Become a Speaker Who Reads Minds

Three Steps to Connecting With Your Audience

(This weeks post is provided by my fellow Certified World Class Speaking Coach and speaker, Kwesi Millington. He offers a unique approach to connecting with your audience).

Think about your last speech. Do you know what the listener was thinking as you spoke? Were there distracted people? People on the edge of their seats? Did they laugh? Did they nod in approval of your message?

Whether you believe in psychics or not, you must become speaker who is a mind reader.

Yes, I said it. You need to learn to read your audience’s mind. Why? Because if you don’t you will not know if they are really “with you” when you speak. I have seen people actually text while they were listening to me before. Not a great feeling. It is a truly humbling and disappointing feeling to see that look in someone’s eyes that says “I wonder when this speech is going to wrap up.” Not good.

Thankfully, that doesn’t happen anymore (not that I can see anyways).

Hey, there will always be someone that you don’t connect with (speaker Les Brown says that 1 out of 10 will NEVER connect with you). However, there are 3 ways to “read your audience’s mind”. When you say something, and your audience is thinking it as well, you will make a connection that is unbeatable! Your audience will laugh with you, they will feel with you, and they will make that “hmmm” sound that tells you that they are on the same page – the page YOU want them to be on.

• Audience Mind Reading Tactic #1: Put Yourself in their Shoes

I’m sure you have heard that to understand someone, you need to walk a mile in their shoes. The way to do this as a speaker is to RECORD your speech in practice. Here are the steps to take:

• Make your Speech notes then Record your Speech on a Recorder (I use my iPhone “Voice Memo” app)
• Listen to Your Speech as if you don’t know what is coming up. Really imagine that you are sitting in your audience.
• While listening, ask yourself “If I did not know this person or story, would it all be perfectly understandable or would I have questions?

When you record your speech and listen as the audience would, it actually helps you to write your own speech! You can insert lines in your speech such as “If you are thinking…”, and “You may be thinking…”

Now there are speakers that do this, but many times, they are just GUESSING. They THINK the audience “may be thinking…” something. However, by recording and listening to your speech, you can be MUCH more accurate with those questions.

• Audience Mind Reading Tactic #2: Prepare Your Audience

We see in pictures. When you create a picture in your listener’s mind, then you can lead them where you want to go.

One of the most powerful ways to do this is to use the word Imagine. When you use this word, you paint a picture then lead them where you want them to go. Talk about the scene that you will be talking about in your story, then lead them into YOUR story. When they see their own pictures before hearing your story, they will relate to you even more.

Find a way to prepare your audience for your story ahead of time, so that once you are talking about YOUR story, they are seeing pictures from THEIR lives.

• Audience Mind Reading Tactic #3: Planted Seeds

Can you ask a question during your speech to which your audience can answer, “Yes!” or “Me too!” or “That’s me!”.

Whether you get your audience to raise your hand’s or not, these questions are called “Hand Raiser” questions.

“Have you ever failed in life?”

“Can you remember a time when you loved someone?”

“Do you know any negative people?”

These are just some examples of “Planted Seed” questions. They plant the seed of what you are going to be talking about in the mind of your listener. They have an added benefit however – they allow the audience to picture THEIR stories, while they listen to yours. Here is something to remember:

When the audience reflects on THEIR story, they remember YOUR story.

Remember to ask these kinds of questions during your speech, and your audience will be on your page of your story, for your entire speech.

That’s a GREAT feeling to have.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

Secrets of Creating and Delivering Winning Contest Speeches – Tele-Seminar Series

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• Keep The Audience On The Edge of Their Seats From Start-to-Finish
• Compel Them to Take Action on Your Message With an Unforgettable Conclusion

If you want to be a speaker who creates messages that leave a lasting impact – and maybe win a few contests along the way –  this tele-seminar is for you. For more details, and to register, visit: