Audiences Are Your Friend
For the rank amateur to the ignorant professional, audiences
create the same effect no matter how small they are to a
speaker. Fear and anxiety.
>From a single person to a crowd as big as the fans in the Super
Bowl, speaking in front of a serious listening audience is the
true test and baptism of fire.
Despite this, audiences are predictable. Audiences listen to you
because they want to learn something from the speaker.
Following this logic, the speaker would do well to follow the
strategy of making it informative as well as interesting to
listeners to see your speech through till the end.
Here are some tips on how you can have the audience listen in
rapt attention.
1. Speak according to the listeners' interests. It is always a
good idea to find out what the crowd you are speaking to is
interested in. For example, if you have more teenagers in the
crowd, you don't really want to talk about your subject in a way
that bores them, like good education. Other aspects to consider
would be the local culture, age, sports, religious inclinations,
etc. Talk about what's important to them, something they can
easily relate to without a stretch of imagination.
2. Praise the audience. Audiences are human too, and each and
every one of them has a need to be acknowledged as much as you
want to be acknowledged for speaking well in front of them.
There is only one requirement for this maxim, that your praise
be one hundred percent sincere. Anything less and you'll have
resentment in your hands.
3. Connect with the audience. Find a common thread that makes
the audience relate to you, and you'll find that the speech will
come through really well. Finding a common thread humanizes you
and the speech. It makes them want to listen to you because it
may in some way be of great benefit to them.
4. Have the audience participate. Get somebody to come onstage
and participate in a demonstration. Ask questions of the
audience. Get feedback. Encourage them to walk up to the
microphone and give you a piece of their mind. The point is to
involve the audience, once more, making it more real to them.
Taking them along with you in your experience.
5. Less you, more them. Play yourself down. Nobody, especially
an audience, likes to be lectured to. This will cause resentment
that will last a long time. Never feel that you are above them.
The better way to think about your audience would be that you
care about their welfare. Think of yourself as their best
friend, and more often than not, this will hold you in good
stead.