When You Speak, Are You Sure The Audience Clearly Understands Your Point?
I’ve listened to many people speak, and leave me confused, or wondering what I’d heard. Unfortunately, I’ve been guilty of this myself.
Patrica Fripp of taught me a critical point that helped me overcome this problem. To paraphrase her wisdom:
“When you speak, it’s not about what you say; it’s about what the audience hears.”
At first glance, you may think, ‘What’s the difference?’
Excellent question!
It’s the intent of your message, versus the interpretation of the audience.
When you create foundational concept and supporting points, ask this key question:
“Will audience members get the points I’m trying to convey?”
If they’re not, who’s fault is it?
Hint: It’s not who we’d like it to be.
It’s much easier to blame the people sitting in front of you when your message isn’t clear. Unfortunately, they’re not the problem.
If your points aren’t clear, it’s on you to fix the problem.
How Will You Know If Your Point is Getting Across?
Use this time-tested technique to discover how, or if, they understand what you want them to.
Ask!
When you practice before live audiences, ask for specific feedback.
“What are my supporting points?”
“What is my foundational idea?”
If the feedback you receive isn’t what you intend, you – not the audience – have work to do.
Why does confusion occur?
People usually speak about subjects they know well. Because of this, they get caught in a trap. They speak in lingo, language or terminology that’s well-known with that subject matter. It’s not understood by people who don’t know the topic well.
How Do You Overcome This Challenge When You Speak?
I’ve heard several ideas; one of the best comes from the late Steve Jobs.
As Jobs would prepare his presentations, he would list each of his supporting points. He would then complete each with this ‘connector’ phrase:
“What this means is __________” and explain the benefits to the audience.
For example, he may be introducing a new computer. He could present this information in his speech…
“This new laptop has a dual core processor that processes data at a much faster rate. It has 2 Gigs of memory, 128 Gigs of storage, and an 8 pixel camera.”
For many, that information was too technical. The audience might become dazed and begin thinking about something else.
Following the ‘tech-speak’ with his connector phrase, he could connect with his listeners….
”What this means to you is this laptop will perform three times as fast. It will connect you to the internet much quicker than your current computer. The memory will allow you to store thousands of songs, hundreds of movies and pictures, and take the richest and crispest pictures you’ve ever seen.”
With thattype of information, will the audience be more interested in this new computer?
Yes. All because Jobs explained “What this means is…”
The next time you prepare a presentation, use statements like “What this means is….” You’ll make a deeper connection when you sell your ideas. If it worked for Steve Jobs, it will work for you.
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What Does Your Audience Hear When You Speak? ultima modifica: 2017-08-20T10:39:18-04:00 da Michael Davis
2 Comments
Mike Paasch on August 22, 2017 at 7:17 PM
I’m giving a presentation later next month and having everyone change their approach to planning for a large client. That includes using a standardized planning template which will be different than ones they’re currently using. It will take some getting use to the inputs before they can master the approach.
What this means is that everyone will be on the same page for planning and can consult with each other the ins and outs of this client.
Excellent strategy to get everyone on the same page, Mike. After the initial discomfort of change, they’ll save a tremendous amount of energy and time when they’re each working from the same playbook.
"Michael transformed our everyday managers into conference presenters by coaching them and by challenging the traditional methods they were using to present. The outcome was phenomenal.
Our conference was elevated to a new level of professionalism. Michael will be retained to help make our trainers become better communicators, both visually and verbally and to assist us with next year’s conference. We highly recommend him and Speaking CPR to assist with your next event."
Robert Gerbus, President, Trans Ash, Inc.
Speaking CPR
5
2018-05-10T09:44:06-04:00
Robert Gerbus, President, Trans Ash, Inc.
"Michael transformed our everyday managers into conference presenters by coaching them and by challenging the traditional methods they were using to present. The outcome was phenomenal. Our conference was elevated to a new level of professionalism. Michael will be retained to help make our trainers become better communicators, both visually and verbally and to assist us with next year’s conference. We highly recommend him and Speaking CPR to assist with your next event."
“As a former Green Beret and professional storyteller, I give dozens of speeches every year. I am very selective about who trains me.
Michael Davis exceeded every expectation and was one of the best coaches I ever worked with. His quiet professionalism, and unsurpassed knowledge of storytelling helped make my Ted X Cincinnati talk extremely powerful. I would recommend Michael, as a story and speaking coach to anyone with a high stakes talk to give. Michael will help you take your speech from good to great!”
