Read your Audience

Written by Pam Chambers Be first to comment on this post.

In my presentation class, one of the exercises is designed to help students adjust their approach by reading their audience. For example, a student steps out of the room and we secretly plan that someone in the audience will begin to rummage through her papers and belongings. The student returns to the room, begins to speak to the group, and is supposed to be attentive enough to “read the audience,” spot the distraction, and effectively and diplomatically put an end to the distracting behavior.

Keep in mind that there are only about 12 people in the room, so it shouldn’t be difficult to read the audience. Often, when the speaking time is up, and I ask, “What distracting behavior did you notice?” the student will say, “I didn’t notice anything!” The rest of us are surprised, because the rummaging was certainly obvious to US!

The fact is, many of us are so SELF-conscious that we forget to be OTHER-conscious. But we need to be, because we are required — not only to deliver our message — but to control the environment for the sake of others.

Read your audience. Are they not quite settled yet? Do they need a break? Have you said something confusing? Are they feeling uneasy? After you read your audience, you should say what you see. “I see that you need a break.” “I see that I was confusing. Let me say that another way.”

Read your audience, and they will feel cared for and respected.

Steve Jobs Against PowerPoint

Written by Pam Chambers Be first to comment on this post.

Here is an excerpt from the biography of Steve Jobs, sent to me by “sales resultant” Ron Martin, who dislikes PowerPoint as much as I do:

One of the first things Jobs did during the product review process was ban PowerPoint. “I hate the way people used slide presentations instead of thinking,” Jobs recalled. “People would confront a problem by creating a presentation. I wanted them to engage, to hash things out at the table, rather than show a bunch of slides. People who know what they’re talking about don’t need PowerPoint.”

I’ve seen hundreds of presentations which were driven by PowerPoint, and maybe six of them were good. One was about the universe; another was about an organic vegetable farm on the Big Island; one I saw yesterday was about Chinese dance performances. They were comprised of 95% images and 5% words.

If you’re going to use PP, start and end with YOU, and tell us how many slides you’re going to show. This way, you start with connection and you end with connection. And we know how much brain space to reserve for the PP portion of your presentation.

A Lesson Worth Sharing

Written by Pam Chambers 2 comments so far. Share your thoughts.

As guest speakers, how we are introduced to our audiences is our responsibility. I learned that the hard way when I was introduced by an otherwise charming 80+ year old man as “the gal who teaches people how to talk.” Oops. I guess he forgot to bring the written introduction I had sent a couple of weeks ahead of time. Oops. I guess I forgot to bring a copy with me and hand it to him so he could read it.

95% of the time, the person who introduces me stands behind the lectern and reads the bio that can be found on my website. Obviously, I approve of the content, since I’m the one who wrote it. This approach allows me to control the reciting of my credentials, thereby establishing me as an expert in my field.

But fate (a-hem: my carelessness) once again reminded me of a lesson worth sharing: always take charge of how you are presented to your audience.

Recently I was introduced by a leader who stood in front of his people, turned to me, and asked, “What’s your name again?” “Pam Chambers, presentation coach.” “Ok, well, she’s going to help us with our presentations.”

How we set the stage largely determines our outcome. In this case, the results were mediocre.