Ever Thought Becoming A Professional Speaker? Part 3/4
Get Rid of Distracting Body Movements
Your body movement during your presentation can strengthen the impact of your message, or it can seriously be a distraction. One of your goals as a speaker is to look so natural with your movements and with what you say that no one even notices that you are using intonation and inflexion or body movement as a means of emphasising the points of your speech.
What kinds of mannerisms are distracting?
Review your videotape for places where you make distracting mannerisms. Make a list of the characteristics you have and thoughtfully practice your speech without those mannerisms.
The movements you make in your speech should be planned or at least controlled by you. Either way, you'll need to eliminate and minimise as many of these movements as possible.
Consider this when deciding which body movements to incorporate into your presentation. You can make and use facial expressions eye contact with your audience for maximum effects.
- Licking your lips or biting your lips
- Fidgeting with clothes, pockets or jewellery
- Frowning
- Finger Tapping
- Fussing with hair
- Swaying to and fro in front of the audience
- Hanging on to the podium
- Bobbing your head
- Flailing arms at inappropriate times
Make a video tape of yourself. Do you even know that you are making these movements?
Every movement should be planned during your presentation. Because your audience's focus and attention will be turned to these movements instead of what you have to say, you can quickly lose your audience with distracting movements!
You can also review your videotapes for a place in your speech that you need to add body movements into your presentation that will make it more interesting. These movements should be natural and can work in your favour as you emphasise specific points in your presentation.
Work on eliminating nervousness when delivering your speech. This will also happen as you take the time to focus on providing your message instead of focusing on the feelings of fear and anxiety.
Work on feeling comfortable with delivering your speech. You should feel like you are sharing information with a long time friend. This will also come because you speak from your heart and let others know the way you feel about your subject.
Handling Questions and Answers in Your Professional Speaking Career
Create clean transitions between questions by creating "bridges" to the next question. Stay on the issue until it has been answered appropriately.
Acknowledge your audience member for asking the question. People appreciate acknowledgement and start to create a personal bond between you and the audience.
Repeat the question to give you some time to respond. You can also add filler phrases like "that's a good question", "that's a popular question" or "that's an interesting question".
Ask your audience member to stand when they have a question. Additionally, you are also able to establish a line of sight eye connection with the person asking the question.
After spending the entire time talking, now is your chance to interact and respond with your audience. Listen to your audience's questions entirely before starting to answer.
Here are some tips to interact better with your audience during the question and answer period.
Answer the question. If you do not know the answer at the time, let them you that you will find out and get back to them. This is an especially great opportunity if your goal is to develop a long-term relationship with your audience.
Handling questions in your presentation can be a scary time for professional speakers. The fear that someone will ask a question that they can't answer makes this sections one of the most dreaded parts of the speech.
- Ask your audience to write their questions down on paper. They can either submit this to you or read their article at a designated time.
- Create alternative times that you will be available if your audience member is shy and does not want to ask their question. Your goal is to help them understand the points you are trying to make.
- Have a paper and pencil for yourself to write down questions that you can't answer. Jot the question down as well as contact information of the person asking the question so you can get back to them.
The question and answer period is a great time to interact with your audience. You will also be able to see what exactly your audience has picked up during your performance.
How to Deal with a Negative Audience in Professional Speaking
At one time or another, you will have to deal with a negative audience member or group. Your goal is to bring information to the rest of the group whether or not they want to receive your message. Here are some tips to keep you on track as you deal with a negative audience.
Always answer all questions. Avoiding difficult questions also questions you're validity as a subject matter expert. One of your goals as a speaker is to gain the support of your audience.
Be prepared for the next potential negative encounter. Having one negative speaking experience indeed prepares you for the future. Instead of focusing on the negative situation, take a step back and begin to learn from what happened.
Don't let negative questioning override what you have to communicate - look at it as being just a learning experience. When you do that, you'll be well on your way to becoming a top-notch professional speaker!
Engage your negative audience member or group. A negative audience or member is one who is disconnected with your presentation.
Create clean transitions between questions by creating "bridges" to the next question. Jot the question down as well as contact information of the person asking the question so you can get back to them.
The question and answer period is a great time to interact with your audience. Avoiding difficult questions also questions you're validity as a subject matter expert.
Don't react to negative comments or questions. You are the professional, and you are the "guru" of information concerning the topic you're speaking. Reacting negatively destroys any positive images that your audience has of you.
Do you know your subject matter well enough to answer impromptu questions? Review the material and ask yourself potential issues that might come up. Prepare answers to possible questions.
Responding to your negative audience with the same negative emotion will cause you to lose control of your topic. Train your mind to deliver the message you were hired to provide instead of letting emotional antics get in the way. A developed speaker is one who has control over his/her emotions.
You can also add filler phrases like "that's a good question", "that's a popular question" or "that's an interesting question".
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