"
as a
result of your presentation--when they leave the room, how will they
be
changed?
As you can quickly surmise, the answers to these questions are not
ones
that you can intuit. You have to ask the meeting professional who
hired
you, the movers and shakers who will be in attendance, and other key
operatives of the organization. This usually requires an email or
fax
request, sometimes reviewing the questions by phone since your contacts
will
be very busy.
Unless you find answers to these types of questions, and there isn't
much
more that you could know, don't accept the presentation. Without this
information, your presentation may hit the mark if you are incredibly
lucky,
but chances are that you will simply dance around the periphery of
what you
need to do and say to be successful. If it's a one-time presentation,
and
you don't intend to do much more speaking, you'll probably be able
to get
away with this. If you want to speak professionally, however, there
is no
effective substitute for "knowing the audience."
3) Not Arriving With Sufficient Clearance Time
Whether your presentation is across the world, across the country,
or
across town, increase your probability of success by arriving in plenty
of
time. This may require coming in the night before you're scheduled
to
present.
When you arrive early, you gain a considerable advantage which can
often
be the make-or-break factor in the success of your presentation. You
get to settle in, calm down, check out the facilities, walk the room,
talk to people, check out equipment, and arrange things. In doing
so,
you give yourself the edge over the speaker who arrives "just
in time."
These days, with affordable mobile technology, you can be productive
all
day long wherever you are, so arrive early!
(697 words)
Jeff Davidson, MBA, CMC, helps people manage information and communication
overload. He is the author of "The Joy of Simple Living" (Rodale) and "Breathing
Space: Living and Working at a Comfortable Pace in a Sped-up Society" (MasterMedia).
For a resource list including books, videos, cassettes, and Jeff's keynote
and breakout presentations visit http://www.BreathingSpace.com,
or send an email request to Jeff@BreathingSpace.com |