LTC (Ret.) Scott Mann, Green Beret, Storyteller, Trainer, Coach, Author
Speaking CPR
5
2018-05-10T09:45:38-04:00
LTC (Ret.) Scott Mann, Green Beret, Storyteller, Trainer, Coach, Author
“As a former Green Beret and professional storyteller, I give dozens of speeches every year. I am very selective about who trains me. Michael Davis exceeded every expectation and was one of the best coaches I ever worked with. His quiet professionalism, and unsurpassed knowledge of storytelling helped make my Ted X Cincinnati talk extremely powerful. I would recommend Michael, as a story and speaking coach to anyone with a high stakes talk to give. Michael will help you take your speech from good to great!”
“We are privileged to have Michael Davis of Speaking CPR as one of the Speaker Coaches for ourTED x Cincinnatievent. I had the opportunity to be on several of the calls with Michael as he worked his craft with his speakers.I was impressed with howgenuine, exuberant, and in touchhe was with each speaker.
He truly has agift in connecting with the heart of each personhe works with and helping them to unleash their story into their talk.All of the speakersraved about his work with them.Each of them has had broad experience in speaking, but they all felt that working with Michael raised the bar on their ability to speak. You can listen to all of his speakers, Anthony Munoz, Richard Bernstein and Graeme Joffe, at http://www.tedxcincinnati.com/talks/.”
Allison Wonders Gars Speaker Coach Manager, TED x Cincinnati
Speaking CPR
5
2018-03-20T17:08:04-04:00
Allison Wonders Gars Speaker Coach Manager, TED x Cincinnati
“We are privileged to have Michael Davis of Speaking CPR as one of the Speaker Coaches for our TED x Cincinnati event. I had the opportunity to be on several of the calls with Michael as he worked his craft with his speakers. I was impressed with how genuine, exuberant, and in touch he was with each speaker. He truly has a gift in connecting with the heart of each person he works with and helping them to unleash their story into their talk. All of the speakers raved about his work with them. Each of them has had broad experience in speaking, but they all felt that working with Michael raised the bar on their ability to speak. You can listen to all of his speakers, Anthony Munoz, Richard Bernstein and Graeme Joffe, at http://www.tedxcincinnati.com/talks/.”
“Investing in Michael is one of the best investments I have ever made. I speak on the subject of diversity in the workplace, which can at times be a difficult topic to discuss.
Michael taught me a repeatable process that allows me to create a foundational concept, a logical structure, an opening that grabs the audience’s attention, and a conclusion that encourages my audience to take action that will save them time and money.
I found Michael easy to work with, flexible with his schedule, and a wealth of information about the art of speaking. If you need to improve your presentation or speech, I highly recommend you consider hiring Michael. It is one of the best investments you can make in your own growth.”
Natalie Holder Founder, QUEST Diversity
Speaking CPR
5
2018-03-20T17:33:18-04:00
Natalie Holder Founder, QUEST Diversity
“Investing in Michael is one of the best investments I have ever made. I speak on the subject of diversity in the workplace, which can at times be a difficult topic to discuss. Michael taught me a repeatable process that allows me to create a foundational concept, a logical structure, an opening that grabs the audience’s attention, and a conclusion that encourages my audience to take action that will save them time and money. I found Michael easy to work with, flexible with his schedule, and a wealth of information about the art of speaking. If you need to improve your presentation or speech, I highly recommend you consider hiring Michael. It is one of the best investments you can make in your own growth.”
Michael’s mission is to help leaders, managers and sales professionals communicate with more confidence, impact, and influence. This passion is born from his own communication difficulties early in his career.
Fortunately, he discovered that public speaking is like riding a bike, swimming or driving a car - it’s a learnable skill. Once he discovered this ‘secret’ he became a voracious student of the craft. He took courses, studied some of the world’s best speakers and storytellers and continues to study presentation and business storytelling skills.
He is hired by companies and organizations, leaders, managers and sales professionals, and TEDx speakers to help them become more confident, impactful and influential communicators.
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I’m giving a presentation later next month and having everyone change their approach to planning for a large client. That includes using a standardized planning template which will be different than ones they’re currently using. It will take some getting use to the inputs before they can master the approach.
What this means is that everyone will be on the same page for planning and can consult with each other the ins and outs of this client.
I like the simplicity!
Mike
Excellent strategy to get everyone on the same page, Mike. After the initial discomfort of change, they’ll save a tremendous amount of energy and time when they’re each working from the same playbook.